Breeding swordies?

[Ethos]

I've decided I want to breed swordies.
I saw this weird fake breeding grass, do you actully need these?
Do they actully work?

Anybody have opinions on how I might make this go smoothly?
I am totally clueless on live bearers, and the only ones I've ever owned were dalmation mollys, and they died in a month. I guess they didn't like my cherry barb

Its coplicated, so as soon as I figure out wether my 55G will be FW or SW I'll know how the housing sitch will be for my livebeaers.

If I have freshwater 55G it'll be a community, so they'll be in there, then once one of my swordies gets pregnant I'll move her into a 10G that'll be ready for breeding. So, that my mastrer plan. Its not very complicated, so its not very master

 

[Angry_Platy]

Swordies will breed as long as you add water and a LOT of it. It took my swordies a while to get started but I moved the adults into a larger tank and now my girls are always pregnant.

As long as you have places to hide some of the fry should survive though if you really wanna keep some fry you will need to separate the female into her own tank/breedeing trap just before she gives birth. Be careful though, the mothers are very cannibalistic after birthing so you need to be really quick in getting the mother out after you see fry.

As for the breeding grass I have never used it and have successfully bred and raised swordy, platy and guppy fry

 

[Ethos]

I was woundering how a fry rearing tank should be set up? I was thinking of taking all my decorations out of the 10G and just haveing one log and the ship decoration. Just so I can pull them out easily.

 

[Ethos]

*bump*

 

[afireinside]

it should be set up like any ordinary tank. Plants, gravel, hiding places and a SPONGE FILTER. If you use a normal filter, the fry are sure to be sucked up into it. but they also need to eat specail food.

 

[Annastasia]

For the fry tank...

Temperature is good anywhere from 75-78 F or so. I think a sponge filter is best for a fry tank, so that they can't get sucked up. It's worked well for me in the past, so I would recommend it. Otherwise, you could use a HOB, or other filter and just cover the intake with a breeder net, or Pantyhose, or something similar so they don't get sucked up.

Ornaments can be anything you want...Plants are good, as are rocks, wood and general places for them to hide. Thick plants seem to be afavorite with mine. They can disappear into there, and fool their brothers and sisters as to where they are! Sand is the best substrate. With gravel, they can sometimes get stuck in between the pieces and get crushed. Bare bottom also works, and some find it easier to clean.

Fry need good water quality, and they are sensitive so lots of water changes! Daily ones are okay, once every 2 days is okay too. Just make sure the tank is always clean. You can do water changes using a airline tubing siphon you make, or a turkey baster so you don't suck up the little babies. Acclimation to the tank is impotant too. Take a loooong time...and they'll be better off.

Also, fry need to be fed often! 3 times a day at least, more if you can. When they are first born, Tetramin Fry Food or Hikari First Bites are best for them. Baby Brine Shrimp is good suppliment to this, or you can just feed that but it's best to vary. Once they grow up a bit, you can add in finely crushed flakes and Freeze-dried, frozen, or Live foods, such as Bloodworms, Brine Shrimp, Tubifex Worms..etc. However, don't feed them just this. These are all high protein foods, and they can cause them to be constipated or get bloated. Fry are sensitive. You can also try small pieces of blanched veggies, like cucumber, zucchini, peas...etc.

Good luck!

 

[Polardbear]

If you move the mother-to-be to a 10 gallon, she'll feel a lot more comfortable if she has some good hiding places. I usually put lots of artificial plants in my maternity tank so the female will feel very comfortable. Just keep a close eye on her - check her several times a day because they can be quite sneaky about giving birth. If you use artificial plants you can pull them out quickly when you need to remove her after the babies are born.

I keep several clumps of the "breeders grass" in my main tanks for those occasions when the girls surprise me. The fry always seem to find them and they really do provide great cover (safety) for the new borns. They can get right down into them and the adults can't reach them. I've had tons of babies hide in them and not even known they were there until I'm doing a water change and move them. Suddenly fry will come popping out that you didn't even suspect was there. You can also float them upside down to provide top cover.

Java Moss floating in the tank is also great for babies to hide in. Glass marbles on the bottom of the maternity tank is another inexpensive way to provide the new borns with somewhere to hide.

If you use gravel as a substrate the fry will burrow in and can get trapped. If you go bare bottom I'd definately use the marbles or Mom will be able to pick them off before you get them out. Once she's out of the tank bare bottom is fine. My top choice though is a light layer of sand with the marbles.