Pregnant Swordtails?

[tjacksonpfc]

Hi all wonder if anyone can advise me please. We bought 5 Pineapple sword tails for our tank 3 days ago 3 females and 2 males. The thing is I'm not sure if 2 of them are pregnant as we are new to fish keeping. If they are is there anything special that we need to do for them, I.ve put the best pictures i could get on thanks

 

[KittyKat]

They are livebearers and kept with males, which means they are pregnant. If you mean how soon are they likely to drop fry? Maybe in 3-4 weeks or possibly even longer.

 

[tjacksonpfc]

Thanks kitty kat for the reply as a new fish keepe i was hoping for a bit more info than just being told they are pregnant. How do you know they are pregnant and how long does the pregnancy last for. Likewise what do you have to do to kepp the fry alive. Tia

 

[sausagewinkle]

Hi
Read the pinned topoc 'FAQ on livebearers' there is some good information and pictures in there that should help you out.
Be warned though, fry is addictive. haha
I started with a tropical tank about 6 month ago and now i am raising all the fry i can with another 2 tanks set up

 

[tjacksonpfc]

Thanks sausagewinkle dont say that lol we already have 2 tanks and dont say that we already have 2 tanks set up. One for guppies and neons and one for bigger fish we dont have room for anymore lol

 

[KittyKat]

How do you know they are pregnant

Livebearer females are always pregnant because male livebearers are hormones with fins and it usually takes under a day to mate from the point where fish are introduced to each other. Also female livebearers have the capacity to store sperm from a single mating for 3-9 months, which means they will keep having babies until the sperm runs out.

[...]and how long does the pregnancy last for.

Ususally 3-6 weeks. 4 is the norm in average conditions. It can be longer if the fish is not comfortable with the environment.. occasionally some females can "miss" a birthing because of that.

Likewise what do you have to do to kepp the fry alive.

Lots of hiding places or dedicated grow out aquariums. Stocking over the filter inlet will also help, unless you are using sponge filters. "Breeding traps" may as well be renamed "death traps" in most cases, avoid if you can as they are too stressful for the females and do not provide enough space for the fry to grow well. My preferred method is making sure that the aquarium is well planted and has plenty of Java moss.

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to our forum tjacksonpfc.
Your pineapple swords are indeed likely to be pregnant, as Kitty Kat has suggested. That does not in any way detract from the fact that you will need to accommodate your fish in dropping their fry. Swordtails are among the more difficult of the more common livebearers. If you want a high survival rate of fry, you may well want to consider providing some decent fry cover such as a clump of java moss. In my own guppy tank, java moss, such as that shown here, has been instrumental in preserving most of the fry.

If you want to try to optimize your fry survival, you can take the next step of providing a separate birthing tank for your female and adding good cover as well. That means that the only predator in the tank will be the adult female and the cover will protect most of her fry. That should give an even higher percentage survival than you might otherwise see. I have a thread in this part of the livebearer section that tries to help you become your own expert on livebearer development. It is heavy on pictures and follows one of my mollies from one drop to the next in pictures. Although the stages of a swordtail are quite similar, a female swordtail never gets quite as distended as a molly while her fry are developing, something to keep in mind. My signature area contains a link to my molly's progress if you want to become your own best expert on the subject of your own livebearer's progress.