Swordtail fish are considered beginner fish because the swordtail care routine is fairly easy. However, if you are a beginner and are starting a swordtail aquarium, you must have hundreds of questions. One, for instance, would be whether your swordtail fish need a tank filter.
Now, we cannot say that swordtails cannot live without a filter. But, your swordtails would love one. Your tank water will eventually contain a lot of waste. Filters can be your rescue. It holds off fish waste, food residues, and other debris from contaminating the water. Thus, you should run a filter on your swordtail tank because it will only benefit your fish.
In this article, I have answered all your queries on tank filters, how it works, its benefits, and a lot more.
Can Swordtail Fish Live Without A Tank Filter?
Swordtail care can be hard if you do not have enough information and prior experience keeping this type of fish. Therefore, it would be best to start with maintaining swordtails in a cycled tank before getting into breeding them.
Yes, swordtail fish can live without a filter. However, a filter would definitely benefit them in various ways. So, I would prefer to keep the filter in my swordtail tank.
Swordtails produce a lot of wastes. These wastes will increase the ammonia and nitrite levels in your tank. Without filters and live plants, the ammonia spike will quickly poison your swordtail.
If you decide not to keep a filter, you must perform frequent, high-volume water changes every day. Moreover, you need to test the water quality every day. It’s just too much effort; a filter would make your job 10 times easier.
Why Is Filter An Essential Tank Equipment?
A tank filter is a device for biological filtration. Biological filters clean the water by converting toxic fish wastes into less toxic ammonia and nitrite. The process relies on colonizing beneficial bacteria, called nitrifying bacteria, in your swordtail tank.
I am sure you had experienced the foul odor of your swordtail tank’s water when you failed to maintain sufficient aeration. This is caused by the anaerobic decomposition and fermentation of fish wastes (ammonia) that release toxic gases like hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and carbon dioxide.
Combating harmful waste is a vital factor in fish care and aquarium maintenance. You can do this easily with filtration. The tank filters will filter out waste materials such as uneaten food, fish feces, dead algae, and other decaying matter.
Tank filters will prevent the build-up of many poisonous substances called nitrites or ammonia, harmful to swordtail fish. Thus, your tank water is clean and safe for your fish because it contains no toxic chemicals deadly to swordtail fish.
You see, with proper filtration in place, you have prevented swordtails from becoming poisoned by their own waste!
Benefits Of Fish Tank Filters
I’ve enumerated the most helpful benefits of a tank filter below:
- First, a filter keeps your tank’s water clear and clean.
- Similarly, it removes all decaying organic swordtail waste. It gives swordtails a healthy environment to live in.
- Also, the filter prevents swordtail diseases. It enables swordtails to breathe fresh oxygenated water.
- The filter helps in the aeration of water which is important for your swordtail’s health.
What Kind Of Filter Is Best For Your Swordtails?
There are many different swordtail filter types available today. First, you need to choose the one that would work best for your swordtails. The right swordtail filter type will depend on your tank size, fish population, and filtration requirements.
Here are some of the best kinds:
Air Powered Fish Tank Filter
These filters are easy to install, require little maintenance, and keep the tank water clean. It is most suitable for small swordtail tanks because of its low power requirement.
Sponge Filters
Sponge filters use sponges or ceramic rings to separate solid wastes from the water pumped through them by an air pump. Depending on how dirty your swordtail tank is, you can replace this type of tank filter once a month.
Sponge filters are usually installed in the tank’s filter box or powerheads to keep your swordtails healthy and their water clean.
Undergravel Filters
An undergravel filter (UGF) is a good swordtail tank filtration choice for aquariums up to 20 gallons with swordtail fish with low nitrate levels. These filters work by moving water from underneath the gravel bed which traps dirt, debris, and solid wastes inside the filter while keeping swordtail tank water crystal clear.
It would be best if you placed some sponge pre-filter over your UGF to prevent it from clogging up too quickly through biological action on the substrate itself.
How Long Can Swordtails Live Without Filtration?
Swordtails can live without a swordtail tank filter. However, swordtail tank water will become unacceptably dirty in no time at all (within a few hours), and your swordtails would succumb to swordtail tank diseases or swordtails illnesses from the toxic wastes produced by decomposing swordtails wastes.
The best thing you can do is install a fish tank filter right away in your fresh new swordtail tank! I assure you, you don’t want swordtails to fall ill in any way as caring for them may be more difficult when they are sick.
Moreover, if you decide not to add a filter, the high level of toxins and nitrates will deteriorate your swordtail’s health and even decrease its lifespan.
Swordtail fish kept in aquariums without proper filtration might not live longer than work or two. Hence, swordtail fish need a tank filter to enhance their life span.
How To Set Up An Aquarium Without A Filter?
If you, however, decide not to add a filter in your swordtail tank, you can set up proper filtration in the following ways.
No Direct Sunlight
Set your swordtail aquarium up in an area where it won’t get direct sunlight. Exposure to sunlight can be harmful to swordtails. Longer exposure to sunlight will abnormally increase algae growth, which will contaminate your tank. So, it would help if you did the swordtail tank setup away from it.
Add Lots Of Live Plants To The Tank
Your swordtail aquarium can be planted with the following swordtail-friendly plant varieties for a natural swordtails tank cleaning process. The best plants are Amazon swords, Aponogetonaceae, Java Ferns, etc.
These plants will act as a biological filter and keep your tank water clean up to some extent.
Cycle Your Tank
Cycling your tank is an important factor that will help you keep the water clean. To help swordtail tank cycling, develop beneficial bacteria that prevent your fish waste from turning into toxins.
Let the beneficial bacterias grow in your tank for 2-3 months before adding your fish. These bacterias will turn your waste and residues into harmless compounds. Thus, your tank and your fish will remain healthy.
Frequent Water Changes
In addition, you need to make sure you have enough oxygen in your tank for them by doing regular water changes (about 25%-30% every week) because they like lots of oxygen!
It is important never to use too hot or cold water to clean the tank. You should instead use conditioned tap water that has been dechlorinated. Tap water contains harmful chemicals like chlorine, phosphorus, and manganese – all of which can destroy good bacteria in your swordtail’s environment if not diluted with something else first.
FAQs
Do Swordtail Fish Need Air Pumps?
Swordtail fish need air pumps. Swordtails have standard aquarium requirements like swordfish need air pump (commonly known as air stones or bubble wands).
Air pumps produce bubbles – swordtail tank water. These swordtail tanks bubbles provide swordtails with oxygen, which they breathe from their surface just like other aquarium inhabitants do.
What Is The Lifespan Of A Swordtail Fish?
Swordtail fish lifespan depends on the swordtail’s care and swordtail’s diet. Given proper swordtails food and an ideal swordtail tank setup, swordtail tank inhabitants can live for anywhere between 3 to 5 years.
Conclusion
Thus, fish tank filters are an essential part of any aquarium. They help keep the water clean and provide a more natural environment for your fish to live in.
Swordtail fish can survive without a filter, but it’s not advisable because they’ll need lots of space to swim around, and their waste will build up quickly.
If you’re looking for other ways to make sure your swordtails stay healthy without relying on a filter, try adding plants like Java ferns that remove nitrates from the water naturally!
