Swordtail Birth

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Mckitrick

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jan 14, 2012
Messages
375
Location
Kansas
So this is my female swordtail. She looks ready to drop her fry and it appears to me like her birthing tube has descended. Only thing is she wont drop her fry. Ive removed the males from the tank and she is the only one left. She's showing all the signs of dropping, like hiding, squared off, etc. Is there something I can do to reduce her stress and make her drop the fry? Im sure she's just stressed and waiting for the right time. Would a water change help? Any other ideas? 20191207_132049.jpg20191207_132053.jpg20191207_132107.jpg20191207_132111.jpg
 
My platies usually drop fry after a water change. Not sure if it will 100% work but it's worth a shot.
 
Was going to say make sure the water parameters are ideal / safe. Do you have a test kit for monitoring?

A couple water changes before birthing is ideal because you won't have as easy of a time doing it with tiny babies.

Also plants - plastic is okay if you do not want live plants and hiding places. (not only a cave). But live plants will have benefit for allowing the fish to feel safer and more comfortable in the tank. Plants grown in the hobby aquarium can host microscopic life (aufwuchs) which tiny fish may graze on.

When first getting plants from the stores, especially when imported, often are sanitized to pass customs and not let bugs into the country, but they may not have much of these little aufwuchs. Will develop more over time in your tank.

Consider the thought of reducing the brightness of the light if you do not have need of it specifically for live plants.

Is your tank cycled? How long has the tank been running?

Do you have a filter pad/ sponge / media built up with a strong colony of BB?

Baby fish feeding put an extra burden on the tank for feeding numerous times per day.

And you need to cover any intake from the filter so babies don't get sucked up.

Do you have a plan for what to feed them?

Sounds like you giving the momma room will help.
 
Was going to say make sure the water parameters are ideal / safe. Do you have a test kit for monitoring?

A couple water changes before birthing is ideal because you won't have as easy of a time doing it with tiny babies.

Also plants - plastic is okay if you do not want live plants and hiding places. (not only a cave). But live plants will have benefit for allowing the fish to feel safer and more comfortable in the tank. Plants grown in the hobby aquarium can host microscopic life (aufwuchs) which tiny fish may graze on.

When first getting plants from the stores, especially when imported, often are sanitized to pass customs and not let bugs into the country, but they may not have much of these little aufwuchs. Will develop more over time in your tank.

Consider the thought of reducing the brightness of the light if you do not have need of it specifically for live plants.

Is your tank cycled? How long has the tank been running?

Do you have a filter pad/ sponge / media built up with a strong colony of BB?

Baby fish feeding put an extra burden on the tank for feeding numerous times per day.

And you need to cover any intake from the filter so babies don't get sucked up.

Do you have a plan for what to feed them?

Sounds like you giving the momma room will help.
Well I dont have a testing kit for my freshwater aquariums, though i do have one for my marine aquariums, not much help i know [emoji28]. The tank was cycled before i put fish in it at all and its had them in there for about 4 ish months. I plan to pull out the fry and put them in a breeder box. I tried putting the momma in there but it stressed her out too much so it'll be the fry holding tank more or less. There a bunch of decorations, as well as plastic plants, live ones are hard for me to come by unless i order them online, lfs is nearly 2 hours away. I've just been observing her, feeding regularly and waiting. As well as some additional water changes. She is still accepting food when i feed her. I'm just not sure, its been nearly 5 weeks since in noticed she was pregnant.

As for feeding the fry, im still open to suggestions. I currently have some flake and pellet foods that ive crushed down to a powder. Ive heard hard boiled egg yolks are good too.
 
Yeah, the breeder boxes seem to upset them a whole bunch, no places to go to hide.

The basic average is 28 days for the momma to give birth. Heat/cold and stress could affect the time. It is possible she had a few babies earlier on and is still fertilized for this next batch.

It is not unusual for fish to eat the babies and also have few babies when they are young, new to birthing.

The squareness is usual for the tell tale on when they are nearing giving birth, and wanting to hide, and being hungry.

The egg yolk can foul the water, so you would need to keep up on the water changes.

But a good option - ordering some Hikari First Bites is what I have been using for the baby Guppies and Endlers. Use sparingly - a flat end toothpick is useful or a pointy end of a chop stick.

Just note how much you are adding in, one pinch would likely be too much at one feeding. The reason I like this food as a basic feeding for the fry is it doesn't cause cloudy water. And is very tiny.

You could check around social groups like fb or cl, if there is a fish club meeting around your area, and see if anyone has other live foods like Vinegar eels, Walter worms, micro worms, Daphnia and more.

Baby Brine shrimp is great, and you can order it and culture them yourself with some bottles. Fish move them!!!
 
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Thats true, I've considered her eating some and figured it would probably happen to a few. But she really doesnt appear to have given birth to any of them
 
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