My kids are begging me for "swordtail fish"...they like the swordtail. My question is can I put a couple of males together in the tank or is it a bad move. I have read they can be aggressive towards each other. I also read that you should keep 1 male for a couple of females but I don't want babies. My tank isn't that large and it can't handle an explosion of babies. Anyhow should I disapoint my kids or can a couple of males co-exist without a female. They are cool looking fish and would be a great addition if possible. Thanks!
Two male swordtail Platies?
- Thread starter NEWfishBIGpond
- Start date
Were it me,(and it ain't) I would not place more than one male swordtail in your 30 gal? It is true that sometimes,,, in the absence of females, A couple males can co-exist peacefully if tank is large enough but it does not gaurantee there won't be aggression issues. I have a couple male lyretailed High fin swordtails in a 56 gal Column tank with one Angelfish and some bleeding heart tetras. There are no female swordfish or female platies which swordtails are capable of breeding with, yet clearly,, one is the dominant male and nips at the sub-adult whenever they're paths cross. Cannot help but think aggression would be more troublesome if females were present. I am considering moving the dominant one to another tank if actions continue or worsen. As it is now,, there is ample room for the other fish to retire to when pressed, but I do not like the fact that one is kept confined to one corner to avoid the other. Not how I hoped it would be. Should also mention,, The lyretailed high fin swords cannot mate with regular swordtails or platies but it is reported,, that it does or would not prevent them from trying thus,, aggression would be expected if females were present.
Last edited:
I still got a couple of weeks at least before I can add fish to my aqarium. Anyways, from what I read most of the LFS don't sail swortails anyhow. They are usually mixed. They are cousins of the platy, right?? I was thinking of just getting one but I couldn't find anywhere where it said if it needed a couple of tank mates. Like the Gourami, the articles always say you should have at least two but that is because of its shy nature, but the swordtail is a tough little thing...right? I just want to make sure it would be happy by itself if I got it. Thanks.
) and platies are also livebearers. some other livebearers are guppies and mollies, so you could say they are 'cousins'. They can actually breed together, and create hybrids...