Swordtails are freshwater fish that is popular to keep as a pet. The question of whether or not swordtails die after giving birth has been asked many times, and the answer may surprise you!
Why did your swordtail die after giving birth? Do swordtails die after giving birth? The answer completely depends on how you took care of your pregnant swordtail. Swordtail fish won’t generally die after giving birth and it is quite an unnatural thing to happen.
However, various reasons can lead to the death of female swordtail fish after giving birth to the young ones such as difficulty during labor, repeated pregnancies, harassment by males and other females in the breeding box, low water parameters, or disease.
Swordtails can live for years as long as they don’t die after giving birth.
In this article, you will learn about the reasons why some swordtail fish can die from giving birth and how to prevent it so that your new mother has time to swim around in your tank.
Do All Swordtails Die After Giving Birth?
No, swordtail fish do not die after giving birth. But they might die for some other reason.
When swordtails are pregnant, you should care for them. Afterward, continue to monitor and take care of any issues that come up.
Reasons Why Swordtail Fish Die After Giving Birth
There are many reasons why your female swordtail fish is dying after giving birth most of the time. We often confuse one thing with another when it comes to the death of our aquarium fish.
Hence, here are all the reasons that are the probable cause for swordtail fish to die after giving birth.
Repeated Pregnancy
This is a reason why swordtail fish die after giving birth. When they give birth, they are worn out from having too many fry at once and not enough time to recover in between.
Swordtail fish can reproduce many times, but if they do it too many times, they might get sick. If you want them to have babies again in the future, we can separate the female from males for two months before she breeds again.
The female can become very tired and possibly sick if she has a lot of babies. This is because she is in the water for a long time while pregnant. It also puts a lot of stress on the female, which can lead to death.
Difficulty During Labor
The difficulty of giving birth is a big problem for swordtail fish. When they have trouble or don’t know how to give birth, they can die from not having enough air.
If your female is struggling during labor and cannot get a grip on how to deliver the fry, you may need to help with delivering the fry.
Bad Water Parameters
One of the reasons why fish die after giving birth is that they are not healthy enough to give birth or raise their babies in bad water quality. If you want your fish to have a successful pregnancy and live longer, it’s important to keep up with water testing and changing out old filters.
A high pH or dissolved oxygen level in the water can make the swordtail fish die. The fish might have trouble breathing and this could lead to death.
Harassment
Swordtail fish are a kind of peaceful and social fish. But if they are bothered too much when they are pregnant, they can die. You should take your time to give them plenty of space in the breeding tank and make sure you separate males from females when necessary.
If the female swordtail is being bothered by other aggressive male swordtails, one must be shifted.
Stress
If she is pregnant again before her current batch of live babies, this can cause a lot of stress on the fish. If they are still actively spawning while being pregnant too often, they can’t eat enough to keep up their health.
This will likely lead to the death of one or both batches, due to malnutrition and lack of oxygen in the tank.
Female Swordtail Already Sick
Female swordtail might be sich from other parasites or diseases long before she got pregnant. In such cases, pregnancy adds extra stress and she might die after or even during birth.
Female swordtail fish can get sick before they give birth to their babies. If a female swordtail is already very ill, she might not be able to handle the stress of pregnancy and labor. Make sure you take good care of her while she is pregnant.
How to Keep Swordtail Fish From Dying After Birth?
After giving birth, you may wonder how to keep swordtail fish alive. It is not hard. If you do more for them in the tank, the death of swordtail fish is less likely to happen.
Help Labor Process
Female swordtails can struggle giving birth and may need a little help. To help deliver the baby, use tweezers to grab it and gently pull it out or take a dry towel or mat made of sponges (not terrycloth) and place them over her mouth so she can push properly.
Keep Water Quality Constant
Keep the water clean so your fish can give birth and raise their fry. Make sure to always have a good filter running in the tank or change out old filters often. You also want to make sure that there is no buildup of ammonia which could be fatal to pregnant swordtail fishes. You need to keep the temperature in your tank at a
Keeping your water quality up will help protect the swordtail fish from illness and death. The best way is to use a top-quality filter, change out old filters regularly and keep an eye on ammonia levels in the tank. Ammonia can be toxic for many freshwater fishes.
Make sure to keep up with water testing and changing out old filters, to maintain a perfect level of cleanliness for the swordtail fish.
Prevent And Treat Disease
It’s very important to make sure the female swordtail fish is not sick before she gives birth because it can lead to her death as well.
If you notice any signs of disease before or during labor, make sure you’re treating them appropriately as soon as possible! If they have an illness that could worsen during childbirth, there’s a higher chance of them dying after giving birth.
Good Diet
Female swordtails fish need to eat well in order to stay healthy during pregnancy. It is helpful if you feed them before they become pregnant, but they can still have healthy babies even if they weren’t on a good diet beforehand.
Swordtail fish can be kept alive after giving birth if the female is given a proper diet while pregnant. They also need not be harassed by other swordtails in the breeding tank.
It can be hard to provide the right food for a pregnant or giving birth female swordtail. The best thing would be a varied diet of high-quality live foods such as Brine Shrimp and Bloodworms.
Separate From Males
If you see signs that your female swordtail fish is being harassed or stressed during her pregnancy, it is important to separate her from the other swordtails in the tank. They can feel threatened and harassed by other swordtails who are trying to mate with them while she is pregnant.
Separate your fish before they give birth. This will help them not get harassed or stressed out. It will also make it easier for them to give birth.
If you want your female swordtail fish to live after she gives birth, then separate them from the males before she becomes pregnant. This way, other swordtails won’t try to mate with her.
FAQs
There are many questions about swordtail fish, and I have answered some of the most frequently asked ones for your information.
Does Mother Swordtail Eat Their Baby?
Yes and no. Most of the time, fish don’t eat their babies. But sometimes they might eat them if the tank is overcrowded or there are too many uneaten food particles floating around.
You may have heard how a fish would eat anything that fits in their mouth. This is the same: they won’t search for their young to inhale them; rather they will consume them whenever the babies are within reach and small enough to fit inside their mouth.
Are Swordtail Fish Hard To Breed?
Swordtail fish are easy to breed. You just need to give them good food and keep the water clean.
The best way to make breeding swordtail fish easier is by providing them with all that they need for healthy offspring.
Conclusion
To keep pregnant swordtails alive, you need to be sure that they have enough space and that they are not overcrowded. You should also separate them from males when necessary. If there is a problem, take care of it right away. The most important thing you can do for pregnant swordtails is given them the best food possible-bloodworms, brine shrimps with algae, or other plant supplements.
I hope you found our article helpful in your quest to better understand how to keep swordtails from dying after giving birth.
