adding swordtails to my zoo

[BettaBoyz]

hi there! i've been thinking of adding a quartet of swordtails (one male, three females) and a trio of cory cats to my zoo, in their own aquarium of course. the swords would be allowed to breed, but i'm not taking any special measures other than a breeding box for the babies once their born, and the babies would be used for a variety of things.

- younger, smallish fry would be 'culled' and fed to my Bettas (IF this is safe!)
- best 5 fry would be sold on aquabid when mature
- most fry would be resold to the pet store

so, regarding sword breeding.

- how prolific are they; do they breed like pond snails, or like cardinal tetras?
- what do the fry need to eat, can they be fed of crushed and 'melted' brine shrimp pellets and flakes, or do they need some extreme food?
- how many fry should i expect per birth?
- would the male CONSTANTLY persue all three females in hopes of breeding and perhaps kill them from exhaustion or anger, like a male Betta would do to a female who isn't ready to breed, or a single male guppy would do to a single female guppy?
- is it safe to feed home-bred fry to a Betta? i'm not trying to be cruel here, but really fry are the only live foods i can get my hands on, and i really don't like having guppies around, platties and mollies i can't get ahold of and most egg-layers are hard to breed.
- when do the fry mature, and when can sexes be told? is it only possible to sex fry once the male grows his sword, or can it be done beforehand?
- if the fish will not actively breed, as in the male or females show no interest (-giggle-) is there any method to 'make' them breed?
- would they harass my cory cats or apple snail?

the tank they would be living in would be ten gallons, lighted with two nine wat mini-spiral bulbs, heated to 79* and filtered by a mini-filter. ten pounds of mixed black and white gravel, fifteen assorted silk plants and a nice clay rock would make up the decorations, as well as the breeder trap (lee's guppy breeder) when fry are about. the fish would be fed nutrafin tropical flakes, wardley brine shrimp pellets and tetra's delica sun-dried water fleas, though they might take a snippit of the cories wardley shrimp formula pellets. i have these nice, monstrous red bins downstairs, at least seven of them. i'll be outfitting them with sponge filters and filling them up and using them as grow-out bins for the fry. they hold at least fifteen gallons each and would have a screen over them so my cat, dog and ferret can't decide to go fishing.

please, i need as many comments and suggestions as possible. dankse ^^

 

[haaris]

woah !
slow down i can only answer a few right now.
from personal experience they breed a little worse than mollies.
crushed flake food is ok.
around 2 - 50 fry per birth theyre sometimes more.
the male will pursue them but with three females they will be ok .
the fry mature approx. a month depending on water quality.
u can tell a male by his gonopodium fin and a female by her fan
shaped fin website fo help-click here
if they dont breed they r probably in fertile(3 males of mine were)
and u cant do any thing about it (not sure bout that)

 

[guppymonkey]

It sounds like you should research livebearers (swordtails in particular) before starting up with this grand scheme of yours. Breeding livebearers is rather easy but they are very prolific. i am not sure about your breeding scheme to sell most of the fry. Many pet stores won't buy from individuals its best to check first before getting your hopes up. Selling fish online can be expensive unless you somehow get people to pay shipping charges which are rather high usually. As for feeding the fry to the betta, sounds ok, most fish love gobbling up anything that can fit in their mouths.

 

[spanky_pp_]

feeding "homegrown" swordtail fry to bettas is a great way to give bettas nutrition.-Theyd love it.

Yeah by all means, if you can make some money online out of something you enjoy, your sorted.-Tell us how it goes though. Im not sure it will make much profit though.

Some pet stores take stock, i know from experience! (Guppy overload!)
Three females would be ok as the harrassments spread out!

They have live young every 30 days about, and can have about 1-30 fry for younger females, and 1-60 for older.

You can feed them anything really. They are NOT fussy eaters. A mixed and varietyof food is good for any fish to grow proplerly, and have a balanced diet. (i sound like a GP)

The swordtail males are no way as agressive as bettas! They should not kill females.

As haaris said, if they dont breed, it is because they are infertile, and i suggest you complain to the pet store or where ever you got them from for a refund, and get new fish. Again a male and 3 females. Infertility is caused by cross breeding with plattys or something similar to that... Dont quote me anyone!

They shouldnt harrassss your cory cat or snail its not their temperment!

I would advise, if you were going to seriously breed swordtails, have a breeding tank, with NO gravel! Baby swordtail fry and guppies are awful for getting stuck between stones. Have breeding net, and remove females just before they drop the fry into the breeding tank. Place 5 ish real plants around the breeding tank for the fry to pick at, and feel safe in.

" i have these nice, monstrous red bins downstairs, at least seven of them. i'll be outfitting them with sponge filters and filling them up and using them as grow-out bins for the fry. they hold at least fifteen gallons each and would have a screen over them so my cat, dog and ferret can't decide to go fishing."

Sorry just read this...

hope that helps, ask more questions if you like.I dont mind answering them.

 

[AquaNut]

I just wanted to say that moving your swordtails 'just before' they're going to give birth is a really bad idea, unless you want to kill your pregnant female. It's extraordinarily stressful for very pregnant fish to be netted and moved. If she really was just about to give birth, she'll likely live through the event, but be left too weak to recover from it afterwards.

 

[spanky_pp_]

yes that movin time isnt explained. I know that moving really pregnant fish is dangerous. I ment, about a day before sorry!