Got My First Live Bearers Today!

[Commander Cool]

Well today I was at Petco in the market for fish. I got 4 platies (not sure the sex but I think atleast 2 are females) and 2 pineapple swordtails. The platies are together in a 20 gallon with live plants and a little castle decoration. The swordtails also have a 20 gallon to themselves with lots of plants. I have one male and one female swordtail. The female is hiding alot under a little roman thing but the male is very active. I am hoping the female will get more active as she gets used to the tank more. I also have a tank set up ready to recieve some fry which I am hoping to get. I really want some swordtail fry but platy fry will be just as welcome! The swordtails are about 1 inch. Is this about the size they will start to breed? The platies range from 3/4 inch to 1 inch. Is that about the size for platies to start breeding? If a female is pregnant will it be obvious or will I not know until I see little guys swimming around? Thanks for any help!

 

[willtang3000]

sounds great they should be just the right size for breeding now but in my experience swordtails and platies "incubate" there fry longer than guppies but anyway best of luck

 

[Larry_the_lobster]

If you keep an eye on your females (like take a look once a day) you'll notice that they are pregnant for sure.

 

[Commander Cool]

O I will see them much more then once a day. All of my tanks are in the same room as my TV and these two tanks flank the TV. So they get seen ALOT.

 

[dwarfgourami]

If you want to see more of your female sword, I'd add another female. Livebearer males are VERY highly sexed, and this can stress out their womenfolk, particularly when pregnant.
The same goes for platies, which btw are easily sexed: just look at the anal fin. The female has an ordinary fan-shaped fin; the male has a sort of rod. You can compare with the fins on your swordies, as they ahve the same.

 

[Commander Cool]

Just to make sure the male swordtail has the "sword" on his tail while the female does not correct?

 

[Annastasia]

Technically, yes. Though the sure-fire way to tell is by the anal fin.

 

[Commander Cool]

Well my male pineapple swordtail has died. I just got him like 3 days ago. Could he have been diseased when I got him? My water temp is at 77*. The female is quite active now. Sometime either today or maybe tommorrow I am going to the store to get another male and another female. Hopefully they will do better. The platies are doing great btw.

 

[vidiots]

Both your swordtails and platies sound like they are just reaching sexual maturity even though they are not fully grown yet. At this stage it can be difficult to tell the sexes apart, because they all start out looking female, then as they mature the males change. Some of the males are often slow to mature. I'd say they ones you have are probably between 3 and 6 months old based on size. Around 4 months old is where it starts to become possible to tell the sexes apart, and I would't bet any money on knowing for certain about their sex until after 6 to 8 months of age. They should reach full size by 12 to 18 months old. Between 24 and 30 months of age they should start dieing of old age.