How to tell when a swordtail is about to give birth

[magafish18]

my swords are very large and everyone here thinks there pregnant. so how do i tell when there about to give birth so i can remove them?

[tmtpowers]

Why are you going to remove the moms? If anything just remove the babies once you find them and put them in a breeder box. Usually you can not tell when a fish is about to labor (at least the livebarers).

[magafish18]

i know im moving the babies. but i heard that they give brith at dawn. and i wont be up by then.

[NDferro]

move the fish to the breeder now get one that the fry drop tot he bottom then just remove the mother

[magafish18]

shes not that big do you need a pic? :confused:

[tmtpowers]

You won't want to keep the mother in a breeder too long. There isn't enough room for a swordtail to live in it for an extended period.

[psilo]

Magafish the info of livebearers giving birth at dawn is wrong. I keep guppies and swordtails and many times i have watched them give birth during the day, usually the afternoon. It is very difficult to tell when individual females are going to birth unless you know their birthing history as some will be fatter than others at birth. Also females that are storing alot of unfertilised eggs can be fat but not be about to drop. My advice is to watch the gravid spot. Livebearers give birth every 28 days approx and when they are about to drop look at their anal passage where the poo/fry come out. When they are about to give birth it becomes more angular/squared to the body instead of rounded. For future reference when she does have her babies record the date and you will be better prepared if necessary the next time she births.
If your tank is densely planted then some of the fry should survive it really depends upon the other fish and how voracious they are.

[magafish18]

i have angels and grouime. i dont want to move her i wil catch the fry when there born.

[psilo]

In the tank where i have my angel i have never had a fry survive to catch despite it being heavily planted they are voracious and can smell a female birthing. . :mad2:

[magafish18]

:thud: holly crap its like jaws. so what should i do?

[fishcatch22]

move the female to a in-tank birthing box, and then after she gives birth remove the fry to a separate rearing tank.

[magafish18]

wont that put stress on her? now i have no QT because my tiger barb is sick. :(

[fishcatch22]

no, you don't actually take her out of the water, it hangs on the side. all you have to do is guide her into it.

[magafish18]

but still if shes in it wont she get stressed out?

[fishcatch22]

not really. she can still see her companions, and most likely not be too stressed out. it's worth a try if you want your fry to live.

[magafish18]

well this will be hard shes hiding in a really small cave. smart fish

[magafish18]

my angel seems to be trying to get in where she is. why is he doing that?

[fishcatch22]

maybe he knows shes gonna give birth soon and wants a morsel...

[magafish18]

he is mean he likes to chase the tiger barbs every where in my tank they can run but they cant hide. :D

[psilo]

If you cant remove the female to another tank where she is protected and you want the fry to survive then you will have to put her in a floating breeding trap. I often find that as you lower it into the water the guppies become curious and come see what it is and often they swim into all by themselves. Whether they become stressed depends very much from birthing to birthing and from female to female but i have never known it do any real harm. One tip though when she is due to birth leave the light off. Also make sure the trap has alid as other fish can and do sometimes jump in with the female and munch away on the fry to their hearts content

[Rowangel]

fishcatch22, advice was already given in several other posts to leave the female where she is. magafish18 is going to be going out of town and you can not leave a female swordtail in a small hang-on-the-side breeders net for extended periods of time. This does cause undue stress on the female and she may drop her fry before they are ready and they will not survive. This happens often if the female is taken too soon from her normal tank, and is really only suggested if you have a cycled 10g or up tank to keep her in for the duration of the pregnancy. The small breeder nets/cages are intended for temporary confinement (like over night) and the female needs to be removed immediately after giving birth or she will eat the fry herself. Because he will be on vacation, and he is not familiar with how to tell how far along his female is I would leave her where she is and just provide lots of hiding places for the fry. Not all the fry will be eaten as long as there are decent hiding places and he can siphon them up later. Plus, this female will give birth again, IMO it is better to wait for the proper conditions than put any unnecessary stress on the female. Personally, I would use this as a learning experience for future pregnancies.

[fishcatch22]

okay, i'm sorry, I never read that thread. please don't jump on me like that.

[magafish18]

oh sorry my trip was Cancelled due to bad wather damage.

[fishcatch22]

okay, then. you can try the box thing, then.

[Rowangel]

I wasn't jumping on you, just letting you know that he had been given advice on this in several different posts.

Actually, magafish18, it might be easier on you in the future if you where just to have left this discussion of your swordtail in one thread. I think you have about 5 now, and that can be confusing to others, like fishcatch22, who haven’t read the other four and may not know your situation. Hopefully you will have plenty of little baby fry to catch, they are rather cute!

[magafish18]

i hope to.

[Rowangel]

okay, then. you can try the box thing, then.
You still need to know within a few days when she is ready to have her fry if you use a breeders net. If she drops fry prematurely some of the babies will come out not fully-developed and will die as a result. I had several females do this within 24 hours of putting them into a breeder net, so I quite doing that and ended-up just pulling fry later. If you want to be serious about keeping the fry you will need to look into getting a 10g grow-out tank because the fry just won’t make it in a breeder net, they will actually terrorize the weaker ones to death for room.

[fishcatch22]

I did recommend he get a grow-out tank once the fry are born, and to movre the female only if she's due in 2-3 days.

[Rowangel]

I did recommend he get a grow-out tank once the fry are born, and to movre the female only if she's due in 2-3 days.
Alright, but the only post I read here said
move the female to a in-tank birthing box, and then after she gives birth remove the fry to a separate rearing tank. and
no, you don't actually take her out of the water, it hangs on the side. all you have to do is guide her into it.

[fishcatch22]

I guess it shows the importance of reading everything before you post. (not trying to be insulting!)

[magafish18]

ok ok we get the point.

[Rowangel]

I guess it shows the importance of reading everything before you post. (not trying to be insulting!)
Umm, I did read everything in this post before I posted. You did not say "I did recommend he get a grow-out tank once the fry are born, and to movre the female only if she's due in 2-3 days."
You recommended a hang-on-the-side net, not a grow-out tank, and you said nothing about moving the female 2-3 days before the fry where born. I am not being rude; I just want to make sure Megafish gets the appropriate information to care for his fish.

*edit* oops, megafish, not megamouth...that would be my younger brother.. :rolleyes:

[magafish18]

yo where did you get magamouth?

[Rowangel]

mispost, went from memory...

[plah831]

and your avatar looks like a megamouth! i still can't believe that's a tuna. i have never seen one with its mouth open that wide. did you doctor that picture? :)

[magafish18]

oh thats a pianting.

[magafish18]

but it was a real fish a long time ago.