Koi Swordtail Questions

[Patterson333]

So I just bought a few Koi Swordtails from one of my LFS today, and they really look awesome . I got two males and two females (and I think I got a pretty good deal because I got it all for just 12 bucks).

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone knew whether or not they'll breed true? Also, I heard that with Swordtails it's better to have more females than males, but what kinda ratio would you guys recommend? I figured after I put these Swordtails in my main (they're in a QT now) that I might buy another female or two, but I'm not sure.

Thanks!

 

[thominil]

1 male to 3 females I think.

 

[pbr_chick]

I have a minimum 1:3 male:female ratio for all my livebearers. Just gives all the females some time to rest... apparently the males don't need it lol. Talk about one-track minds.
I don't know if they will breed true, but four for $12? That sounds pretty darn good to me. I still haven't seen them at any of the lfs I frequent. I've been drooling over these Sanshoku Swordtails... definitely on my Christmas list lol.

 

[Patterson333]

Haha yea I'm definitely gonna be buying a few more females. The place I buy them from has amazing prices on everything though. I got 15 Cardinal Tetras there for 10 dollars a few months ago. I think they sell them for so cheap because I'm pretty sure they breed them there (it's a fish farm/store, they have all their fish in concrete bins on a giant plot of land)

Don't think I saw any of those Sanshoku Swordtails there though... They do look really cool. But do you know what it is that makes them so pricey?

 

[pbr_chick]

I have no idea. They are so pretty though. I hope the price goes down... I might be able to convince myself to buy some if it does lol.

 

[Patterson333]

AHH! So the other day I was looking closely at the swordtails, and I noticed something strange on one of the males. He had what looked like a white streak in his tail, I looked at him under a really bright flashlight, and I realized it was an anchor worm

So I looked up how to treat it and I read that a salt dip would do the trick, I put him in one for about a half hour but the little sucker wouldn't let go, so I ended up having to remove the anchor worm with tweezers.

That was yesterday afternoon. This morning I looked in the tank and I saw that all the poor swordtails were filled with fungus. What I figured happened is that the hole left by the anchor worm got infected and he served as a spawning ground for the fungal infection that spread to the whole quarantine tank. I know I should've put something in the tank to prevent a secondary infection but for whatever reason it didn't cross my mind at the time and now I feel really guilty about them getting sick.

By this afternoon I lost the male that originally had the anchor worm... But I'm really trying to save the rest of them. I had Rid-Ich + on hand and it says it's good for fungal infections (it's a mixture of malachite green and formaldehyde) so I started treating with that and added about 2 tablespoons of salt (it's a 10 gallon tank, so that's 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons)

Anyways, does anyone know of something else I can do? I really want to save these guys. I want to try to put them in a dip, I did it once before to treat fungus (on a guppy) with moderate success using a piece of a Jungle Fungus Clear Tablet, but I was considering doing a Methylene Blue dip (I don't have it on hand but I can get it very easily, there's a store that has some less than 10 minutes away from my house). Anyone have any experience with a MB dip? Tips?

I know this isn't the place to put posts about unhealthy fish but I figured since I already started a thread on my koi swordtails that I might as well post it here, but if you guys want I'll put it in the unhealthy fish section. And sorry for the really long post..

 

[Patterson333]

Oh and btw, I know this is stressed all over the site already but I don't think it can be said enough, this is why it is so important to QUARANTINE your new fish if at all possible! I think I'd be going nuts if I had anchor worm and fungus in my display as opposed to my QT...

 

[BigJim]

I found aquarium salt is great for fungus. I bought a bunch of neon dwarf rainbows that ended up getting fungus and I think one had some kind or parasite or foreign object stuck in her gills. While setting up a hospital tank with some fungus cure and salt, I added some salt to the main tank and a few hours later, you couldn't see any fungus! The fish with something stuck in her gills is also nearly completely healed.