Swordtails? Why dont they like each other and why wont they breed

[fishaddict]

Ok, ive developed a little problem here. I bought a pair of common swordtails the bright orange ones and a pair ofmarigold swordtails. I figured theyd look nice together. I was also hoping to maybe have fry so that i could raise them and wouldnt have to buy more.

It turns out that they all hate each other or at the very least dislike each other. They dont swim together or chase each other except for once when they seemed to find each other in a corner. As much as id hope they were trying to breed i doubt it. They just stayed next to each other. Half the time its like they dont notice anything.

They are all in a 55 gallon with a irridescent shark, a rosy barb, tigerbarbs, a convict which tends to keep to himself, 6 danios and 3 gouramis. I have some hygros (planted) and anacharis i believe just floating on the top. Ph is neutral, ammonia, and nitrites are 0 and the temp is 76.

Can anybody help me to get them in the mood? Is it better just to let nature take its course?

 

[nonamethefish]

Swordtails are always in hte mood. Jusdt be sure you have a male and a female....mlaes have the sword, femlaes dopn't. Alo be sure you have two swordtails, not a swordtail and a platy. The males also have a gonopodum. the femmies don't.


Just wait patiently, she may be pregnant alread,y and it takes about 1 month.

 

[colesea]

First make sure you have males and females. You should have three females for every one male. Just as NoName said, males have a gonopodium, females do not. Males are also the one's with the sword finned tails, females have round tails.

If you have all males, they will not mate. If you have all females, they will not mate. The behavior you describe sounds like you have all of one sex.

It is also possible that the females are already pregnate. When the female is already pregnate, she will not mate, and will reject the males. Males without females to mate with get aggressive, hence the 3 female to 1 male ratio so that there is always a female, somewhere, who is receptive. Also having less males reduces competition and agression between them.
~~Colesea

 

[nonamethefish]

It might also be that the males don't have hte room ot set up territories or do there more or less elaborate courtship dance....at least a 20 gallon

 

[toodles]

The first thing that jumps to my mind is how do you know that they haven't already bred in there? With all the other fish you have in there NONE of the fry are likely to survive! Without suitable hiding spots, even in a species tank, they are unlikely to avoid being eaten.
You can tell if a female is pregnant by her gravid spot in the belly region. This usually turns darker the closer to giving birth she gets.
BTW, not all the females will have huge bellies, I've had some that dropped only 10 or so fry that had a rather light colored gravid spot and only a slight belly, others that have had over 40 that had huge bellies and a very dark gravid spot......

Aside from that, the biggest problem that I have experienced with swordtails is that if there is more than one male in the tank, they tend to duke it out with each other more than paying attention to the females. Not only is that a problem if you want fry, but often the fish will damage each other too.

Keeping one male and several females like Colesea suggested is a good idea. You will also want to provide dense hiding spots near the bottom of the tank and at the surface. You have alot of very fast fish in your tank so fry's survival rate is going to be very low unless you can pull them out shortly after birth and place them in another tank. Use water from the 55g is you decide to go this route....Good Luck!

 

[fishaddict]

Finally!!!!!

I actually am starting to believe that i have two pregnant females in the tank, both have the dark gravid spot and one that i bought about a two days ago is getting extremely dark back there and really looks like its going to happen any day, hopefully more towards friday i have the whole 4 days to stare at them. I have a 10 gallon and 5.5 gallon that im going to use. They have gravel from the tank and the water is just a great idea. Im trying to get as many plants as i can but my lfs plants look nasty. Im also putting as many plants as possible to increase the chances of survival if the birth happens while im at school. Now for questions:

Should i move the female to a tank by herself. Lets say the 5.5 gallon. I would move her to a breeder. The only breeder i have is kinda small and so id rather not. Everything in a breeder seems to die real quick. Ill try and get a bigger one i guess. Im thinking i should take her out right away. Are the babies smart, what i mean is would they now to hide in plants or in holes until i get a chance to move her.

Thanks for all your help here im really looking forward to it.

If i seem a little crazed its because i am. Ive been waiting for this for a while.

 

[Doomhed]

try a little cheapo net breeder from walmart. the fry seem to hide under the plastic edgings and escape from the wrath of parents.
but then again, only my guppies and bettas will eat their own young. i have never had a tank stocked the way you do..

 

[toodles]

It is exciting to have fry and they are the cutest little things too!

Considering everything, your best bet is to move the pregnant females to a private tank. I would use the 10g for this and I would remove the female you think is closest to giving birth now. This way the other fish won't be around to eat the fry and the male swordtail won't be bothering the female (which he will do if given the chance....he will also start harassing her as soon as she is done giving birth). Keep the female well fed and give her a high protein diet like bloodworms, brine shrimp.....doing this will "usually" help to slow down the desire to eat the fry. The fry are born with the instinct to get away from their parents or other fish so they will naturally seek out any shelter they can find. The first place they will head is for shelter on the bottom of the tank, lacking that they will then head for the surface. You can use anything as shelter.....driftwood, real plants, fake plants, large rocks.....anything that either has small holes that the fry can enter but the adults can't, or objects grouped together tightly so as to bar the adults from getting in the nooks and crannies. The fry are quite good at avoiding other fish if given the chance.
If you have plenty of hiding spots for the fry, you can then simply remove the mother from the tank when you get home from school.

I wouldn't worry too much about getting all the females into the birthing tank, or saving all the fry. After awhile you will find yourself with more baby swordtails than you know what to do with!

Have fun and good luck!