emeraldking
Aquarium Advice Freak
I have bred several kinds of swordtails throughout the years. All fancy strains of the Xiphophorus helleri but also wildstrains like e.g., X.birchmanni, X. montezumae, X.nigrensis and X.nezahualcoyotl. But nowadays, I'm only keeping and breeding the X.alvarezi and X.pygmaeus.
The last one mentioned is one of the most charming swordtails there is. The dwarf swordtails (Xihophorus pygmaeus) won't get that big. And in case a male will develop a sword (not all males will) it will be a short and a translucent one. Overhere, I keep the golden version and the regular one. The females of the golden and the regular ones look identical. Just the males of the golden version become golden.
I do keep and breed them at lower temps. They tend to do much better at lower temps than higher temps. In a way, that's not that weird for they do originate from the colder mountain area in Mexico. And they are in fact subtropical and not tropical.
I just love these guys...
The last one mentioned is one of the most charming swordtails there is. The dwarf swordtails (Xihophorus pygmaeus) won't get that big. And in case a male will develop a sword (not all males will) it will be a short and a translucent one. Overhere, I keep the golden version and the regular one. The females of the golden and the regular ones look identical. Just the males of the golden version become golden.
I do keep and breed them at lower temps. They tend to do much better at lower temps than higher temps. In a way, that's not that weird for they do originate from the colder mountain area in Mexico. And they are in fact subtropical and not tropical.
I just love these guys...
