Swordtail fish is a popular fish species among both new and old hobbyists. They can be an excellent addition to any freshwater community tank due to their peaceful, friendly, and hardy temperament. Caring for swordtails is a simple task and any beginner can easily do it. But, is breeding swordtail fish easy?
If you are planning on breeding swordtails, you must have a million queries on how to breed a swordtail without any hassle. Breeding swordtail fish is extremely easy. Swordtails belong to the family Poeciliidae which means livebearers. Livebearers; as the name suggests; bear live fully grown babies instead of laying eggs. This is part of the reason why breeding swordtails is effortless.
Similarly, the voluntary mating behavior of swordtails makes the breeding process more trouble-free. Swordtail fish are active into spawning when two sex are kept together. The mating is involuntary and quick. Thus, taking care of the mating, the mother, and the fry are all pretty easy. There are just a few things you need to keep in mind to facilitate breeding.
This article digs deep into the overall process of breeding swordtail fish; from mating to birthing, and the things to take care of in between.
Things To Take Care Of Before Starting Breeding Process
Livebearers are the easiest fish species to breed because they do not need external initiation and they do not hatch eggs. Swordtails are livebearers too; which means breeding swordtail fish is not that difficult. They breed readily without any sort of mediation from the owners.
Even though breeding swordtail fish does not require much attention and external effort, there are still a few things we need to be careful about to make the process go smoothly and effectively. Some of them are:
Separating A Breeding Tank
You should separate a tank for the breeding purpose. Your swordtail definitely will be alright giving birth in their primary tank. However, setting up a different tank will help your fish through all the stress and panic. This will also help you take better care of the fish.
If you set up a tank just for breeding, your swordtail will be free from all the difficulties they might face otherwise. Swordtails are vulnerable during the process. This can make them susceptible to various infections. Similarly, your fish can also be preyed upon by other fishes if they are left in a community tank during such times.
You should provide your fish with a separate safe environment for breeding, especially birthing for their health and safety.
Maintaining Water Parameters
Swordtails normally prefer a particular level of pH(7.0-8.4), hardness(12-30 GH), and temperature(65-80°F) in the tank. Maintaining water conditions is necessary for any fish to flourish and live a happy, healthy life.
However, to initiate the mating, you can raise the temperature of your water slightly higher up to 81. Similarly, the water in the tank must be fresh and clean. Any toxins like nitrites or ammonia can hamper the health of the fish. This can also affect the breeding process.
Maintaining proper parameters is equivalent to setting up the right mood and environment to start the process of breeding swordtail fish.
Setting Up Hiding Places
If you are planning on breeding your swordtail in the primary tank itself, make sure you add a lot of hiding spaces in it. Your swordtail; especially your female will require plenty of hiding spots during mating, pregnancy, and birthing.
Your female swordtail is likely to get harassed by its partner during mating. Similarly, pregnancy can be very stressful, so they need some privacy, and birthing is always delicate, so private space is a must.
For these reasons, you should add lots of plants and other decorations that can serve as hiding stations.
Male To Female Ratio
Swordtails are effective breeders. Your swordtail will try to mate more than once. Due to this reason, if you have only one of each sex in your tank, your male will chase and harass your female to the point of fin nipping.
This can be stressful for your female. Therefore, make sure to add more females in your tank, so that your male will have other options and your female can be stress-free. The preferred ratio is 1 male to 3 female.
Swordtail Fish Breeding Cycle
The reproduction process occurs in a cycle for every organism. The same goes for your swordtail fish. Your fish also follow a certain cycle for their breeding. It starts from a certain age when they are grown enough for copulation and ends with the birthing of tiny fries.
The breeding cycle of your swordtail generally has 4 stages from right age to mating to pregnancy to birthing. The stages are described as such:
Maturity
A rapid maturity rate is one of the reasons why breeding swordtail fish is easy. Swordtails fertilize internally and fry are born fully formed. They can fend for themselves from birth.
The live fry is on its own since birth and does not need parental care. They feed on their own and grow by themselves. Thus, they grow towards maturity rather fast.
Swordtail fry grows up to 1.5 inches within 3 months. In that time. They will be mature enough for breeding. any swordtail that is 3 months old is ready to breed.
Mating
After maturity, swordtail will not waste type in trying to mate. If you keep swordtails of different sexes together in the same tank, mating will take no time to occur.
Mating can be quick and spontaneous. If you do not give close attention to your fish, you might even miss the ritual. The mating ritual is unique which is described further below.
After mating, the male swordtail transfers its sperm into the female and the female will fertilize to reproduce in no time.
Gestation
After the mating, the females fertilize their eggs inside their body and the gestation period starts. The gestation period means how long your swordtails are pregnant. It is about 28 days.
During these 28 days, the pregnant swordtail goes through many changes. A thick gravid spot starts to appear near her anal fin. The stomach of the fish starts to swell and increase in size. That is the sign of babies growing inside.
Pregnancy can be a vulnerable time for the swordtail. They will limit their movement and stay at one corner of the tank. Your swordtail needs proper care during the gestation period.
Spawning
After the gestation period is over, your fish is ready to spawn i.e. release babies. After 28 days, the belly is big and squared with dark gravid spots. When you see this, it means they are ready to give birth.
Swordtails can produce 50-100 fries every time and may give birth again after 4-6 weeks. The swordtails are quick to spawn if the right environment is set.
The delivery takes 6 hours normally. It can take longer if the fish is stressed and requirements are not met. The requirements are explained further in the article below.
How to Breed A Swordtail Fish: A Step-By-Step Guide
Breeding swordtail fish is not a difficult job. It takes little to no effort. Swordtail fish are the hardiest fish and they are very efficient breeders. We have talked about things we need to take care of to facilitate breeding. Those will be more than enough to successfully breed your swordtail.
However, I have prepared a 9 step guide that might give a clearer idea about the breeding process. They are as follows:
Step 1: Select The Fish You Want To Breed
Different swordtails have different features like color pattern, size of the fin, etc. Make sure you select the most healthy fish for breeding so that they don’t have to suffer during the process.
Likewise, be sure to select multiple females because, as mentioned above, the 1:3 ratio is crucial to protect the females and calm the males.
You will want to select fish with different color patterns and fin sizes. Like, if both males and females are of the same color and pattern, the offspring will also have the same color and pattern. But, if you select variant parents, your swordtail will have a new and attractive pattern.
Step 2: Select The Breeding Tank
We all know that setting up a separate breeding tank is probably the best option for effective and safe breeding. That is why selecting a breeding tank is another important step.
A single swordtail needs around 15 Gallon tank. Considering that, take a 15-20 gallon tank with a heater and gentle filter. Use a filter that is gentle because swordtail fry is tiny and could get sucked up.
Select the tank where your male and female can mate easily and will have plenty of space to swim around.
Step 3: Set Up The Tank
After selecting the tank, you must set up your tank with the proper substrate and decors. Adding a substrate is however not recommended.
Your fry will sink at the bottom of the tank in search of food. When you add substrates like sand or tiny gravels, there are chances they will eat the substrate. This can not be good for the babies.
But, try to add many aquatic plants and other decors to give your fry enough space to hide. Swordtail fish can turn cannibalistic and feed on their babies. To protect your fry from getting eaten by their parents, add thick, heavy live plants like java moss, guppy grass, etc.
Step 4: Adjust The Tank As Per Your Fish’s Need
Before placing your swordtail parents in the tank, make sure you take care of things like food and tank water.
Set the temperature to around 77-80 degrees Fahrenheit while the male and female are together in the tank.
Purchase good-quality food to promote healthy breeding. Similarly, add fresh and clean water to the tank. Check the hardness and pH of the water as discussed earlier on things to take care of.
Step 5: Place The Swordtails
Now, it is time to place the swordtail fish partner in the tank you set up and wait for them to breed.
Swordtails are easy to breed. You do not need to initiate externally. They are quick and voluntary. Keeping the male and female together is all you have to do to initiate the breeding.
After breeding, pay close attention to the behavior of your fish. Observe closely when your fish gets pregnant. You can see a dark gravid spot on the underside, near her anal fin.
Once you know that your female is pregnant, you can remove the male and place him in the primary tank.
Step 6: Know When Your Fish Is About To Give Birth
The gestation period for your swordtail is about 28 days. When your swordtail is ready to give birth, her stomach is huge and her gravid spot is darker.
Be attentive to notice the start of labor. The signs are the female limiting movements, secluding herself, shivering during contractions, change in appetite like refusing to eat, and as such.
You need to be careful when your female is birthing so that you can protect the babies.
Step 7: Remove Your Female From The Breeding Tank
Swordtail babies are born ready for survival and do not need parental care. They are born as active swimmers and can take care of themselves without the help of their parents. So, you can remove the female after birth.
Another reason you should do this is to save the fry from getting eaten by their parent. If you cannot keep track of when your female will give birth, add lots of aquatic plants in the tank so that babies can protect themselves.
Step 8: Take care of your fry until they are big enough
Since you cannot place tiny fries with their parents or other fish, you have to take care of them until they are juveniles. Swordtail fry generally does not need separate attention when in the wild. They will venture alone in search of food.
But, the food is not readily available in your tank. You must provide them with food that is rich in nutrients like protein and fiber. Swordtails are omnivores and will enjoy both plant and meat-based foods.
Fish fry is small and needs proper food to grow into a healthy adult. Provide your fry with live food like bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, and plant foods like algae. Make sure you provide them food in small chunks as they cannot swallow larger chunks.
Similarly, take care of the tank water, its freshness, and other parameters.
Step 9: Move The Fry Into The Normal Tank
Once your fries are big enough you can shift them into the main tank. Juvenile fries are large and there are fewer chances of mistaking them as food.
When the fries are of good size, a month and a half to two months old, they can fend for themselves. Thus, you can shift your juvenile fries into the main tank. Make sure you add them to the tank with similar non-aggressive fish
When they reach the age of 3 months they will be ready to reproduce and continue the cycle.
In this way, following the above-mentioned steps, you can easily breed your swordtail fish.
How Do Swordtails Mate?
Swordtails mate very quickly and effectively. If you are not paying proper attention, you might even miss it. The mating ritual of swordtails is unique and can sometimes turn aggressive.
Typically, a male will choose his partner for mating and approaches her. This might be followed by the male chasing the female around for a bit. The male will try to attract females in various ways like flaring his fins for instance.
Male swordtails have a peculiar appearance like the sword-like protrusion on their caudal fins. Male use their “sword” and fins to impress females. Once they choose a partner, mating takes place.
The male will casually try to swim close to the female and touch her underside the anal fin, with his gonopodium. The sperm transfers into the female and the mating ritual are complete.
How To Know If Your Swordtail Is Pregnant?
After maturation, your swordtail fish can be pregnant throughout her life. Female swordtails can store sperms in their pouch, giving them the ability to breed even in absence of a male. So, how do you know if your swordtail is pregnant?
Firstly, you will notice that your swordtail’s belly is larger than usual and keeps on increasing in size with time.
Then, she will produce a dark black gravid spot near her anal fin. This is her uterus bulging against her skin from the inside. The dark spots might be tiny eyes of the fish fry growing inside.
This can be a sure sign to know that your swordtail is pregnant.
Taking Care Of Your Pregnant Swordtail
The gestation period for a swordtail is roughly 28 days. Those 28 days is the most delicate and stressful time for your female. Taking care of your female becomes very crucial during this time. You can look after your pregnant swordtail fish in the following ways:
Proper Diet
A pregnant female will need a good diet to sustain herself and the babies growing inside of her. Provide your fish with an adequate diet that contains a fair share of proteins and fibers.
During this time, she will be eating not only for herself but also for her fry. That is why you must feed them a little more properly than usual.
However, make sure not to overfeed her because her belly is already occupied. Adding more food than she can consume will only contaminate your aquarium.
Tank Space
Providing your fish with a separate breeding tank will indeed be much more convenient. But, if you plan on breeding your fish in the same tank, make sure you provide your swordtail with enough tank space.
Overcrowded aquariums tend to stress the female out during labor. The constant interference from other fish in the tank can annoy her which can cause complications in the pregnancy and later birthing.
During pregnancy, your swordtail will distance itself and limit its movements. Thus, you must respect their privacy and provide your fish with enough space in the tank. If not, you can at least add hiding spots in the tank to give them a little space.
Maintaining The Quality Of Water
The most important factor while taking care of your pregnant swordtail is appropriate water parameters. A slight fluctuation in water parameters can stress your pregnant swordtail.
Once you set a breeding tank for your swordtail, maintain water qualities as follows:
- Temperature: 74-80 degrees Fahrenheit
- pH: 7.0-8.4
- Hardness: 12-30GH
- 10% water should be changed every week and 25% every 2 weeks to keep your water fresh and uncontaminated.
Is Your Swordtail About To Give Birth?
How do you know if your swordtail is ready to spawn? Here are some signs you should be careful about:
- Have a better look at the gravid spot. As the spot gets darker, your fish is more close to the labor.
- The belly of your swordtail is large and slightly squared. This is a sign that labor is around the corner.
- Your fish becomes inactive. They will limit their movement and stay in one corner of the tank ready to give birth.
You should be very careful to look after your fish after the pregnancy. Make sure to read all the signs and do all you can to facilitate the birthing process.
How Swordtail Fry Are Born?
Any swordtail that is 3 months or older is ready to breed. Breeding your swordtail is an effortless task. All you need to do is keep males and females together in a properly maintained tank.
After your female is impregnated and is very close to labor, she will become inactive and stay in one place. The gravid spot near the anal fin becomes darker and heavier. Once in labor, the fish will move to a corner and start to release the live babies into the tank.
The delivery time of a swordtail fish lasts for an average of 6 hours. Sometimes, swordtail will deliver a few babies at one time, stop, and then resume after a few days.
In a few cases, the delivery does not take place for 24 hours. The reason for this could be immature fry. You can slightly raise the water temperature to mature the fry and your swordtail will easily drop the fry in the tank.
Taking Care Of Swordtail Fry
Mostly, swordtails eat their babies. Therefore, after your female swordtail gives birth, you must be cautious about saving the fry. Here are some measures to take care of the swordtail babies:
Separating The Parents
Once your swordtail finishes popping fry in a separate breeding tank, immediately move her to the primary tank.
Labor fatigue can make a female hungry and she will more likely feed on her babies. That is why, after birthing, move her to another tank.
To protect your fry, you can also use a breeding box. A breeding box is a plastic container that you can place in the main tank. After your female is ready to give birth, place her in the box. The box will trap all the fry inside. Once a female is done, you can remove her from the box into the main tank area.
Hiding places:
If you are breeding your fish in a community tank, make sure you add plenty of hiding spots. Your fish fry is tiny and can be easily mistaken for food. Thus, hiding spots can help protect your fry.
Add plants to the aquarium that are thick and provides a lot of coverage in the tank. Live plants like hornworts, guppy grass, java moss, etc will increase the survival rate of your swordtail fry. The plants will give them coverage until they become a juvenile and hang out with other fish in the tank.
Proper Feeding
Your swordtail fry will need a proper supplement for sake of proper development and growth. Swordtails are omnivores when in the natural environment. You have to provide them with a balanced diet that contains all the necessary nutrients like protein and fibers.
Avoid feeding them with low-quality food that is found in the market. Swordtail fry like liquid fry and newly hatched brine shrimp. This will provide them enough protein, similarly, for fibers, you can feed them algae wafers, lettuce, etc.
Swordtails fry eat in smaller proportions and they will feed more often. Therefore, drop food in smaller portions several times a day. Make sure to not overfeed them.
FAQs
How Many Times Can A Swordtail Get Pregnant?
Swordtails can store sperms in their pouch and can fertilize them at any time. Thus, your swordtail can get pregnant even if there is no male present.
Once the female is impregnated, she can give birth five or more times at intervals of four to six weeks.
How Many Babies Do Swordtails Bear?
Livebearers like the swordtail do not lay eggs. Rather, they give birth to live fry. Swordtail can produce 50-100 at one time.
Swordtails can be pregnant at least once a month. This means they can give birth again 4-6 weeks after the first birth.
Why Is My Swordtail Not Giving Birth?
To facilitate birthing in your swordtail, maintenance of thor health, tank conditions, water parameters, etc is very important.
Although breeding swordtails do not need any external initiation, causes like stress, improper water conditions could lead to your swordtail not giving birth.
Similarly, swordtails will delay their delivery when the babies are immature.
Conclusion
There are many species of swordtails found in the wild. Each of them is of unique color, pattern, and appearance. Breeding swordtail fish; more importantly, mixed species can help create much more varieties in the world.
Breeding swordtail fish is fairly easy and takes less to no effort. They can be an excellent choice if you are a beginner. Choosing swordtails will be worth it. I hope this article clears all your doubts on breeding swordtails. Happy Breeding!
