Is My Swordtail Pregnant?

[craftyfishlady]

I've had my pair of swordies since May 19th - just over 4 weeks now and am curious as to if she is pregnant and how far along if anyone can advise?

All the pics below are clicky images




This is my male of the pair (Knife - the female is Fork LOL!)











Many thanks for any advice! I think they are a beautiful pair and would love to have fry from them

Kirsty
---XXX---

 

[FishBlast]

Something tells me that is not really a female... Seems more like a male with hidden gender (due to the straight white belly instead of rounded and the anal fin seems to be turning into a gonopodium.
It doesn't seem even remotely pregnant either.
I'd expect "her" to start growing a sword within a few months too...

 

[craftyfishlady]

Blimey!! Thanks for that - if that is the case why does the male flirt & mate with "her"? Also if she does turn out to be a he will they be ok to keep together or will one need re homing?

TIA

Kirsty
---XXX---

 

[FishBlast]

Blimey!! Thanks for that - if that is the case why for the male flirt & mate with "her"? Also if she does turn out to be a he will they be ok to keep together or will one need re homing?

TIA

Kirsty
---XXX---

Males would flirt with anything sometimes (even guppy females)... Probably got fooled by the female aspect, or maybe was threatening it.
The thing is that if you've had her since may and she didn't get fat (by fat I mean something like this:

- not my picture though)
then it means it may never get pregnant but instead grow a sword.
A case of this: Female swordtail is male

They might get along unless the big male decides to go dominant like one of mine did after he grew his sword.
I thought I had a pair but they ended up as two males and the female-turned-male one attacked the slimmer male till it died.
Keep a close eye on your swordies and see if they bicker or not. If they fight you got 2 choices:
1) Get 4 females for them
2) Give one up and get 2 females for the one you keep (note that females have a C-shape formed on their side by that white belly, males have a / shape or sometimes an inversed C-shape, even before getting a gonopodium).

If it is female, it should be pregnant by now though, unless it's sterile...

 

[craftyfishlady]

Thanks so much for that, I do have another tank I could possibly put her/him in if there is a problem if she/he does turn out to be male however I also have a male betta in that tank - would she/he be OK with this species?

Funnily enough I have been after another female for Knife as it happens - Thinking less pressure for Fork & have the full set - Knife, Fork & Spoon LOL!! We have an odd sense of humour here lol!

Kirsty
---XXX---

 

[FishBlast]

Thanks so much for that, I do have another tank I could possibly put her/him in if there is a problem if she/he does turn out to be male however I also have a male betta in that tank - would she/he be OK with this species?

Funnily enough I have been after another female for Knife as it happens - Thinking less pressure for Fork & have the full set - Knife, Fork & Spoon LOL!! We have an odd sense of humour here lol!

Kirsty
---XXX---

They are classified as Betta compatible, but it depends on the swordie and Betta's behavior. Crowntail betta might attack its eyes, aggressive swordie may rip Betta's fins.

Nice set!

 

[craftyfishlady]

it's a japanese fighter so I believe, currently lives with an ancistrus and 3 mollies. Fork the swordie seems very placid, just lurks around the tank in and around the plants, Knife is a show off to put it mildly LOL!

Shall keep an eye on things and see how it all pans out Thanks so much for the advice, all very helpful!

Kirsty
---XXX---

 

[FishBlast]

it's a japanese fighter so I believe, currently lives with an ancistrus and 3 mollies. Fork the swordie seems very placid, just lurks around the tank in and around the plants, Knife is a show off to put it mildly LOL!

Shall keep an eye on things and see how it all pans out Thanks so much for the advice, all very helpful!

Kirsty
---XXX---

They're pretty much all fighters. A crowntail looks like this:

And they are mostly aggressive. Though I saw one in a pet shop and it seemed to get along with some tetras.

If your Betta gets along with the mollies, it might accept Fork, should Fork begin to turn into a male.

Maybe Fork is just a female that didn't mate, but sure has a suspicious form (the white belly being reverse C-shaped) and a thick anal fin that could turn into a gonopodium later.

 

[OldMan47]

I am sorry to need to join in here this way craftyfishlady but I am fairly sure that FishBlast has correctly diagnosed your problem. The "female" is not convincingly a female to me either. A male swordtail will mate with a plant, so that action means almost nothing to me. I seriously doubt that your sneaker male is pregnant.

 

[FishBlast]

I am sorry to need to join in here this way craftyfishlady but I am fairly sure that FishBlast has correctly diagnosed your problem. The "female" is not convincingly a female to me either. A male swordtail will mate with a plant, so that action means almost nothing to me. I seriously doubt that your sneaker male is pregnant.

I never saw them mating with plants, that would be pretty funny to see.
My male swordie seems to have lost interest in mating, but follows the alpha female wherever she goes and then just sits there, looking pretty. LOL.

 

[craftyfishlady]

Thank you so much for the advice I shall start looking for some *proper* ladies to keep my boys entertained then

Kirsty
---XXX---

 

[FishBlast]

Thank you so much for the advice I shall start looking for some *proper* ladies to keep my boys entertained then

Kirsty
---XXX---

The semi-transparent orange ones are best (if you're not intending to breed a certain color).
They show their belly shape best, so just look cor a C-shape in the light-colored belly (and a black spot if possible, although that means they are already pregnant). Also make sure the anal fin is perfectly fan-shaped with no thickening first ray.
I was lucky to get mine with no fry in her and to get babies from my black berlin male. The resulting fry are so adorable. My pink fry has green fins underneath and my two black fry have a red face. X))

 

[craftyfishlady]

Fab advice thanks! with their colouring I had really hoped to breed these 2 - clearly not now lol!

I will go to a local specifically aquatic shop rather than the pet store when I got Knife & Fork - Hopefully they will be able to assure me I have the right gender fish this time

It's all a learning curve - and a fascinating one at that!

Kirsty
---XXX---

 

[DarrenEPB]

I have some lovely Swordtail babies, I love there eyes when they are young, they seem really big in proportion with their bodies. I have some orange, orange and black, and some that have come from a neon swordtail.

 

[FishBlast]

I have some lovely Swordtail babies, I love there eyes when they are young, they seem really big in proportion with their bodies. I have some orange, orange and black, and some that have come from a neon swordtail.

Yeah, they're adorable when young, but so fragile... And can become a meal too easy for the adults. Can't wait till my main fry all grow up to juvenile stage so I won't have to worry about them as much. My biggest fry, Pinky, is acting like a normal fish even though she's only 1.5 cm in size and could be a snack for my catfish if he ever were that hungry. The adults don't mind her around and her mother doesn't let my lyretail swordie to peck Pinky.