Red swordtail female?!?!

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Redhed891

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jan 18, 2012
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Hi All, I got swordtails because i heard they were prolithic breeders like guppies, but my pair have failed to have any fry. Is this a female? Does she look at all pregnant? I have recently moved her out of my community tank ( 35 gal w/ guppies, tetras, pleco, platy, red tailed catfish, red dainos, zebra dianos) and into her own 10 gallon so I can keep a better eye on her. Any suggestions?
Thanks
 

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swordtails and platies do better in harems of one male and 3-4 females maybe thats y? and that is indeed a female but there are occasions where mails lose their "swords" due to the fact that they aren't the dominant one in the tank
 
Good to know I added the male swordtail and a male platy to the female swordtails isolated tank. so would you think that would put either male in a position of dominance ? Perhaps enough to encourage them to mate
 
they should be fine but if the male is overly agressive i suggest taking out the other male but i doubt they'll be overly agressive if they have a large amount of females
 
If it's 2 males to 1 female I'm wondering if they'll stress her out by being over advancing. I would isolate by herself for about a month or so, since they have a 28 day gestation period
 
Just like with teenagers, fish boys will be boys. If there aren't multiple females for each male, the male will harass the female constantly. Even if she does get pregnant, she's unlikely to carry if she's being stressed all day every day. My experience with livebearers is that a ratio of 3 females to every male is best. 2:1 works, but 3:1 is better. Also, lots of hiding places too small for him to follow a female into help.
As for whether or not she is pregnant, it's hard to ay with solid colored livebearers. The semi transparent ones are easy. Frankly, she's a livebearer, she's been near a male, she's probably pregnant. LOL
Give her some time alone, and/or some girlfriends to distract the male, and you'll see babies.
 
Sorry to crash the party ;) but is it just me or does she look like she's growing a sword....
 
Sometimes the females will have ever so slight of a sword. These things have been selectively bred to bring out the best colors and shapes, so small surprises are to be expected.
Unless she grows a gonopodium, she's still a chick. LOL
 
I only have one male platy ( the others didnt make it out of the quarantine tank) and he is very timid should I get more?

That makes sense what you said about some females having sword tails .... I only have two should I have more ?
 
The more females you have the less stressed/harassed they will be and the more likely they are to produce live fry. I would add more females. I had one male and one female for a long time with no fry. I added three females and they are all currently gravid, so it worked for me.
 
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