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Caring
for Your New Swordtail |
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Original Origins: Green
swordtails originally came from around Loree D, Oregon, April 17, 2008 A: I've still never seen one. Can you send me a
picture? LA Added June 2, 2008
A: Sounds like you're making progress. The
biggest problem with livebearers: They tend to crowd and thus
stunt each other. Now you have to think in terms of culling
the herd. Pull out the youngsters that don't meet your
standards. It's a tough job but necessary if you want to
improve your stock. In addition, you need lots of tanks and/or
massive water changes. One of the icons in the hobby, Jim
Langhammer in Detroit, built a system that changed 90% of his water
with aged water every day. He was able to raise 80 to 100
swordtails to commercial size in a 20H. Very impressive
production. LA New Origins: Fish farms
in
Water Conditions: Swordtails
prefer a pH above neutral. Our
Appeal: Anyone spotting
the blood-red swordtails can’t resist their velvety beauty.
Those who like fancier varieties admire the finnage on the
high-finned varieties. In the
reds alone, you see blood reds, regular reds, brick reds, tuxedo reds,
painted reds, corals, peppermints, red eyes, and red wags (black tail and fins).
And most of these same variations continue into yellow, pineapple,
marigold, neon, lemon, candy cane, and black. Size: Sold at
under two inches, swordtails grown in large tanks can easily double that
length. Swords separated by
sex grow the largest. We have seen (once) a six-inch swordtail. Jumpers: Of all the
species of livebearers, swordtails like to jump the most.
We for sure recommend a good tank cover – with no holes.
We put 30 Montezuma swords in a 20H with a cover. By the next
morning every one of them had exited the tank (and this mortal coil) via a
one-inch hole where the heater belonged. Sex Comments: Males
chase the females all the time. Provide
your males two or three females. Females
grow larger than males. You
can see the eyes of the developing babies in the female’s gravid spot. No Goldfish: Oddly
enough, swordtails don’t mix well with goldfish.
Swords constantly pick, pick, pick at goldfishes -- apparently
snacking on their slime coating. Sometimes
they will also pick at angelfish and gouramis. Swordtail Foods: Swordtails eat
whatever you feed them. They
need foods with algae or other vegetation in them.
They also constantly snack on the algae growing on your tank’s
walls. Swords also love live
foods, frozen foods, and their own fry.
Swords also respond well to those worm flake foods that increase
their litter sizes. Feed several times a day for maximum production.
Saving Fry: Swordtail eggs
hatch inside the female. Swordtail
fry taste good to other fishes (and to mom). They start life only a little larger than
baby guppies. If you want baby
swords, you need to keep your eyes open.
Healthy females release live fry every six weeks.
Give expectant moms a well-planted 10-gallon tank so the babies can
hide. Those so-called breeder traps
are too small. Moms can find their babies too easily. Keep mom well fed on
brine shrimp or she will devour every one of her fry. Protective Plants: Hornwort
makes the ideal plant in a swordtail breeding tank.
It grows well in any kind of water.
Just give it light. It
also grows thousands of tiny pine-looking
leaflets for the babies to hide within and provides multiple areas
for tiny edible protozoans to thrive upon. Fry Foods: Baby
swordtails eagerly eat powdered dry food.
They also love newly hatched
shrimps – even the frozen ones.
They grow best when fed several times a day (up to a maximum of
five times). Add snails to
clean up the excess. Filtration:
Swordtails like clean water, but avoid those baby-eating power filters.
Use an under gravel or sponge filter instead.
LA. Jessica Denison,
Queensland, Australia, May 31, 2010 A: Thanks for the
pic. I'll add it to my swordtail page. Unfortunately, the male
hi-fin lyretail swords are unbreedable. Check out his equipment.
LA © 1999,
© 2003,
© 2004,
©
2008. ©
2010
LA Productions 3600
Sixth Avenue Corner
of Sixth & Euclid Avenues Des
Moines, IA 50313 515
283-0300
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