BABY SWORDS!

[cometcattle]

Last night my female sword finally dropped.
I was watching her and I noticed her anal gland was really swollen. I think it was Heathersweetness who said to watch out for that. GREAT call!
Anyway, She drops one and eats it , then again. I bought a breeder box and a net. By the way, she is in her own 10g. I dont know why I didnt put the net in before hand instead of nearly electocuting myself and the fish. I scooped up some, most of which were stillborn. At this point I realize that I am FREAKING her out. I then notice some stillborn and some that are struggling on the bottom. I then try to feed her some boodworms, but after a few she loses interest. By now I've made a nice mess of the whole thing plus my dog seemed to be in need of extra attention. I decide to turn the light off and try to sleep. After an hour of trying to sleep, I take the dog out and then attempt to remove her from the tank. Another mess. I finnally caught her and put her in rthe breeder box in my 29g. I havent counted how many I have yet, 2 or 3 in the net and maybe 7-12 in the tank. I didnt have any gravel in the tank, just a bunch of fake plants, clay pot, little pieces of bogwood, and some petrified wood. I wish I had put gravel in the tank though.

How long before the fry start to eat?

Will crushed flake suffice or should I shell out $5.00 for liquid stuff?

If they are scattered around the 10g, how do I make sure they are all eating?


I should probably buy some panty hose to cover the filter intake (HOB) because right now it is turned off.

Thank You.

 

[tstenback]

Congrats!

The fry will start to eat nearly right away.
Finely ground flakes fed sparingly 3-4 times a day is great. Brine shimp and frozen food are great supplements but watch the overfeeding it makes a mess (but from what i have read you are good at that ). The fry will always be looking for food but i find if i go through the same routine when i feed them it helps get them to the food. Feed at the same times, feed at the same place in the tank every time and i also make a noise everytiime i feed them by rubbing the canopy with my hands (sounds funny but after a couple of times just watch them go to the feeding spot). For the intake i use a piece of sponge filter or a filter bag or whatever you have like that works great.

 

[guppymonkey]

I should probably buy some panty hosr to cover the filter intake (HOB) because right now it is turned off.

You don't really need to go to the bother of covering up the filter intake. Livebearer fry are large and are already able to swim at birth because of their development inside their mother's body. Unless they are prematurely born (as some of yours might be since you said that some were stillborn) they are already able to swim. They are also able to take food from birth. I use brine shrimp and crushed flakes. After a few weeks you can try them on freeze dried blood worms. My fry took a major liking to them.

 

[HeatherSweetness]

Allright cc!! Glad I helped ya out!

Aren't they so cute and funny looking,big huge eyes and that tiny body.

A couple of my swords stayed white and got red dorsal fins!! I'm so excited,they look so neat.

 

[Clown Loach]

I remember the first time my platy gave birth. It was an enormous shock, as it had only been in the tank 12 hours