Tropical swordtail breeding and care information. We provide information on how to care for tropical swordtail fish, their natural habitat, how to raise them, and breeding information.  Fish are no longer for sale at this Web site until our re-modeling is complete.

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“Heckel” in eighteen-fourty-eight, Central America, found the Swordtail.  Since then they are bred intensely and today there is a multitude of varieties in a wide range of sizes, colors, and fin types. Swordtai'ls are hardy and un-demanding. They are easy tropical fish to raise and breed.

The swordtail is a peaceful active fish with the males being a bit aggressive. They are a good community tank fish or you should be keeping them in a single species aquarium. Do not mix different strains of swordtail in the same aquarium if you want a purebred line of fish. Males and females of different strains and characteristics will interbreed. They will also interbreed with platys, Moons and Variatus. The resulting offspring from these interbreeding will be a genetic fluke. Keep swordtail's in separate tanks if someone is trying to maintain a purebred genetic true line of swordtail.

Swordtail origins are from Central America.  Their natural habitat is in slow moving streams and ponds.  Swordtail's are livebearers and are a long toothed carp. Keep water temperature at seventy-three to eighty-one degrees F. They like hard water (one-hundred to one-hundred and fifty mg per liter).  The water should be alkaline and kept at a pH of seven point five. The name of the swordtail came about because of the males’ regal extension of the lower part of the caudal (tail fin). Male swordtail's are quarrelsome to each other. Keep several males to help keep them get calmer. Water plants not only for the swordtail to nibble on but to provide cover for the escape of the young. Swordtail's are livebearers. They will readily cannibalize their young. Keep adult swordtails separate from the young. It is advised that the pregnant female be placed in a holding tank and be closely observed so, that removing her from that tank as soon as the young ones are born, can be easily accomplished. Different kinds of breeding traps are available at pet stores for the protection of the young pet fish. Do not plant plants around the edges of the aquarium because pet swordtail fish loves to swim. A loose cover of floating water plants is good. We recommend "Water-Sprite" and "Spirulina" (plants). The substrate (gravel) should be dark in color.

The gestation period of a swordtail is about thirty to fourty days after mating and is mainly dependent on the water temperature.  First broods are small of about fifteen offspring.  Broods increase in number with each successive brood. They produce up to one hundred and fifty per brood, as the female grows larger.  The larger the female is the more offspring she will have.  Size of the female, when adult is up to three inches while the male is a bit smaller.  The name of the male reproductive organ is "gonopodium". The gonopodium is a modified anal fin.  The female’s anal fin is rounded.  The male’s gonopodium is long and tubular.  The gonopodium allows internal fertilization of the eggs inside of the female swordtail. The gonopodium is an organ of copulation and when mating.  When inserted into the female some of the sperm fertilizes the eggs. The rest is stored in the folds of the female fish ovarian tubes.  Females that are kept alone after being bred once will continue to have successive broods of offspring.  The utilization of sperm stored in her ovarian tubes, may allow her to give birth six to nine times in her life.  Each successive brood will be even larger than the previous one.  The young grow as eggs inside the female and then, they break the egg during birth to become live and free swimming fish.  This protects the young from egg eating predators. A pregnant female swordtail will have a dark spot in the front of her anal fin.  This is the gravid spot and becomes quite noticeable as she approaches giving birth.

Genetic breeding is difficult because after the first breeding the female retains the sperm for the rest of her life.  The offspring that results in breeding a previously bred female to another male is mixed with the genetic characteristics of all previous mating with other males.  The majority of the offspring may carry the genes of the most recent breeding.  The only way to assure a true line of genetic offspring is to breed a desired male to a virgin desired female.  Females, for this purpose ... separate them from males at the earliest time in their lives before mating occurs.  Young males can be recognized by their distinctive gonopodium and the sword extension on their caudal (tail fin) which appears at about three or four weeks of age.  Transfer males and females to separate tanks.  Swordtail fish become sexually active from about three months of age on.

Please vary the swordtail diet to consist of dried prepared foods plus, small live foods such as brine shrimp, bloodworms, and tubifex worms.

 

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