swordtail fry

[1873teddy]

Hi all, my gold comet swordtail has now had 2 batches of fry & my black swortdail has had 1 batch, my question is, all of the fry appear to be female, is there a particular reason for this? Is it due to water temperature or simply what happens? I have managed to rescue 12 gold comets & 4 blacks, 2 of the latter appear translucent so hopefully remain that way or go silver/white. Really intruiged to see how they turn out.

 

[Jemma]

They are born female and as they get older some will turn male. Good luck with the fry

 

[1873teddy]

Thanks Jemma, do you have any idea up to what age they can turn male at all?

Heard something similar from a friend but wasn't sure.

 

[Jemma]

About 3 months

 

[Swordtaillover]

it will take a couple of months before you can tell what the gender is. you just have to be patient because the males just don't grow their swords for a while. best of luck to you.

Swordtaillover

 

[1873teddy]

Thanks also Swortaillover, it's amazing how fast these fish grow, the original 2 that survived the first batch are only 5-6 weeks & already about 1 - 1 1/2 inches.

 

[Swordtaillover]

Coolness. Congrats! Hope to see lots of pics.

 

[1873teddy]

Yeah will do! I'll post some very soon for you.

 

[Swordtaillover]

Thanks I am excited to see!

 

[1873teddy]

I'm now in the process of setting up a 30 litre tank for the fry to allow them to flourish in their own environment so there is no chance of them being eaten & also to make them easier to catch when I take to my local independant fish store at around 8 weeks. Plus they will be easier to photograph in that tank rather than in the breeding net.

Should be able to give him a good supply every few months, hopefully get food in return.

 

[1873teddy]

Here we go guys, first images of my 14 swordtail fry. Hope you get pleasure from them

 

[Taylor-tgod]

Awesome!!

 

[1873teddy]

Cheers Taylor!

I'm delighted with them! As mentioned, I have 10 gold comet fry & 4 from my black swordtail pair, 2 of those fry are jet black while the other 2 are transparent, I am intruiged as to how they turn out when they mature. They almost look blue at the moment, more than likely become silver. Is anyone aware of a silver swordtail breed?

 

[Swordtaillover]

I am very happy to see some pics!!! Congrats!!!


Swordtaillover

 

[Swordtaillover]

How r the fry doing. I would love to sees one pics of them more matured now.

 

[Cafrye]

I remember a pair of red swordtails that have 104 babies (I counted them). Eventually I lost the male and in about 3 months the female grew a tail and changed into a male. This is common for swordtail fish...

Good luck with the babies.