Swordtail fry just don't grow

[Elisabeth83]

I have swordtail fry as well as guppy fry living in a 14 gallon tank. I also have bigger guppy fry in my 30 gallon and 2 bigger swordtail fry in my 26 gallon.

Question is...my guppies seem to grow fast and to normal size but my swordtail fry just are tiny. I saw another post in here about swordtail fry and the person had a picture of the and their swordtail fry were only 5 weeks old and were bigger than my 5 month old swordtail fry in my 26 gallon. Granted those fry lived in a breeding net for 2 months of their lives..so that probably plays a role in their size. But
I also have 5 2 week old swordtail fry in my 14 gallon with about 12 guppies at various stages of growth none larger than an inch and the swordtail fry are about the same size they were when they were born. I don't get it

I feed them constantly and I even see the swordtails eat. They seem a lot dumber than the guppies though...a lot slower in finding food.

What's going on??

 

[Elisabeth83]

http/lissie.scorpiondata.com/100_1024.sized.jpg

heres daddy and here you can see the 5 month old fry

 

[Elisabeth83]

This pic is of the 2 week old swordtail fry

http/lissie.scorpiondata.com/100_12531.JPG


This pic is the 2 week old fry in the front and a 5 week old swordtail fry in the back

http/lissie.scorpiondata.com/100_12551.JPG

 

[sylvia]

Aww! How cute! Maybe raise the temperature to speed up metabolism but do this gradualy so as not to shock them. Also feed more often with high-protein foods (live, frozen, even freeze-dried) until the fry are larger.

 

[Polardbear]

Hi Elisabeth83 - I keep my fry tank (10 gallon) at 80-82 degrees and I've been doing daily water changes on it. The 5 week old painted swordtail fry were fed 6 times a day alternating between crushed flake, frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms and tubifex worms (the type that are compressed into a cube). There was also only 7 of them so they didn't have a lot of competition until a couple of weeks ago when my pineapple swordies had 25 babies. The pineapple's are only getting crushed flakes, tubifex worms and freeze dried bloodworms and they are growing much slower. I think the frozen foods may have helped a lot with the growth rate but I can't afford any more frozen foods for a week or two. I also keep a couple of live plants in with them - anacharis and cabomba (sp?).

 

[Elisabeth83]

Hi Thanks for your replies

Yeah I have the temp on 82 degrees and I feed them a variety of things such as crushed flake, frozen bloodworm, freeze dried bloodworm, frozen black mosquito larvae, crushed wafer as well as a pea occasionally. I'm not sure how many times a day I feed them but it's got to be anywhere from 5-7 times at least.

Maybe mine will grow faster now as I've moved out about 10-12 of the larger guppies to my 30 gallon. I counted in the tank and theres around 14-16 fry swordtail/guppy fry there now (need to update my signature)

Yeah I have 3 types of live plants in with mine...the only one I know the name of for sure is the amazon sword. I'm not to good with plants yet.

I guess I could divide the 14 gallon in half and keep the guppies on one side and the swordtails on the other but then I am taking away a lot of swimming room and I think that would be worse?

Do you think eventually they will grow? Will it just take a long time? It's just weird that the guppies grow so fast yet the swordtails grow so slow

 

[sylvia]

Cutting down on swimming space technicaly reduces energy used on movement which will increase the speed of growth (same principals as factory farming). However, the fry may not appreciate it though seperating the guppies from the swords would mean less competition which would also help with growth... Regular water changes (as in daily) will also speed up growth. I think splitting the tank in 2 just might be the way to go. I'm sure the fry will eventualy grow though. They're just a bit delayed I think.

 

[Polardbear]

I'm also curious what colors your fry are? I know that black swordies are much slower in maturing than other colors but I'm not sure if that shows up early. I do notice that I don't see a lot of change in size in the first couple of weeks, it's like they spend the first couple of weeks changing from little alien looking creatures into tiny little miniature swordtails. After they develop into fishie looking things then they start adding size (if that makes any sense).

I have a lot of water movement in my 10 gallon tank - 2 power filters and a UGF powered by a power head. My guys are always swimming against a current - a strong current! That was recommended to me by a swordtail breeder as it's more like their natural conditions.

 

[BEEF11]

I have a lot of livebearer fry myself and have found that swordies are the slowest growers. Mollies are much bigger at birth and grow quick. Guppies seem to really quick probably faster than the mollies but they are really small at birth so it takes a little while to catch up. I feed my crushed flake a little every time i walk by and freeze dried bloodworms. I was curious if turning them out into the 55 asap would help or hinder their growth so turned have of a group out as soon as they wouldn't get eatan. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Polardbear]

BEEF11 - I'm interested in hearing your results with the 55 gal experiment. I just put my 5 week olds in my 55 gal (and discovered 3 other 2 week old SW fry that had been hiding) on Friday and I swear I think think they've grown 1/8" to 1/4" in 2 days.

 

[Sorrell]

Out of curiosity are all your swordtail fry from the same pair? Just wondering if maybe something genetic is going on They sure are cute though

I know with bettas that growout size has a lot to do with rate of growth I know many people with betta fry will buy those rubbermaid tubs for growout space without having to buy a huge tank

 

[Elisabeth83]

I have black swordtails, orange swordtails and then sometimes I get a mix of the two

I also moved 2 of my larger swordtail fry into my 26 gallon about 1 1/2 weeks ago and have noticed that they have grown quite a bit already. It must be the space because I am not feeding them like I used to when they were in the fry tank.

The fry are from 2 different females so I don't think it can be genetics as both of the females fry grow slow.

I would love to have a huge grow-out tank but that isn't possible right now...theres no more space in my apartment lol I'm too afraid to put the 5 little swordtails back in the main tank as I know they will get eaten. I left 2-3 others in there because I couldn't catch them and they are nowhere to be seen.

 

[Polardbear]

Oh please post some pictures of your black swordtails. I absolutely love black swordies!

 

[Elisabeth83]

Of the fry or the Mom? The pics I posted on here are the black swordtail fry

 

[Polardbear]

The Mom if you could.