Swordtail Gave Birth But Is There More?

Hey all! Last night at 2am my pregnant swordtail gave birth to only 7 fry. Is this normal? I have seen a lot of videos of the swordtail giving birth to 15+ and is left with a pink Gravid spot. She still has a black gravid spot but obviously not as big as what it was. I really need some help to figure out if there are babies stuck or she is empty and only gave birth to 7 fry.
Here are some pictures

Are fry meant to be this small too?

 

Fry size looks fine and the 6 I saw all look healthy I can't help you on the amount that much but all fish are different my swordtails are a lot bigger then yours so mabye it's because she's young

 

Fry size looks fine and the 6 I saw all look healthy I can't help you on the amount that much but all fish are different my swordtails are a lot bigger then yours so mabye it's because she's young

Yes she is young as I bought her 4 months and she wasn’t very small then and the male was young too... would you say there isn’t more fish inside of her or do they give birth all in one or is it over a few days ???

 

She looks done IMO.
As she grows so will the number of fry she births.
The fry look good also.
If your plants are real ad some to hatchery for fry to pick off all day between feedings.

 

Fry size looks fine and the 6 I saw all look healthy I can't help you on the amount that much but all fish are different my swordtails are a lot bigger then yours so mabye it's because she's young

Yes she is young as I bought her 4 months and she wasn’t very small then and the male was young too... would you say there isn’t more fish inside of her or do they give birth all in one or is it over a few days ???

She looks done IMO.
As she grows so will the number of fry she births.
The fry look good also.
If your plants are real ad some to hatchery for fry to pick off all day between feedings.

Like this ? And should I take mother out now for more space for fry

 

Yea pull the mom and the grate so the fry can have whole breeder box to roam .

 

Yea pull the mom and the grate so the fry can have whole breeder box to roam .

Okay done that thanks

Can I put the air stone in here to give them oxygen ?

 

It really doesn't change anything it's the ripples in the water that give the oxygen not the bubbles (its complicated you could prolly find a lot of things on this if u look it up) but all the fry need is finely ground flakes and alge and if you want to get it they sell fry food at the fish stores

 

It really doesn't change anything it's the ripples in the water that give the oxygen not the bubbles (its complicated you could prolly find a lot of things on this if u look it up) but all the fry need is finely ground flakes and alge and if you want to get it they sell fry food at the fish stores

Yes I feed them grinder flake food they don’t seem to eat it tho it just sits at the bottom will they eat when they are hungry?

 

When they get hungry they will definitely wat the alge and they will prolly eat that too

 

She still looks like there is more in there and she keeps on forcing out poo like really fast no other fish do it that fast she wasn’t like a big fish when she was pregnant she was probably the same size as she is now

Here she still looks pregnant... she was a tad bit fatter but she looks the same as when she was preggo

 

Here. She is always still and not moving and male is always on her

Black dot is gone. She must of gave birth last night but I can’t see babies other fish must of ate ....

 

hey, my swordtail had 7 fry last week (they are all healthy and growing) and she skimmed down a lot and I have noticed she is getting a very black spot again but not as big as it was before she gave birth ? May she be pregnant again as I have a male in the tank ?

 

Livebearers can hold sperm and fertilize eggs for several months. That's how some can be pregnant from the store even if you never put a male with them.
In short, yes it's 100% possible for her to be pregnant already.

 

if you keep her in the tank witht he male she is most likely pregnant, now if she gave birth last week I don't think that if she is pregnant again, her belly would be showing in just a week.

 

if you keep her in the tank witht he male she is most likely pregnant, now if she gave birth last week I don't think that if she is pregnant again, her belly would be showing in just a week.

So why is it black? It was pink after she gave birth for a few days and turned black

 

So why is it black? It was pink after she gave birth for a few days and turned black

I have a guppy that has never been with a male and she has been the only guppy in my tank, I got her when she was a fry. she has been with me for 4 months again, no male contact at all and her gravid spot has been black since she started maturing.

 

I hae a guppy that has never been with a male and she has been the only guppy in my tank, I got her when she was a fry. she has been with me for 4 months again, no male contact at all and her gravid spot has been black since she started maturing.

I have seen the same thing.

 

I have a guppy that has never been with a male and she has been the only guppy in my tank, I got her when she was a fry. she has been with me for 4 months again, no male contact at all and her gravid spot has been black since she started maturing.

Guppy - Swordtail. Different fish.

 

Guppy - Swordtail. Different fish.

Yea but both are livebearers with similar signs/attributes when carrying Fry. I agree that there is a 100% chance that she will become pregnant again if she’s in the tank with a male. Could you post a picture of a side view of the swordtail

 

Yea but both are livebearers with similar signs/attributes when carrying Fry. I agree that there is a 100% chance that she will become pregnant again if she’s in the tank with a male. Could you post a picture of a side view of the swordtail

Okay

She is fatter now

Here’s from today when I was going water changes

 

I guarantee she’s pregnant, and will remain pregnant at some stage of pregnancy as long as there is a male with her.

Just an FYI.

Her lifespan will be significantly shortened if she is the only female with him. The stress of his constant attempts to breed, coupled with the constant pregnancy will adversely impact her health.

 

I guarantee she’s pregnant, and will remain pregnant at some stage of pregnancy as long as there is a male with her.

Just an FYI.

Her lifespan will be significantly shortened if she is the only female with him. The stress of his constant attempts to breed, coupled with the constant pregnancy will adversely impact her health.

So with her fry that she had a week ago I could keep another girl ? And then give the rest away?

 

Could? Always.

Should? Depends if you have a way to get rid of the fry.

The best mix for any livebearer is 1m, 3f.

And if you have a way to get rid of the fry, that’s what i’d suggest.

Male swordtails are beautiful IMO. If the fry are going to be an issue, I would keep him without any females.

 

The color of the gravid spot can change by mood and even water conditions. Spotting a gravid spot does not always mean that a female is pregnant. For also a non-pregnant female will show a gravid spot (very or less clear).

Livebearers can hold sperm and fertilize eggs for several months. That's how some can be pregnant from the store even if you never put a male with them.
In short, yes it's 100% possible for her to be pregnant already.

Storing sperm only refers to most female ovoviviparous livebearers (so, not all...). But female viviparous livebearers won't even store sperm. I really have to make this remark. For again, not all female livebearers are able to store sperm packages. It's a misunderstanding which a lot of people make.
Guppies, swordtails, platies and mollies are ovoviviparous livebearers.

The best mix for any livebearer is 1m, 3f.

.

Incorrect! This does not relate to every kind of livebearer. You'd be right with most wellknown ovoviviparous livebearers. But there are also several ovoviviparous and viviparous livebearers which one can keep at 1m:1f ratio. For not all male livebearers will harrass females.
I have a decent number of livebearers overhere which will do just fine at this ratio just mentioned.
The recommended ratio 1m:2-3 f is just a generalization what we've learned from books (internet nowadays) throughout the years. This ratio is just a safe remark. But those who'll keep also rare livebearers in a serious way do know that there are sufficient livebearer species which are okay at a ratio 1m:1f.

 

The color of the gravid spot can change by mood and even water conditions. Spotting a gravid spot does not always mean that a female is pregnant. For also a non-pregnant female will show a gravid spot (very or less clear).


Storing sperm only refers to most female ovoviviparous livebearers (so, not all...). But female viviparous livebearers won't even store sperm. I really have to make this remark. For again, not all female livebearers are able to store sperm packages. It's a misunderstanding which a lot of people make.
Guppies, swordtails, platies and mollies are ovoviviparous livebearers.

Incorrect! This does not relate to every kind of livebearer. You'd be right with most wellknown ovoviviparous livebearers. But there are also several ovoviviparous and viviparous livebearers which one can keep at 1m:1f ratio. For not all male livebearers will harrass females.
I have a decent number of livebearers overhere which will do just fine at this ratio just mentioned.
The recommended ratio 1m:2-3 f is just a generalization what we've learned from books (internet nowadays) throughout the years. This ratio is just a safe remark. But those who'll keep also rare livebearers in a serious way do know that there are sufficient livebearer species which are okay at a ratio 1m:1f.

So 80-90% of the time my advice was good?

 

So 80-90% of the time my advice was good?

Almost...

The problem that most people have is that they don't know that there are ovoviviparous and viviparous livebearers. In a lot of commercial books ovoviviparous livebearers are assumed being viviparous. Which is incorrect. And unfortunately, such info will be copied on the internet as being the correct info.
And there's also a subgroup called the superfetative livebearers which are rarely mentioned in commercial books. And there's an asexual livebearer species which reproduces itself by gynogenesis. There could be more asexual livebearing species outthere but thusfar this species (Poecilia formosa) is a documented one. Also an article of mine about this wild molly strain has been released in "Poecilia nieuws" (Poecilia Netherlands) in Holland, "Viviparos magazine" (VDA-AK) in Germany and this year it will be published as well in "Le Vivipare" (AFV-Association France Vivipares) in France.

With most ovoviviparous and viviparous female livebearers the gravid spot is already present at an early stage (so, not all show them). And again, one is more clear than the other. And actually, it's the most translucent part of the skin. It only seems to get darkened more and more during pregnancy because the skin is more stretching (and therefore thinner) and therefore the developing embryos are becoming more clear from the outside. That's all...

And a female which is only storing sperm isn't pregnant. Only when she releases a stored sperm package onto the eggs, a fertlization will take place. Which means when a male and a female mate, doesn't have to mean a pregnancy right away.

What I also read and hear a lot is that a lot of people think that all livebearers are reproducing massisvely offspring. Well, that's not true either...
There's a serious number of livebearing toothcarps which have small batches every single time. And there are species which have a gestation between 5-8 weeks before fry will be born.

Most people when they hear about livebearers they do think of the "big 4" → guppies, swordtails. platies and mollies. But there are way more kinds of livebearers. But even within the "big 4", there are a lot more strains (both fancy and wild) that shouldn't be kept the way like we do with most fancy strains which most people know. Even the behavior between the species may differ (which includes also the harrassment behavior of males).

 

Interesting read.

The OP’s question was about swordtails.

I wouldn’t bring the Warriors into the conversation if the discussion was about who is going to be in the SuperBowl.

But I appreciate the education.