Sword Tails

[craftyfishlady]

Hi all, I have a beautiful pair of sword tails, really deep orange in colour and the males sword on his tail is black. I am really hoping to have fry from the pair. They came from a mixed tank in my LFS so I half expected the female to possibly be pregnant already which was no issue as far as I am concerned

She is still very slender, not changed shape at all and I've had the pair since May 19th. The male is definately interested in her and looks like he is definately mating with her, I quite often find the pair hidden low down in the tank around the plants etc with the male seeming to swim backwards around the female, almost looks like flirting lol!

So my questions if anyone can offer any advice / knowledge

Are they difficult to breed?
How can I tell she is pregnant if she is pregnant?
Will she square off like mollys??
Gravid spots / opening birthing tubes?
Also approximately how long are they pregnant, if I've had her 3 1/2 ish weeks what should I be looking at time scale wise etc?

Sorry for more questions, I think I've got to grips with my mollys now so brushing up on my sword tails

Thanks in advance!

Kirsty
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[OldMan47]

What you are witnessing is flirting, definitely. A swordtail will never get as round looking as a platy or molly does. They do square off but it is more subtle with such a slender body shape. If the female is receptive and mates with the male, which it sounds like she is, the first drop could come as early as about 4 weeks but may take longer, as much as a couple of weeks longer, if she doesn't start having fry develop right away.

 

[craftyfishlady]

Thank you OldMan - as always a wealth of knowledge and is much appreciated!

Kirsty
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