Pregnant Green Swordtail

[Firebelle_uk]

I've had my swordtail about two weeks now and she has been growing steadily fatter, and the area at the back of her abdomen is getting a lot darker and larger, so I;m pretty sure she is heavily pregnant. I would like to put her in a breeding tank but don;t want to stress her out. Should I put her in with her mate (they do hang out a lot together) or on her own? How can I tell when to put her in there as I don't want to stress her or miss the babies?
At present she is vey happy in my community tank, trouble is her buddies are absolute gluttons who I have no doubt would just adore some newborn swordtail fry
Any advice welcome - thanks.

 

[WILDER]

I would leave her in the tank, then remove the fry when she's had them, if you have plenty of hiding spaces and plants alot of them will survive, good luck.

 

[Annastasia]

Are you talking about an actual small tank, or a Breeder trap or net that you put in the tank? If you do have a small Breeder tank, how many gallons?

If you have no tank, just a net or trap you put in the tank, I wouldn't put her in. That will stress her out, and some fry should survive in the main tank anway, as Wilder said. If you have a small tank, you could probably put her in now depending on how big it is. Just put her in alone, no buddies. They can sometimes stress them out too...and be sure to feed her good foods, to get her strength up for giving birth. High-protein foods are good, like Bloodworms, Brine Shrimp, Tubifex Worms, Krill etc. Just don't feed more then maybe 2-3 times a week, because too much can cause bloating and constipation.

Good luck with her, and best of luck with the fry!

 

[Firebelle_uk]

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking about putting her in one of those floating traps, but now I am going to leave her in the main tank, and if I see any fry I will put them in there instead. I started giving the fish bllodworm this week, as I'm still quite new I just ordered a few sachets to see what the special foods were like, but I was quite impressed so I'm going to get some sachets of brine shrimp, and daphnia too so they have a bit of variety. She is very attached to her male companion it's quite sweet to see how close they are really I never realised fish had such close relationship keeping these tropicals has really been a revelation even though it's only been a few weeks. We have a pond with fish but of course you can't see what is going on beneath the surface particularly well, and I think it's lovely to see right into the tank. I have noticed one or two of the fish have been a little constipated and I was going to get them some peas tomorrow ( I know only to put one or two shelled ones in). I have been giving them cucubmer from time to time. Gosh it all sounds llike I spend my life by the side of the tank "Ahhhhh NO!!! I have just noticed I have been spending my life by the tank!" lol.
Aww they are so nice though.

Anyway thanks for the advice, I will let you know when she gives birth.