Koi Swordtails For A Future Plan

so I got rid of all my platies, donated them to the LFS. now then, I was curious about koi swords. the LFS had three morphs and I can't recall the names off the top of my head. at 6$ a piece I don't want to get all three mutant strains and mix the genetic lines just to get mutts; a happy mix of the koi genes would be preferable. I kept some koi swords about 7 yrs ago and despite being in a well cycled tank they dropped like flies in my quarantine tank, which I knew was perfect, cuz I kept fry in there before and after. that retailer also stopped carrying them coincidentally. now I'm seeing them rise in popularity and wanting to try them again since I'm sure they have gotten stronger genetically and likely have better immune systems. any have good data to share on this variety?

 

Here, on the other side of the country I've not been able to keep swords any long period of time because they are all just bad. I was thinking about trying again and going somewhere else to try to get them, I've never seen any Koi Swords though, just other mixes!

 

Most Koi Sword strains have a reputation for being problematic. I just bought some from Imperial Tropicals who claim to have participated in developing a stronger line. Way too early to verify that but mine arrived very healthy. And a lot larger than the tiny fish they promised to deliver. Some of my females should be giving birth in a few weeks.

 

I figured they wouldn't be consider hardy by an baseline standard, I had just hoped they would've improved after 7 years, you experience give me hope. how "tough" are your swords onthefly in relative terms are they alone in community? the more I think about it, I'm leaning towards getting a stud male and some regular variety females and line breed with culling. what do you figure would be best non-koi female strain to mate with a koi male? after the F1 fry develop id cull the F1 males remove the F-zero females and see if the F2, F3 generations and so forth bred back to the F-zero koi male granddaddy would produce something interesting.

basically what I'm asking is what type of female would you use. the shotgun approach and getting a mix of girls would give me poor data and lots of guess work as to where the genes came from.

 

I know more about guppies than Koi Swords but here was my approach. I purchased one male and three females because male swords don't always get along. (and I intend to sell adolescents this fall). They all look about the same and this is not a National Guppy Event where they get docked because coloration is slightly out of place. They just look like Koi. After a couple generations I'll find somebody else that has a few and swap a few fry to mix up the gene pool. My gut reaction is inbreeding them more than a generation or two is just asking to return to the weak strain.

My fish look very strong but they are straight out of the pond. Imperial is not an LFS. They haven't even learned that when the light comes on it's time to eat. Mine are still in QT with some young guppies.

 

Imperial was primarily a Swordtail breeding farm before they started raising other types of fish. Their stock is strong and healthy, and they know what they are doing. The early Koi Swordtails were very weak lines, but I believe they have gotten stronger as more and more people are breeding them. Seven years ago, I wouldn't have bought any more Koi strains, but I think now they are looking much healthier when I do see them.

I also think many of the fish in the chains are coming from certain Asian farms, where they overuse antibiotics so that they can crowd the fish for raising. These fish tend to be unhealthy by the time they get to stores because they have no resistance to disease, so the most common problems are magnified.

 

That's encouraging to hear. I am very pleased with mine so far. There is a local market for Koi swords and I wish I had purchased more females. I have one male and three females. Not really interested in dealing with more than one large grow out tank so maybe it is wise to proceed slowing. I'll probably have all the breeders I need by fall and I can sort for best quality.

 

I've got rid of my kohaku koi swords not that long ago. I would like to have koi swords again but I'm not looking for those kohakus (bicolor) but for the showa version (not to be mistaken with the sanke version). Overhere, it's hard to get your hands on the showa version. Last year, I saw them but that store didn't want to sell them. And after a couple of months they died on them. I guess, they probably would've been better off at my place. The owner of the store told me that he couldn't get them anymore. So, I keep my eyes open for some of those fish.

 

I'm really late to this party, but I'll chime in and say I have some regular koi (not albino) swordtails that have been thriving since last November. In fact, my female just dropped fry last week who are doing well so far. They were from a LFS and a good size already when I brought them home. I later bought three small kohaku (red-eyed koi) swords last winter from Petco, and two of them died immediately for no apparent reason. The third is doing great. I picked up another kohaku last week from another LFS, she's also looking great. None of this is conclusive of course, just adding my personal experience to the data pool! Make of it what you will.

 

I'll probably have all the breeders I need by fall and I can sort for best quality.

Hello there, I'm curious as to how your imperial koi swords are doing now. I've recently gotten back into the hobby and I'm considering swordtails. I found Imperial Tropicals' website and was curious to see how their koi swords are doing for you.

 

Hello there, I'm curious as to how your imperial koi swords are doing now. I've recently gotten back into the hobby and I'm considering swordtails. I found Imperial Tropicals' website and was curious to see how their koi swords are doing for you.

They are doing fine. One of my favorite fish. Healthy large fish that seem to breed true. I am heading to the Alaskan bush tonight for a vacation. When I return in about 10 days I am going to have to start selling some adolescents before they eat up all my tanks. I have them in several tanks and in my porch pond already. If you live near Imperial stop by and buy some. It's a very good strain IMO. Attractive, active, hardy, and prolific breeders.

 

That's good to hear, thank you. I'm about 4-5 hours away from them. Might take a road trip!

Have a rustic and fun vacation!