Is this okay?

[Dubs1281]

I have a community tank with two sword tails. A male and female. The female looks very pregnant but I don't know any terms such as squaring off or so forth. I have a breeder box ready for when she gives birth. But I was wondering. After nourishing the fry for a few days, could I feed them to my cichild tank as a treat. I definitely dont want more swordtails, and was originally going to let the angels in my community do the work. But I thought of that idea yesterday. Any thoughts?

 

[bob mccoy]

yes thats fine . some people say its cruel but i breed rcs and guppies for the angels

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Yeah sounds fine.

Fun fact: swordtails are born larger and more developed then say guppies, so you could even feed them off earlier!

 

[Dubs1281]

yes thats fine . some people say its cruel but i breed rcs and guppies for the angels

Exactly, what about the feeders they sell in stores? Or even the meat we eat? They are going to end up eaten each way so why not. But how will I know she is ready.

 

[Oohitsae]

That female looks ready to drop fry any minute now.
See how the bottom of her belly looks square? That's what squaring off means and it shows that they are getting the fry into position to drop. I'd say a few days left at the max.

Feeding fry off would be perfectly fine. Since you raised them you know that they are disease free which is much better than buying feeders.

Only thing I'd suggest is to grow them for a couple weeks rather than days to add some size and to gut load them with nutrients then feed them off a few at a time over some days rather than all at once to avoid your cichlids from eating too many at once.
Remember that swords can drop a ton of fry at once, 30-100+ sometimes, so you'll need at least a few gallons to grow them out in. I toss my fry into 5g buckets till they are ready to either go into their own tank or to be fed off.

 

[Dubs1281]

That female looks ready to drop fry any minute now.
See how the bottom of her belly looks square? That's what squaring off means and it shows that they are getting the fry into position to drop. I'd say a few days left at the max.

Feeding fry off would be perfectly fine. Since you raised them you know that they are disease free which is much better than buying feeders.

Only thing I'd suggest is to grow them for a couple weeks rather than days to add some size and to gut load them with nutrients then feed them off a few at a time over some days rather than all at once to avoid your cichlids from eating too many at once.
Remember that swords can drop a ton of fry at once, 30-100+ sometimes, so you'll need at least a few gallons to grow them out in. I toss my fry into 5g buckets till they are ready to either go into their own tank or to be fed off.

I have a 10 gallon qt. But the filter is for a 45 so there is current. I also have a sponge, would that work. And how do I know when to put her in the box?
And I have 13 cichilds and planning to add 3-5 more in the near future.

 

[Dubs1281]

That female looks ready to drop fry any minute now.
See how the bottom of her belly looks square? That's what squaring off means and it shows that they are getting the fry into position to drop. I'd say a few days left at the max.

Feeding fry off would be perfectly fine. Since you raised them you know that they are disease free which is much better than buying feeders.

Only thing I'd suggest is to grow them for a couple weeks rather than days to add some size and to gut load them with nutrients then feed them off a few at a time over some days rather than all at once to avoid your cichlids from eating too many at once.
Remember that swords can drop a ton of fry at once, 30-100+ sometimes, so you'll need at least a few gallons to grow them out in. I toss my fry into 5g buckets till they are ready to either go into their own tank or to be fed off.

When do I put her in the box? I have a 10 gallon qt ready to go too.

 

[Oohitsae]

I have a 10 gallon qt. But the filter is for a 45 so there is current. I also have a sponge, would that work. And how do I know when to put her in the box?
And I have 13 cichilds and planning to add 3-5 more in the near future.

I'd put her in the box now if it's a net and not one of those tiny plastic ones. Otherwise just put her in when you notice she's hiding by the heater a lot or at night. they usually drop after lights are out so that's the biggest concern. A sponge filter, or an intake sponge? Either would work. If you could baffle the 45 that'd be good as well.
Ooh with 13 you could definitely probably throw them all in at once, depending on their sizes of course.

 

[Dubs1281]

There all just juveniles, largest one is only 3.5 inches. And I don't even know what he is. Does anyone have an idea. I adopted him from my lfs, so there was no label.

 

[Oohitsae]

There all just juveniles, largest one is only 3.5 inches. And I don't even know what he is. Does anyone have an idea. I adopted him from my lfs, so there was no label.

Not sure on the fish, I'd assume some sort of hybrid if you got him in a "mixed" tank.
If they are only that big then I'd say put about 2 in for each of them per day and that should be more than enough. If you don't have a large fry drop you can put them all in at once.

 

[Dubs1281]

Not sure on the fish, I'd assume some sort of hybrid if you got him in a "mixed" tank.
If they are only that big then I'd say put about 2 in for each of them per day and that should be more than enough. If you don't have a large fry drop you can put them all in at once.

It was in an adoption tank, someone brought it in because they put it in there community tank. He keeps getting more color and pattern even though ive had him for about two-three months.

 

[Oohitsae]

Hmm, he could still be a hybrid considering most of the average hobbyists out there keep multiple different species in the same tank. But I can't be positive. I hope someone else can help you better, and I hope that he's a pure bred because he's pretty cool

 

[Dubs1281]

My swordtail has not yet gave birth. She is incredibly fat but also very active. What is going on?

 

[Mogurako]

My swordtail has not yet gave birth. She is incredibly fat but also very active. What is going on?

Normal gestation is anywhere from 20-35 days so unless you've noticed her drop fry before its going to be hard to pinpoint the exact day. She looks like it could happen any day now.

Keep notes on when she does. I can normally get with in 1-3 days of when my guppies will drop, now that I've started keeping track of fry drops.

 

[Dubs1281]

That's picture post was weeks ago.

 

[Mogurako]

That's picture post was weeks ago.

And she still hasn't dropped?! Likely she's got allot of fry in there then!

 

[Dubs1281]

And she still hasn't dropped?! Likely she's got allot of fry in there then!

I have so many plants and some would be perfect for fry too hide. I have seen any and she still seems pregnant. Could the ph or hardness be affecting this? I have a neutral ph and low hardness and I know they perfer higher ph hardness. Also the temp is super high. Around 84. She is very active and eating so her health is fine.

 

[Mogurako]

Your parameters shouldn't have any affect the duration of her pregnancy. It's very likely that she already dropped the fry then they got eaten and what your seeing is her plumping back up with fry.

 

[Dubs1281]

Here she is

 

[Mogurako]

Here she is

Yea it looks like she dropped already and has another batch on the way.