Swortail Troubles

[fishguy18]

Hello,

OK so here is my problem...i cannot for the life of me keep swordtails happy in my tank...i have platies guppies and mollies all in the same tank and they are all doing great...they always have their fins up and they are eating a variety of foods...but the swordtails usually sit at the bottom or just float around with their fins clamped

My water was around 80 degrees but i started to decrease it to about 77 or so because i heard swortails like it around 74-78 is that true?

My water must be god qualitiy if everything else is thriving...what is the deal with my swordtails? are they the hardest to keep? or do they need something different?...do they need to be by themselves?...i have watched and they get enough food and the other fish dont seem to bother them...there is a good ratio of males to females...and the tank is big enough for all of them...its really got me puzzled...what do they need that i dont have...or that the other kinds of fish dont need?

All help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Alex_]

Make sure your not overstocking.

 

[blitztidus]

It definately seems like stress, try adding a bubble wall, they LOVE bubble walls, it gives them something new to do, They like to ride it up, then swim back down, ride it up, and swim back down, and ....... lol

 

[fishguy18]

It definately seems like stress, try adding a bubble wall, they LOVE bubble walls, it gives them something new to do, They like to ride it up, then swim back down, ride it up, and swim back down, and ....... lol

I have a bubble was and a few other bubble operated gizmos (i know they arent natural but i like them)

I am still puzzled...every other type of fish in the tank (platy molly and guppy) are all doing well...but the swordtails really dont do well in my tank...I have no idea what needs to be that different for them...everything seems right

The teperature is now 77F and still they are not happy

any other suggestions?

 

[blitztidus]

Are your proportions of male to female right. how many males? females? it should be 1 male to every 2-3 females , best is 3. Size of tank can also be a problem, how big is your tank? Any one particular NAUGHTY fish? um... answer all these, if none fit, than I will have to think harder.

 

[fishguy18]

Are your proportions of male to female right. how many males? females? it should be 1 male to every 2-3 females , best is 3. Size of tank can also be a problem, how big is your tank? Any one particular NAUGHTY fish? um... answer all these, if none fit, than I will have to think harder.

ok..well i have my swords in my 30 gallon tank...i have 1 male and 3 females (or 4 females i havent seen one l8ly)

I also have 4 small platies, 2 sailfin mollies and my lonely female guppy...the only bully or potential bully would be the mail sailfin...but he is only agressive to the other mollies as far as i can tell

I lost one of my males today he was the one that looked the most stressed...but the others are looking upset as well...im worried they will be next thanks for all of your help...any more suggestions?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Are your proportions of male to female right. how many males? females? it should be 1 male to every 2-3 females , best is 3. Size of tank can also be a problem, how big is your tank? Any one particular NAUGHTY fish? um... answer all these, if none fit, than I will have to think harder.

ok..well i have my swords in my 30 gallon tank...i have 1 male and 3 females (or 4 females i havent seen one l8ly)

I also have 4 small platies, 2 sailfin mollies and my lonely female guppy...the only bully or potential bully would be the mail sailfin...but he is only agressive to the other mollies as far as i can tell

I lost one of my males today he was the one that looked the most stressed...but the others are looking upset as well...im worried they will be next thanks for all of your help...any more suggestions?

What genders are the mollys and platies? Platies and swordtails can crossbreed, so when you mix them with each other you need to further consider the gender ratio stocking as this will still apply, but male swordtails should never be mixed together wether in mixed gender or all-male groups as they are too agressive towards each other. Even though the mollys will pay no breeding interest in the swordtails, if they have issues they will inevitably cause issues for the rest of the fish in the tank.
When you say you are having trouble with successfully keeping sworstails, what do you mean exactly? Are they dying off one by one over a short period of time after purchasing them? Do they have any symptoms before death like loss of body weight, unusual colored poop(like white/grey/red etc), fluffy or slimely growths, loss of energy or appetite etc?

 

[Nevergone815]

It definately seems like stress, try adding a bubble wall, they LOVE bubble walls, it gives them something new to do, They like to ride it up, then swim back down, ride it up, and swim back down, and ....... lol

my fish love to do this as well hehe

I have a bubble was and a few other bubble operated gizmos (i know they arent natural but i like them)

I am still puzzled...every other type of fish in the tank (platy molly and guppy) are all doing well...but the swordtails really dont do well in my tank...I have no idea what needs to be that different for them...everything seems right

The teperature is now 77F and still they are not happy

any other suggestions?

also 77F is good for them i personally keep mine at 78F and they seem to do better in that temp than any lower or higher (but that is just my fish and i personally think some of them might have been given crack in the past ). 77F will work well. i saw that you had it at 80F... that would've worked also, buit would've taken them some time to adjust. most fish are fine as long as perameters are near their requirements and are constant. consistancy is the key to any healthy fish.

when how long has your tank been cycling?
when did you add the swordtails?
did you properly acclimate them (15 min temp and like 30-45 min slowly adding tank water to bag)?

check your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. they might have skyrocketed since adding the swordtails and would cause stress to fish not used to it. the others might get affected but the ones from the nice, forever cycled tanks from the lfs might be having difficulty adjusting to the slightest imperfections.

do 20-25% water changes 1-2 times daily (only if your levels are high- you should have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and very low nitrate levels). this will bring your water to normal.

if this doesn't help or work... well... it's back to the drawing boards