Two Swordtail Pregnancies

[arielsworld17974]

I have two pregnant swordtails. Not sure how far along but not super close. Maybe halfway. My question is, I was planning on putting them in another tank but if one female has her young will the other kill the babies?? Can they even be together?? I would rather have all the young in one tank.
Any advice would be awesome

 

[Akasha72]

I've found all livebearers will eat their own young and others too. I had one female platy that would drop a fry, turn around and then eat it. It was really upsetting to watch
I think some of the problem is that dropping fry leaves them hungry and so they see the fry and think 'food'
 
If you want to try to move them but keep them seperate then have a look online at tank dividers. You can get one's that just slide into place. They come in various sizes and can be cut to size too. They're fairly inexpensive but effective and are a non-perminant way of keeping fish seperate

 

[arielsworld17974]

I never even thought of that! I was thinking little breeder contraptions but that's genius. Hopefully mine won't eat too many. And hopefully I'm not st work when she does it. Although that's when a little breeder contraption would come in handy. I've heard there's something you can put in the tank that the fry will drop down into so the mama can't get to it. Do you know what it is??

 

[Akasha72]

yeah you can get floating breeding traps where a plastic grill slots into the bottom and the fry are supposed to fall through the slots away from mum but I found that the fry swim back up and she still gets to eat them! They are fine for mum to be in in the short term but I consider it cruel to keep them in there too long. They are very small and so for larger fish there's not much space

these are the traps
 
http/www.amazon.co.uk/Aquarium-Breeding-Hatchery-betta-FH101/dp/B00563YEAI/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1425688543&sr=8-8&keywords=fish+breeding+traps
 
 
As you can see they're not overly big

 

[arielsworld17974]

I don't like the boxes. I mean I thought there was something Bigger. I've seen some weird setups where the fry drop down into a tube and get pushed into another tank. Stuff like that. I'll have to shop around. I don't really like the boxes. I feel like it would stress the mama out too much.
Another question is what do you feed the fry???

 

[Akasha72]

I agree, they're okay if you move mum once she's actually in the process and she's only going to be in there for an hour max - but longer term, just too cruel and yes, stressful for her.
 
There are others on amazon, as you've said, have a shop around.
 
As for feeding, just crush up some flake really small - grind it to a dust. They'll be fine with that. If you want to buy a baby food I'd recommend TetraMin baby. I've used that for all my fry and I find it very good

 

[arielsworld17974]

Well great advice as usual! Thanks so much. I have found a new love in this hobby and it's very exciting. Exciting that they're pregnant too! My first babies!

 

[Akasha72]

good luck with them. I remember how excited I was with my first batch of fry. Enjoy

 

[arielsworld17974]

Trying to find a good box still. I really like the ones that have a v in the middle Almost like a funnel that let's the fry go through. I feel like the ones with just a piece of plaster with holes is just going to let the fry back up. I really don't want the fry to be eaten.
Although they do have ones that will let them fall from the box directly into the tank. I think that will work. Just wanna be smart. I want successful babies

 

[arielsworld17974]

I know I have to cover the filter so my swordtail fry won't get suckered up. But as far as flow goes will having it on low still be too much for them?? Should I try a different method all together?? I have time before they give birth. Just ordered some birthing boxes, and they will be in a 20 gallon tank. Any advice on raising swordtail fry would be greatly appreciated

 

[RRaquariums]

What I've done in the past is get a piece of sponge then poke a hole in and put it over the filter intake.
When I raised my fry the best thing I found for them was lots of live plants that they could hide in and feed off of.
I fed mine crushed flake food and they did great on it.
They are easy fish to raise and as long as they have food and good places to hide they will grow fast and do great.
Congrats on getting your fish to breed

 

[arielsworld17974]

Thank you so much!! Could you possibly tell me about how far along they are??
I have one pineapple swordtail and a red swordtail.
Thanks.

 

[arielsworld17974]

Would love to know about how far along my fish are.
One pineapple swordtail and one red swordtail
sorry the pics aren't great it's the best I could get.

 

[RRaquariums]

They don't look very far along its always hard to say but it looks like you have a while left before they are born.
When they get close they will look insanely fat to the point where you wonder if they will explode lol.

 

[arielsworld17974]

Ok then lol still a couple more weeks then. Time to get everything perfect.