I got more fish:D

[Malbri]

I went out and got 3 swordtails today, two females and one male. The bag is currently floating in the tank them I gotta start the acclimation soon

Ill put pictures as soon as I can

[H3D]

What size aquarium are these going in? I hope you are not putting them in to a 10 gallon aquarium. Swordtails get around 3-4 inches which is to large to keep in an aquarium that small.

[Malbri]

*gasp* wow I thought they grew to like 2 inches like platys....but the websites say 4, guess im gonna need a bigger tank soon(i got yound ones)

[Malbri]

Ya how big of an aquarium do I need to get?

[Malbri]

Well ar ethey gonna get along with my guppy or am I gonna need to put my tank divider thing in for the week

[H3D]

I would get a 30+ gallon aquarium for them. Remember live bearers are notorious breeders. You may have 3 now...but in a few months you could have 30.

[Malbri]

yup I know they will breed. How can you tell when they are pregnant? Im planning on seperating htem after the first couiple batches

[Red Tailed Wonder]

Get a 30G aquarium and put the swordtails in there. Then put some more guppys in the 10. (same sex).

RTW

[H3D]

Here is a good article about "breeding" swordtails.

http://www.articlefishtalk.com/Article/Breeding-Swordtails-by-Maxim-Lott/75

[Malbri]

okay how long can these guys last in my ten gallon they are all less than 2.5 inches right now(just need to know how long till I need to get a bigger tank in order to have it cycled soon enough)

[H3D]

Swortails grow very fast and are usually fully grown in less than a year.

[Malbri]

Okay let me see what you guys think of this-

Buy another ten gallon with filter and use my extra heater and put female in there, then in 2-3 months I can afford a 55 gallon

Will they be okay until then?

[Malbri]

also if they have babies I have a quaritine tank thats about 5 gallons then i could borrow my friend 2.5 gallon to raise them until I get my 55 gallon in a few months

[H3D]

I would just leave them where they are untill you get the 55 gallon.

[Malbri]

m'kay thanks

[Malbri]

will they be okay with my guppy or should I move the guppy to the quarintine?

[H3D]

I doubt they will bother the guppy.

[Malbri]

m'kay ill keep the quarintine ready just in case

[Malbri]

here are the pics i promised

im open to name suggestions

[Malbri]

they seem to be doing fine, but the male has spent most the time hidden behind a fake plant, when i get a bigger aquarium i may go planted

[Malbri]

Should I feed them tonight or wait till morning, I actually only feed my guppy in my morning cause she owuldnt eat at night and it was dirtying up the water

[H3D]

They look great! :) Try giving them a little bit of food to see if they will eat. When I had swordtails they were real pigs and would eat as much as you would feed them. :D

[Malbri]

omg i keep forgetting to pick up frozen brine shrimp

well we are going to another pet store soon

[Malbri]

What are swordtails prefered water conditions?

[Malbri]

update:they are looking good, i was just watching them for like an hour i thought my orage female had a hole in her mouth but turns out is jsut a dark spot

the yellow female has clamed the castle

[BrkD]

What are swordtails prefered water conditions?

They like soft, slightly acidic water. You shouldnt mess with the pH unless youre trying to breed them. If your guppy is doing fine in the tank so are your swordtails. You might want to keep a close eye on your water params for ammonia, nitrIte.

[Malbri]

ya I usually just take my water samples to the store and they do the test for me but im buying a test kit soon

[H3D]

They like soft, slightly acidic water. You shouldnt mess with the pH unless youre trying to breed them. If your guppy is doing fine in the tank so are your swordtails. You might want to keep a close eye on your water params for ammonia, nitrIte. Swordtails do best in medium hard water with a pH of 7.0-8.0. However as mentioned it would be best not to mess with your pH.

[Malbri]

They all made it through the night and are looking great! Its so great to see some color in my tank