Swordtail Questions

[logansmommy41306]

Hi I am new here with some questions. I have read thru most of the posts and dont see an answer. I have 3 female swordtails and 1 male in my 75 Gallon tank. I bought them all 2 weeks ago. When I first got them 2 of the females had the gravid spot. For the past week or so I have been able to see black dots in the spot, but the spots not completly black. Are they pregnant? How do I know when they are ready to give birth? Also the females thats not pregnant she has started attacking the other fish. Is that normal? Thank you for any help

Leslie

 

[Rafael Dilone]

Hi I am new here with some questions. I have read thru most of the posts and dont see an answer. I have 3 female swordtails and 1 male in my 75 Gallon tank. I bought them all 2 weeks ago. When I first got them 2 of the females had the gravid spot. For the past week or so I have been able to see black dots in the spot, but the spots not completly black. Are they pregnant? How do I know when they are ready to give birth? Also the females thats not pregnant she has started attacking the other fish. Is that normal? Thank you for any help

Leslie

If the female gravid spot is not completely black she just might be early in the pregnancy period. Remember that livebearers may be pregnant as long as 6 weeks. It may be shorter depending on the age and how healthy the fish is. So you cant say exactly if she is pregnant yet. But if you post pictures of the swordtail that could help. Also it is harder to see the gravid spot on swordtails than it is to see on guppies. You will know when they are ready to give birth when the female swordtail has a very big stomach and looks like she is about to explode. Also females tend to not eat the when she is about to give birth. But she would be extremely hungry after giving birth. You could put the female in a separate tank when she is about to give birth to avoid stressing her. About your question about your fish that has started attacking the other fish, that sometimes happens. When a fish is pregnant they sometimes maybe harassed by the other fishes. I am guessing the fish that is attacking your other fishes is a female swordtail?

 

[logansmommy41306]

Thank you for your reply.

I do have a 5 gallon tank. Should I move the pregnant fish to that? I will take pictures of them in a little bit. How do i post pictures on here? And yes the fish thats attacking the others is a female. Thank you again

 

[Rafael Dilone]

Thank you for your reply.

I do have a 5 gallon tank. Should I move the pregnant fish to that? I will take pictures of them in a little bit. How do i post pictures on here? And yes the fish thats attacking the others is a female. Thank you again

You should eventually move the pregnant fish to the 5 gallon when she is about to give birth. But try to move her close to 1 week of her giving birth into that tank. You do not want to stress her to much when she is giving birth. Also most livebearers do tend to eat there fry when they give birth. So try to put some cover in the 5 gallon tank that she will give birth in, so the fry can take cover and prevent from being eaten. I have a question about the fishes you have in your tank. Did you add all the fishes in the tank at the same time. I am assuming you did since you have so few. If you did not then you should always quarantine new fishes you buy in a separate tank so you can observe there behavior, there health, and eating habits. Like that you do not jeopardize the health of the current fish in your main tank. Even the healthiest of fishes I buy in my LFS , I would quarantine.

 

[logansmommy41306]

Yes I bought all the swordtails the same day, from the same store. I noticed that the one thats getting so aggressive has a white spot on her head. What could that be? I have some quick cure stuff that I can put in there. I also forgot to add that in the tank I have 5 goldfish and a beta fish. They have all been together the whole time. The goldfish my neice won at a fair. We have had them for 3 months, the betta my son got for his birthday in April. The goldfish started out in the 5 gallon and the betta was in its betta tank. When we got the 75 gallon I put the goldfish and bettas in there first they were in there together for about 2 weeks before we got the swordtails which we have had for about 2 weeks now. The only one that attacks the other fish is the female non pregnant swordtail. She just started that 2 days ago. Before that they all swam together like a school of fish. I am going to try to find somewhere to give the gold fish to as they are getting big fast. when we got them they were about an inch long now they are about 3-4 inches long. Also can you tell me what an LFS is? I keep seeing those abreaviations but I am not sure what they stand for. Thank you again

 

[Rafael Dilone]

Yes I bought all the swordtails the same day, from the same store. I noticed that the one thats getting so aggressive has a white spot on her head. What could that be? I have some quick cure stuff that I can put in there. I also forgot to add that in the tank I have 5 goldfish and a beta fish. They have all been together the whole time. The goldfish my neice won at a fair. We have had them for 3 months, the betta my son got for his birthday in April. The goldfish started out in the 5 gallon and the betta was in its betta tank. When we got the 75 gallon I put the goldfish and bettas in there first they were in there together for about 2 weeks before we got the swordtails which we have had for about 2 weeks now. The only one that attacks the other fish is the female non pregnant swordtail. She just started that 2 days ago. Before that they all swam together like a school of fish. I am going to try to find somewhere to give the gold fish to as they are getting big fast. when we got them they were about an inch long now they are about 3-4 inches long. Also can you tell me what an LFS is? I keep seeing those abreaviations but I am not sure what they stand for. Thank you again

Well the white spot can be an early sign of ich. That is one of the most common diseases among fishes. Also you have to be careful with a goldfish in a tank with other fishes that are not goldfish. That is because goldfish have excessive slime coating and some fish tend to nip at there slime coating. But the Betta should be fine with the other fishes. But you do know that Betta's are carnivores. They absolutely love blood worms. About your fish aggresion sometime it could be that even the most peaceful of fishes can be rather territorial. But swordtail's are not commonly known as territorial but still can be. Goldfish are great fishes to have. If it is possible you can have him in tank alone. But you should get a large tank for it if you consider that as they can grow over an inch depending on the type of goldfish it is. LFS is an abbreviation for Local Fish Store.

 

[logansmommy41306]

Thank you again for your reply. Here is a picture of my swordtails. Its not the greatest picture, but i took like 20 and couldnt get a better one. What do you think. The 2 that I think are pregnant are the darker orange one.

Also I put some quick cure in the tank and now the white spot is gone. I did that yesterday morning.

<a href="http/photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http/i36.photobucket.com/albums/e45/ny2tn82/114-1489_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>


<a href="http/photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http/i36.photobucket.com/albums/e45/ny2tn82/114-1488_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

 

[Rafael Dilone]

Thank you again for your reply. Here is a picture of my swordtails. Its not the greatest picture, but i took like 20 and couldnt get a better one. What do you think. The 2 that I think are pregnant are the darker orange one.

Also I put some quick cure in the tank and now the white spot is gone. I did that yesterday morning.

<a href="http/photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http/i36.photobucket.com/albums/e45/ny2tn82/114-1489_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>


<a href="http/photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http/i36.photobucket.com/albums/e45/ny2tn82/114-1488_IMG.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

The links are not working. But its great to hear your fish is cure of ich.

 

[logansmommy41306]

I dont know how to post pictures on here.

Here are the links a different way
http/s36.photobucket.com/albums/e45/ny2t...14-1489_IMG.jpg

http/s36.photobucket.com/albums/e45/ny2t...14-1488_IMG.jpg

 

[afishdude]

use the img tages. i believe its the 3rd one down on photobucket.

 

[theotheragentm]

Be aware that shells leech minerals into the water, eventually leading to a rise in pH. Regular water changes will help curb this.

 

[Rafael Dilone]

I hope your fish continue to do great. I have the same swordtail's you have. I raised mines from fry and they are all grwon up now. Mine are about 2 1/2 years old.

 

[logansmommy41306]

UPDATE:

One of them had FRY!!!! She had them in the middle of the night last night. I was able to save the 8 I found.