How Do Swordtail Fish Mate?

How Do Swordtail Fish Mate?

One of the most wonderful and exciting experiences as an owner is to see your beautiful fishes growing in number. But then, just imagine your Swordtail gives birth to cute baby Swordtails. Wouldn’t it be amazing? But, before that, you need to bear the responsibility of your Swordtail fish mate with each other. Although mating seems natural, there are some things you must consider so that everything goes perfectly.

So, how do Swordtail fish mate? Mating in fish is not too difficult to identify. First, the male Swordtail will flare up its fin and perform a mating dance to woo its female. Similarly, the female Swordtail will also peck to impress the male. Then, the male Swordtail will touch the females’ underside and rear fins to transfer the sperm.

Usually, this act is so quick. Hence, it would be best if you had constant vigilance to know when Swordtail is mating. 

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The mating process might seem natural, but to get healthy fry from your Swordtail, you must be aware of tons of things. Luckily, I am sharing everything I know in this article and some of my personal experiences. I hope you will find detailed information here. 

Facts Regarding How Swordtail Fish Mate

Mating is one of the most natural processes for every living thing. So, swordtails do not need much assistance when it comes to finding a partner and reproducing. However, the breeding of Swordtails is quite interesting.

Firstly, they are livebearers and do not lay eggs like most fish. In fact, Swordtails directly give birth to their fry without laying eggs. Besides this, these fishes are juvenile, i.e., they can store the male sperm inside them. And will fertilize their eggs themselves when they are ready. Isn’t this amazing??

I know all these facts excite you to know more about these fish. So, here are more of the interesting gossip about your favorite Swordtail. 

Age For Swordtail Fish To Mate

There is a rumor among beginner aquarists that the Swordtails get pregnant soon after birth. However, that’s not the case.

Like any other fish, they do need some time to mature sexually. Generally, Swordtails are ready to give birth after three months, i.e., when their reproductive organs have developed enough. However, my Swordtails got pregnant a little earlier, when they were just ten weeks old. Nevertheless, the average reproductive age is around 12-14 weeks. And, it is best to keep the males and females in the ratio of 1:3 if you want to breed them. 

Stores Sperm

As discussed earlier, Swordtails are juvenile like a guppy, molly, and other fishes. Your female Swordtail can store sperm in her pouch for months. Thus, she can get multiple inseminations even without contact with a male.

Hence, many fish owners often notice their Swordtails getting pregnant every month or so, even without any male mates.

Fertility Of Swordtail

If you ask me, I must say that the Swordtail gets pregnant a lot. After my fish reach their reproductive age, I often receive around 50-70 fry. Of course, all of them do not survive. But Swordtail does reproduce frequently.

Normally, a Swordtail will be able to breed in about two to four weeks after giving birth to the fry. I know it’s too soon, and don’t panic if you don’t want it. To avoid reproduction, you can remove the male Swordtail. Although, this doesn’t sometimes work due to the juvenile habit of Swordtail. But the least you can do is try.

Check The Gender

Before knowing about the mating behavior of your Swordtails, you must first be able to distinguish between the male and female Swordtail. Telling you the truth, actually identifying the gender of Swordtail is not rocket science.  

You can easily distinguish between the female and male populations living in your aquarium if you know a few things. And these are:

Sexual Dimorphism

As mentioned earlier, unlike other fish species, you can easily differentiate the gender of your Swordtails.

Male Swordtails have a long sword-like fin called a gonopodium. This gonopodium can grow 4 inches in length. In contrast, female Swordtails lack this sword/gonopodium. Usually, the female Swordtails have a wide anal fin. You can separate their gender by looking at their fins. Sword-like is male, and the wide or flat tail is female. 

Males are smaller as compared to females. Females are rounder too. In the most aquarium, the male Swordtail reaches the maximum height of 11 cm, and the females to 12 cm, excluding the tail length. So, here you are, do note these things when you identify Swordtails’ genders.  

I bet you can easily separate them into a different tanks through these differences. It will also help to know your tank’s male to female ratio. These techniques have always worked for me, so I guarantee they will help you. 

Keep More Females Than Males

Even though it is a natural process, you must keep your male and female in a certain ratio for successful mating. This will ensure that everything will work fine. Since the males are more aggressive, putting too much of them in the tank will result in fin nipping and disputes.

Normally, more males in a tank can spike up the aggressiveness in your tank. This is because males are very competitive about food and pairing. Thus, many males might try to fight for one female. And, you for sure don’t want this type of breeding environment for your fish. 

In addition to this, one interesting fact about male Swordtail is that: just a single adult male is enough to impregnate multiple female Swordtails. So, it is better to keep one male Swordtail with multiple female swordtails in your tank.

I usually opt for keeping three females with one male. But you can keep any number; remember that the female Swordtails population must exceed males.

Watch The Swordtail Mating Behaviour

Seeing your Swordtail mating might sound a little creepy. But actually, the mating behavior of Swordtails is rather sweet and too quick. In fact, if you are not conscious enough and supervise them 24/7, you might miss it. Thus, you must be extra alert if you want to watch your Swordtail fish mate. 

But how to know your fish is mating, or how do Swordtail fish mate? I have a feeling it is not similar to most fish. However, read further to find out yourself. 

Act Before Swordtail Fish Mate

First and foremost, the Swordtails will lock lips as a gesture of love. You might call it the kissing of fish. This act is most common in Cichlid species.

Then, the male Swordtail will flare up his fin to attract the female Swordtail. It is to show that he is larger than his actual size. The male is trying to woo the female by doing so. This behavior of the male resonates that he has enough sperm to give to the females. I usually love this activity and find it worth watching. If you have swordtails in your house, don’t miss it!

Moreover, some aquarists also say that the female Swordtail will peck the substrate tank wall and sometimes even nip the male to attract him. I haven’t seen such activity in my fish when they are mating. So, I am not sure. But, I often notice the females circling the male when they want to mate. 

Male Swimming Around Female

When a male is attracted to a female Swordtail, it will always revolve around the female. You might notice your male swordtail swimming excessively around the female. And, it might surprise you. But don’t worry, it is a common mating behavior of the male.

Some novice aquarists often try to separate the male. But the male always finds his way back to the female Swordtail. And the male Swordtail will usually swim on the females’ side to get their attention.

It’s a too interesting watch. If you are unaware of the mating act, you might think Swordtails are playing. I, too, thought it so when I saw them following each other for the first time. 

The Actual Act 

After a lot of wooing and pleasing, the actual act of mating is very quick. You might even miss it if you are not attentive enough. So, you have to pay constant attention to your tank if you want to see it. 

Mating starts when the male Swordtail rubs his body near the female Swordtail’s underside and rear fin. Then, the male will deposit semen through its fin and run in the opposite direction. It happens in a fleet second. Next, the female Swordtails use semen to fertilize their eggs and store some of them in the pouch. In this way, the stored semen can help the female to impregnate themselves several times in the future without males. 

How To Know That Swordtails Mated Successfully Or Not?

After seeing how Swordtail mates, a question might trigger you: whether the mating was successful or not? Off course, what’s the point of mating if you can’t get healthy baby Swordtails after it. So, how do you know mating was successful?

You will know that your Swordtails have mated successfully once you see the signs of pregnancy in your female Swordtail. The gestational period of Swordtail is a month. But, the signs of pregnancy will be visible within a few days. 

Usually, the signs of pregnancy are a blue spot near the anal fin, around or squared belly, it becomes double in size, and a gravid spot. Moreover, during the later stage of pregnancy, you will even notice your Swordtail hiding in a corner behind plants when they are about to give birth. 

After being pregnant for 3-4 weeks, the female will then directly bear cute little Swordtail fry. In general, Swordtail usually gives birth to 50-100 fry at a time. But I personally only receive around 70-80 babies in each pregnancy. But your Swordtail can give birth to more of them. It all depends on sperm quality and breeding conditions. 

Maintaining Ideal Tank Conditions For Swordtail Fish To Mate

The tank condition at the time of breeding and during pregnancy also plays a major role in producing a larger number of healthy fry. Generally, your Swordtails breed more rapidly and happily under good water conditions. So, let us look at the ideal water parameters for your Swordtails.

Temperature

Undoubtedly, temperature plays a major role in the health of the fish and fry. The extreme temperature might decrease the number of sperms and eggs in Swordtails. This fish breed usually prefers a little warmer water of 78 degrees Fahrenheit. So, you should always keep your tank water around this temperature. You can buy a heater and thermometer to avoid fluctuation in water temperature.

Note: Remember that water temperature is very crucial.

pH

Another most important thing in a breeding tank is the pH of the water. There are many cases in which fishes and their fry die due to the wrong water pH. Therefore, it is very important to maintain the water at an ideal pH for the sperms to survive. The sperms are more likely to die if the water pH fluctuates.

However, the ideal pH for a Swordtail tank is 7.2. You can increase pH by using a bit of baking soda. But, please calculate the pH and the amount needed before keeping it in your tank. For this, you can use pH paper.

pH paper is very easy to use and readily available in pet shops. So, you won’t have a problem getting hold of it.

DG

Furthermore, the hardness of water also plays a major role in the well-being of the fish. A Swordtail will never survive and breed if the water is too hard for them. So, 10-15 DG is ideal for breeding your Swordtails with regular water changes.

Tank Size

Just like we humans suffocate when kept in a crowdy room. Swordtails also need space to move around and swim. Therefore, a congested tank will not serve as a perfect environment for your Swordtail to breed.

Generally speaking, one Swordtail needs 15 gallons of water to swim around. And, for breeding, you can need one male with 2-3 female Swordtails. So, ideally, you need a 40-gallon tank for the best breeding condition.

Hence, the breeding tank should be 40-50 gallons. Besides this, there must also be some substrate and live plants in the tank. All these will make the breeding environment lively, and your fish will also love them.

Separate The Fish In The Tank

You can keep glass between the male and female Swordtail for a while to separate them. This will increase the will of the fishes to mate. Besides this, sometimes mating can be aggressive too. So, separating them might help to ease the situation. 

Once you think your fish is ready to mate, keep a male and a female on the other side of the glass. And, follow the say for other female Swordtails. This ensures that every fish is impregnated.

FAQ 

Does Swordtail Fish Eat Their Own Babies?

Livebearer fish are notoriously famous for eating their babies. And, even though Swordtails are peaceful fish, they don’t shy away from eating their babies.

That’s why you should separate Swordtail fry from their kind soon after birth. Then, use a scoop net and lure the babies to another tank. 

Are Swordtail Fish Livebearers?

Unlike other fish who lay eggs, Swordtails are livebearer fish. This means that Swordtails directly give birth to their fry as a whole without going through the egg-laying phase. 

Conclusion

The mating ritual of Swordtail is very interesting. Firstly, instead of laying eggs and getting that egg fertilized, Swordtails prefer to birth live fry directly. Then, this amazing mating ritual is where the males flare their fins and woo the females. All these things are a delight to watch. You must not miss them if you have swordtails. 

Hopefully, now you are well aware of how Swordtail fish mate. And the things to consider for their successful mating. Do come again for more interesting topics on Swordtail. We will be waiting for you.

Thanks for your reading! Enjoy your day!

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