Question by guagna: Tips for keeping/raising swordtail fish?
I want to get swordtail fish, and breed them, so I’ve been doing research on the Internet, and I just want to double check what I’ve got so far here and ask for any tips.

Here’s my plan:

Set up a 10 gallon tank (which is what I have) with (water,) some live plants, and some plastic plants, plus a bubbler and basic filter. I have like a wire cover for the tank and a lighted hood, so I’ll probably use the lighted one depending on what live plants I get. I want to get three females and one male, since it is only a ten gallon, and that way if I start small I won’t automatically over populate if I can’t find a home for all of the fry. I’ll feed basic fish flakes, and do a 20% water change once a week.

For breeding I have an extra tank that we got for our hermit crabs years ago that has an attached lid. Unless I can find a cheap breeding trap when I’m getting the fish initially, I plan on watching the mother and when she gets close to delivering transfer her to this tank, which will be a fairly similar set up to the main tank except without a filter or bubbler, and with breeding grass. I’ll move her back to the main tank as soon as I can after she’s given birth, since I know there’s a good chance she’ll eat the fry. I’ll feed the fry powdered fish flakes, and do 20% water changes in their tank once a week as well.

My questions:

What plants do you recommend getting, and what substrate is best for them?
I want to sell the fry (like to people I know), so what would be a good price? I was thinking like 3 for a dollar or 5 for a dollar or something like that. Also how big should I wait for them to be before I do that?
I read somewhere that they’ll eat some algae, so I figure it wouldn’t be too beneficial to get like snails or algae eaters or anything. Thoughts?

Any other tips you have are very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance! :]
Ok, so I just went and looked through the old fish tank stuff we have and I’ve got a Whisper filter for a 10-15 gallon aquarium to put in the main, and as I said I’m going to leave the fry tank without one so I don’t risk sucking them up. I also found a heater, and while the room where I’m keeping them stays pretty warm I figured it’d be good to hold onto just in case. I also have two bubblers, so is there any harm in putting them in either/both the main or fry tank? I just think they look awesome. And I took an inventory of decorations, and I’m planning on putting either a piece of driftwood or a lava rock in, or maybe one in the main and one in the fry.

Best answer:

Answer by Nicolle
You can put swordfish in a 10 gallon BUT 3 females and 1 male won’t produce anything. 1 male and 1 female will produce. The plants you can use are breeding plants. You should also get a breeder trap which is bassically a small box with a removable “V” shaped trap in it which serves to separate the mother from the babies. This is VERY helpful.

Also you have to crush the flake food. Rub your hands together to create a powder-like substance with the food. Live foods like brine shrimp would be the best way to go though. Feeding the babies 3 small meals per day is necessary.

Now, after a few weeks you will be able to release them into a new tank because obviously they will be bigger. I would suggest a 25 % water change weekly so they babies can grow. When your babies are 8 weeks old you can them sell them off.

Good luck

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