How long before male swordtail fry get their sword

[leanne]

I have two swordtail fry that I have managed to save and they are about 1cm long now. They look female... How old do they have to be before the males start developing the sword?

 

[tstenback]

usually between 2-3 months, some are earlier and some are later.

 

[leanne]

Ah, mine are about 4-6 weeks old. One looks more "male" in body shape but has a "female" tail. The other look like a definite girlie...

 

[Ben]

i bought a swordtail wihich i thought was a platy untill i came back from a holiday and he had a nice big long sword on him hehehehe

 

[Zenn]

Well, i am having a problem telling whether my fry are males or females, they are all the same blicking colour, but it was clear Bubbles was female, but with nemo, he is slow growing, and i know that male swordtails grow slower than females, and nemo has the long shaped body for a male, but he aint developing his tail yet or anything, and he has to about 4 mouths old now...