Matthew RJ

So my male sword tail is maybe lonely, or bored, or angry ...but seems aggresive & nips @ fins.

I had a good collection of swords with him, 4 females, they died. I added a few female platties, all but 1 died. Everything else in the tank has been fine, and lasted now 9 months. But swords and platties die off (the male sword outlasts them all & seems fine).

water checks @ fish store are ok (nitrates? slightly high, but still normal).

Is it bad to keep a male swordtail by himself? Should I try once more with a few swords or platties, or take him back?

iloveengl

Hmmm, I'm not certain. Do you know why the other fish passed? Did he kill all those fish?!?

I'm sorry, I don't have any definitely solutions for you. Best of luck, though! I'm sure someone will be along later tonight or tomorrow with some ideas.

aquarist48

Welcome to Fish Lore Matthew! I would like to suggest having your on test kit and not having to depend on what the fish store tells you. API (liquid) Master Test Kit is what's most recommended on this site. It contains everything you need for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH testing.

As far as your swordtail is concerned, I would take it back or put him in another aquarium. He could do more harm than good if he stresses all the other fish in the tank. I don't see that adding more platy's will curb his nipping issues. If you want some fry and have room to house them or can sell them back to the fish store then get 3 female swords. It may help but I can't say for sure.
Best of luck and keep us posted. Have fun and enjoy the site!
Ken

navyscuba

I agree with Ken on this. If you were closer I give you a bunch of Mollies I have. They keep breeding like rabbits.

Matthew RJ

Thanks for the offer on mollies & for all the replies.

Well, this male lasted longer than any other sword / platty in my tank, but he too died unexpectedly. One or two of them in the past seemed to waste away (suggesting internal disease / parasite). But some of them just go without warning.

The aggressive male is aggressive no more. Not sure I'm going to try again with swords until I see how the rest of the tank does this year.

navyscuba

Sorry that all went downhill. Hope it gets better.

aquarist48

Sorry to hear about additional losses Matthew. Here is a link concerning the nitrogen cycle that is crucial to fish keeping.
The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle
According to your aquarium information you are unaware of it.
Keep us posted.
Ken

Matthew RJ

Not sure how much of the sword / platty death is nitrogen related. The tank has been running since March. All other fish seem fine. There are some live plants. I may have a tendency to overfeed, but I do thorough water changes once a week.

Are swords at greater risk with temperature changes? I never noticed a pattern, but this one died the day after water chage when the temp would have dipped slightly.

Also, should it happen again, is 1 male sword alone with no women folk around a problem?

Matthew RJ

After talking with a more credible employee @ the fish store, it turns out that my swords were probably dying off from under feeding. I always thought I put too much in, but I would have been better off with less food more often.

I had been feeding just morning & night.