Pearl gourami and swordtail querey?

[bigcol]

Hi all

I have a large cominuity tank with the flowing fish.
2x pearl gourami
2x 3 spot gourami
2x sword tail one femaile and one male
1x ruby shark
3x mailed catfish
1x moon platty
1x pleco

My tank is very well looked after and I have tryed to make it as natural as i can.

However I have noted two things.
I am certain my femaile swordtail is pregnant she is very fat and i can see black egg like balls in hir adobmen.
How long does it take before a swordtail gives birth.
The male spends all its time chasing the femaile shoud i introduce more femaile sword tails into my aqurium?

Also since i introduce a floting plant in my aqurim to reduce the light one of the pearl gourami's has become rather large in the body area.
Does any one know what this is.

many thanks

 

[maverick_8teen]

I can answer about the sword tail...yes...put a couple more females in there. He will litterally chase her to death. If you have had experience with Guppys, swordtails do the same thing. As for the floating plant...i don't like a plant that moves. It will help the babies keep alive but i prefer a plant that sticks to the side of the tank. It doesn't block any light, it can help hide the heater and the filter but if you have babies i don't suggest putting one by the filter as they will try to hide there and then get sucked up by the filter.

 

[maverick_8teen]

How big is your tank. Thats alot of fish to keep considering that in a few months they will double in size (providing they are "teenagers" so to speak).
The rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish per gallon but many factors change that. The more aggresive they are the more room they need. The Shark is a semi aggresive fish thus needing more room, im no expert with gourami's but they tend to be more aggressize as well, as for catfish...i don't work with them because they get big, really quick. Too add to it all if you want your swordtails to have babies you need to get rid of the shark, the gourmis, and the catfish...between them all they will eat them in a couple weeks. If you don't care about the babies then they will just add protien to the diet.

Note: If you were going for a non-aggresive community tank, you chose the wrong fish...on the other hand if the tank is big enouph im sure they will get along fine. As for right now i would suggest that you have atleast a 120-150 gal fish tank.

 

[brior]

I have 4 pearls in my community tank. they also have large bellies. i think it's largely from the fact that they're pigs.....lol. i'm pretty sure theyre just fat. gourami's are bubble nest builders, so shouldn't be pregnant. i read somewhere that they can live 9-10 years, enjoy.
cheers, b

 

[Galaxie]

How long does it take before a swordtail gives birth.

It is really tough to tell when mama is going to deliver. The best I can tell, is when the bulging round belly starts to become square-ish, she is probably close. As was said above though, those fry aren't going to be around long with your mix of fish.... unless your tank is over 100g. Also, my fry spent a month in the fry net before they were big enough to release.