Breeding swordtails

mattrt09 · 06-29-2007, 10:28 PM

Hello everybody.

I was wanting to breed my swordtails but i really dont know how.
Can someone give me some advice on what i would need to do? is there anything special i should do or just let them be and hopw they mate?

any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

pappyy3 · 06-30-2007, 09:47 AM

You obviously need to have male and female fish. A ratio of one male to 2 or 3 females works best.

If you want to keep the fry, then its best to keep them in a tank of their own. Otherwise the other fish as well as the parents will quickly make a meal of any babies that are born (Some may survive).

I found that swortails tend to eat their babies a lot more than some other live bearing fishes such as mollies or guppies.

The ideal set-up would be to remove any other fishes that may eat the baby swordtails, or to put them in a seperate aquarium decorated with some plants (to provide hiding places for the fry) and nature will do the rest.

All things being well, Your fish should produce a litter of babies every 30 to 40 days.

mattrt09 · 06-30-2007, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pappyy3

You obviously need to have male and female fish. A ratio of one male to 2 or 3 females works best.

If you want to keep the fry, then its best to keep them in a tank of their own. Otherwise the other fish as well as the parents will quickly make a meal of any babies that are born (Some may survive).

I found that swortails tend to eat their babies a lot more than some other live bearing fishes such as mollies or guppies.

The ideal set-up would be to remove any other fishes that may eat the baby swordtails, or to put them in a seperate aquarium decorated with some plants (to provide hiding places for the fry) and nature will do the rest.

All things being well, Your fish should produce a litter of babies every 30 to 40 days.

thank you for the info!. I do have a male, and a female. next week i will pick up a couple more females to hopefully help them along.

so they will actually give birth to live fish that swim around or eggs?

they are LIVE bearers so im guessing the fish will be alive when they give birth but im ust checkin.

Tommy Gun · 07-01-2007, 10:58 AM

Yes, they will give birth to live fish which swim around in the tank...which can be an issue because they are small enough to not only find their way into hazardous areas such as your filter and any pumps/powerheads you may be using, but they can also be eaten by the adults in the tank...even mom and dad...so, if you want to breed them in high quantities, you will want to sepertate them from the adults and protect them from equipment.

mattrt09 · 07-01-2007, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tommy Gun

Yes, they will give birth to live fish which swim around in the tank...which can be an issue because they are small enough to not only find their way into hazardous areas such as your filter and any pumps/powerheads you may be using, but they can also be eaten by the adults in the tank...even mom and dad...so, if you want to breed them in high quantities, you will want to sepertate them from the adults and protect them from equipment.

thanks again for the info.

yesterday i found a great write up / DIY on breeding so know im almost completely prepared for this =)