Noobie Fishkeeper

[Snick]

Hi there!

Also, I have noticed a problem with my fish.... they seem to go up to the top of the water and kind of "eat" air from the surface... any idea of what this may be? My temperature right now is at 24 celcius.
Another thing... sometimes my fish are all happy, and when i get close they swim around and stuff. but sometimes they are all timid and fretty... i get close and they hide or go nuts.
Any ideas and help plz???

I am a newbie to the aquarium world, had a 10 gal for about a month now, and I have decided that I have the proper experience to start breeding. Right now I plan to breed swordtails, since they seem to be easy to reproduce. I need some help though.... Can you plz help me with things like temperature and stuff?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You will need a bigger tank than a 10gallon, 15gals is the minimum for a group of 3-4swordtails, 10gallons is the minimum advised size for a fry tank, swordtail fry can take a year to mature and most lfs's(local fish stores) will not take fry off you at less than half grown so you may end up needing alot of space to keep te fry as they mature.
24-26 degrees is a good temp for swordtails, you should have at least 2-3 females to your male swordtail though(having more than one male sword isn't advised due to their agressiveness), the average pregnancy for a swordtail is 4weeks and they can easily produce over 40fry in a single batch although 20 is more common.
What is the current stocking for your 10gal- has the tank only been set up a month?

 

[Snick]

well, for my 10 gal. right now i have 3 females and 1 male (swordtails) and 1 panda cory.
I also heard that temperature has something to do with the effectiveness to reproduce... mabye if i crank up the temp...

 

[Annastasia]

What are your water stats? The gasping at the surface (If they are gasping...I couldn't tell from your description) indicates something isn't right. Do you have an aerator? And don't crank up the temperature just yet, because that will leave even less oxygen in the water, and that's not what they need right now. 26 is the highest I'd go. But they are fine at the temperature they are at now.

Before you start breeding, do you have everything figured out? What to do with the fry? Where to keep them or give them away to when they grow up? Where to raise them?

Also, as Toxis said, I'm upgrade to a bigger tank.

I'm not trying to be discouraging, I'm just trying to help you get everything figured out so your breeding will be enjoyable and the fish will be happy.

 

[Somethings Fishy Here]

Are they constantly going up to the top and sucking in air? I have a male anf female sword and every once and awhile they will go to the top and do this as it is a normal habit. If theyre constantly doing it however their may be a problem.

 

[nmonks]

Hello,

There are some fish that "filter feed" at the surface. I've noticed this in mollies, especially, which in the wild eat algae and plankton.

However, if the fish are doing this constantly, and spending very little time below the top 10 or 20 percent of the aquarium, it means they're starved of oxygen. When fish cannot breathe adequately, they go to the surface and breathe the uppermost layer of water. This layer, a few millimetres deep, is much richer than oxygen than the rest of the water because it's closest to the air. By pulling this layer of water through their gills, they can get extra oxygen.

Lack of oxygen can be caused by poor filtration, overstocking, or too high a temperature. Since 24 C is about right for most tropicals, I doubt that's the problem. Overstocking and/or inadequate filtration are more likely to blame. A 10 gallon tank is really very small, and as others have said 20 gallons or more would be much more useful. It's a shame such small tanks are so widely sold, as they really do have very limited use (raising fry, for example).

Swings in behaviour are caused by all sorts of things. Most aquarium fish are "prey" species in the wild, and they are consequently very alert to possible threats. Among the things that make fish nervous are: sudden loud noises (e.g., doors banging); bright lighting (i.e., provide shade: real/plastic plants, caves, etc.); overcrowding (think how you feel in a crowded elevator); and aggressive tankmates. Swordtail males are among the more aggressive livebearers, and if you have too many in a tank, the fish will get stressed.

As you're discovering, keeping fish is much more complex than it at first appears. Sadly, most of the advice you'll get in aquarium stores tends to be vague or misleading. It's very useful to read a good book or two: there are some really nice ones for beginners out there. But once you get things right, you'll have fun breeding your swordtails, and as many will testify, there's nothing quite as satisfying as finding your first batch of fry in your aquarium!

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Snick]

Wow, tnaks a whole lot! So thats why their mood changes so much....

But about your statement for the lack of oxygen... its not it. They have a real plants, and have a good current with a good filter... there is plenty of water going up to the top and going back down. So i decided to observe them a little; they seem to do this only after i feed them, so it is probably the filter feeding thing you mentioned erlier, but plz afirm my hypothesis!

I plan to get a bigger tank, so i will place the fry into the 10 gal when i get it .

 

[nmonks]

Hi Snick,

As a general rule of thumb, allow 10 square inches per inch of fish. In other words, a tank 12 inches from front to back and 24 inches from side to side will have a surface area of 288 square inches. Divide that by 10, and you get around 29 inches of fish. This holds for small (neon/guppy) sized fish: for bigger ones, you need to be more generous. Why? Because a 3 inch molly is actually much bigger/heavier than 3 one inch guppies, and uses up more oxygen than them.

Theoretically, a 10 gallon tank could hold 20 inches of guppies or 10 inches of medium sized fish like swordtails. Of course fish have other space requirements as well, so this calculation is more about "life support" than making fish happy.

If you visit my web site , there is a link for downloading software I wrote. One program that might be of interest is Fish Tank Tool. You choose your aquarium from the menu, and it does all sorts of calculations for you, including this one. It includes preset tanks matching the common US and European sizes.

Forget about plants as oxygenators. They have minimal effect in aquaria. Moreover, although they use oxygen during the day and the night, at night when they are not photosynthesising, they use up oxygen from the water just like fish.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Snick]

well thank you all very much, you have helped me with my problems
by the way, very nice, informative site, nmonks! Thanks a whole lot!

 

[phoenixfire]

just a warning i wanted to breed swordtails...i have green swordtails...and i cant stand them anymore...in the main tank i always find at least 5 or 6, 3 week old fry...about every 2 days...they breed like rabbits...i cant even find homes for most of them anymore...so its off to the turtle tank with them...i love fish dont get me wrong there my favorite animals...but god...lol..they just dont stop...so unless u have a good and reliable home for these guys...i would suggest not breeding...otherwise have fun!