good choice? swordtails?

[bettagirl7]

I decided to stock my tank!! I have FINALLY decided!!!

29 gallon

6 zebra danios(already in tank)
1 flame dwarf gourami
8 glowlight tetras(2 in tank)
3 corys(in tank)
3 swordtails(1 male 2 females)


what do you think? I've never kept swordtails before but I've kept platies

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

Looks like a good plan. Swordtails are basically the same as platies. Just remember that with all livebearers 1+1=1,000. Find a LFS that will buy your fry.

 

[bettagirl7]

yay! I've never had fry and I'll let them fend for themselves in the tank if they DO have fry...my gourami will eat some

 

[rich311k]

I think it will be a nice tank of fish.

 

[bettagirl7]

thanks rich! I can't wait until all the fish get in there! but..I'll have to take it slow since there was a sickness in the tank..

 

[DepotFish]

Swordtails are actually the same genus as a platy but different species. A platy is Xiphophorus maculatus and a swordtail is Xiphophorus helleri. Same thing basically. Its weird, kinda like the gourami varieties which are considered seperate species instead of just varieties of the same species.

 

[bettagirl7]

ya. Sometimes its hard to tell the females apart

 

[jrp1588]

sounds almost like my 29gal stocking list a year ago. it was a good tank, i liked it

 

[Alshain]

I very much like my swordtails. I've lost one but the other two are doing well. They have been quite the adventure though, especially the amazing sex changing fish.

 

[bettagirl7]

I very much like my swordtails. I've lost one but the other two are doing well. They have been quite the adventure though, especially the amazing sex changing fish.

they can do that? that's really freaky....

 

[jrp1588]

i've never heard of swordtails being able to do that...

 

[Guest]

Swordtails can't change sex! There's what's called dorment males. It's a male that the tail doesn't grow out til he reaches a older age. But not amale that turns into a female or female that turns into a male. There's just noway. That a male can grow reproductive organs. I'm sorry I just don't see that happening anytime soon.

 

[bettagirl7]

lol...thats good! that would freak me out!

 

[Guest]

Yea but I'd be rich off it. LOL if I had prove. LOL

Bettagirl, Do you keep betta's and if so what kind or spices and how many?
I breed bettas for a extra income. Ain't getting rich off them but paying a few bills off them. That's all that matters to me. LOL LMAO

 

[Acer]

swordtails are cool, i recently saw some new ones @ a local Petsmart, they were KOI SWORDTAILS, very nice, they were pretty much colored like they were labeled, orange & white... very nice guys, i bought a trio but for some reason my female blue acara decided there was more swordtails in the tank than she can stand and proceded to kill them, along with 1 pr of white sailfin molly's...

 

[Guest]

I'm suprised anythingother then another cichlid like texas cihlid or jack dempeys would make it in the tank ith her at all. Green Terorties is the only thing I can keep with my Acura's

 

[Acer]

yah i had her in my 55 gal tank with 1 male blue acara, 3 angelfish, 4 neon dwarf rainbowfish, 5 danios, 1 blue eyed cichlid, 4 red swordtails, 4 striped raphael cats, 2 oil tatia cats, 1 bristlenose pleco, 6 panda cory... water quality stays great, i have an AC & a Whisper on that tank, also powerhead with pre filter i turn on once in a while to polish the water.

 

[Alshain]

Swordtails can't change sex! There's what's called dorment males. It's a male that the tail doesn't grow out til he reaches a older age. But not amale that turns into a female or female that turns into a male. There's just noway. That a male can grow reproductive organs. I'm sorry I just don't see that happening anytime soon.

Yes, I was just joking. I ended up with a late blooming male that looked every bit like a female until it "changed". Unfortunately this meant I had 2 males and 1 female which I think is why my other male kept getting sick until it finally died. Keep in mind my tank is a 12 gallon. With your tank, even if you were to have the same occurance your fish would not get as stressed/picked on. The size of the tank and the number of fish would help avoid that.

 

[RoK]

kinda like the gourami varieties which are considered seperate species instead of just varieties of the same species.

That depends on which you're talking about. Blue, gold, opaline, lavender, and platinum gouramis are all color variants of Trichogaster trichopterus. Powder blue, fire red, and regular dwarf gouramis are all Colisa lalia. The list goes on and on.

 

[fish_4_all]

Swords are cool. From your stocking, babies won't be an issue because the other fish and the swords will eat them all.

As for fish changing sex, there are tropical salt water species that do it all the time so it isn't that strange. There are also frogs that change sexes and a species of skink that has no male members, EVER! Anyway, after seeing a duck billed platapus how can anyone think nature can't do something! LOL. I had 2 swords I swore were females, 4 months old with an anal fin that was not pointed and looked like a female. Switched tanks and both of them turned out to be males! Sex change? I don't know but their anal fins changed completely. I have fry from the same males and the males already show at less than 2 months old.

Other than that, swords are awesome and have been one of my favorite fish since my first fish tank many years ago.