Swordtail fish will give birth to cute little fry after 28 days of pregnancy. Swordtail fry care is critical as they are tiny and sensitive. Although the newborns swim freely right after birth and do not need parental care, they should be given a sustainable environment. Swordtail fish give birth to 100-150 fry at one birthing, and not all can survive. So, how to keep swordtail fry alive?
You can keep the swordtail fry alive by, first of all, breeding them in a separate tank. Then other factors that help them stay alive are maintaining the right water conditions, providing a properly balanced diet, adding lots of live plants, and hiding spots.
Swordtail fish fry is at constant risk of danger or even death soon after they are born. This is because they are small and can be easily preyed upon by other fish in the tank, even their parents. Likewise, they are sensitive, so they need optimum water conditions to stay alive and healthy.
This article will talk about swordtail fish fry care, focusing on how to keep them alive. So, if you want to see your tiny fry grow into a colorful, lively adult, keep reading!
How Are Swordtail Fry 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 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.
What Puts Swordtail Fry’s Life At Risk?
Swordtail fish fry is at risk of death as soon as they are born. This is because they are small and susceptible to many water-borne diseases. In addition, various factors can kill a swordtail fish fry.
Some of them are:
Weak Genes
A pregnant swordtail fish can give birth to 100 fries at a time, and they can give birth every month. This means a lot of swordtail babies.
Unfortunately, out of all the babies, some are born with weaker genes or with some deformation. This happens because female swordtail fish are tiny and might not provide the necessary nutrients to all their babies.
In such a case, your swordtail fry might not survive in the outer world and dies as soon as they are born.
Cannibal Parents
Swordtail fish will eat their babies. You read that right, and these cute-looking, vibrant, peaceful fish will actually devour their own offspring. But, it is only because they have no parental instincts and do not recognize the fry as their own.
Other Larger Fish
Swordtail fry is about 0.25 inches long. They are very tiny and look like live food you provide your fish every day. So, there are chances that your swordtail fish will be easily preyed upon by other larger fish in the tank.
Poor Water Conditions
Poor water conditions like dirty and polluted water, poor filtration and oxygenated water, improper water temperature, and hardness can risk the survival of swordtail fish fry. In addition, they are tiny and do not have as much immunity as adult fish.
The underdeveloped capacity to tolerate bad temperature and alkalinity can be detrimental to your fry.
How To Save A Swordtail Fry?
Now that we know what puts swordtail fry’s life in danger, let’s work towards protecting them. I have listened to some of the things you can do to keep the swordtail fry alive.
Separate Them From Primary Tank
The first thing you can do to ensure the safety of the swordtail fry is to separate a tank for the pregnant swordtail female once she goes into labor.
If the swordtail drops her babies in a separate tank with no other fish preying upon these tiny creatures, then you might be able to save all of them.
Swordtail fish fry cannot survive in the main tank unless you take special care of them. So, it is better to separate them into another tank to ensure their survival.
Separate The Parent
Swordtail mothers might eat swordtail fry, so you should immediately separate them after birth. You can set a separate breeding box and return the mother to the primary tank after giving birth.
Or, another way to ensure fry safety is to use the breeding box. You can keep swordtail fish in a breeding box to separate her from the fry. A breeding box is a wooden or plastic box with many holes in it. Swordtail fish can pop her fry in the box, and the fry can escape to the tank through the tiny holes on the box.
In this way, your very stressed out and tired mother’s swordtail will not go after her own babies.
Maintain Water Parameters
Fluctuation in temperature, alkalinity, and water pH can be deteriorating for your swordtail fry. Swordtail fry is tiny, undeveloped, and intolerant to water changes.
If you do not provide them with the right water temperature, they may be stressed or catch many diseases, which puts them at risk of dying.
It is important to keep the water temperature (75-82 degrees Fahrenheit), alkalinity (12-30 GH), pH (7-8) consistent so that your swordtail can enjoy the same parameters, and it will also help in its growth and development.
Proper Filtration
Maintaining proper filtration and oxygenation is necessary to ensure the survival of these little creatures. Swordtail fry needs clear and well-conditioned water to grow strong and healthy. If your water is dirty, it can cause many issues like diseases, parasites, nitrate/ammonia buildup, etc., which the fry cannot tolerate.
There you should keep your tank water clean and properly oxygenated so that you can keep the swordtail fry alive.
Make sure to use a quality filter so that it can prevent the tank from getting polluted. Similarly, you should consider the size of your swordtail fry while you install air pumps for oxygenation. They are very tiny and can get sucked up to the pumps or even the filter.
Read: Do Swordtail Fry Need A Filter?
Adding Plants And Hiding Spots
If you decide to breed your swordtail fish in the primary tank, nonetheless, make sure to add a lot of live plants and decors in the tank. These plants and decors work as hiding spots for your fry when they sense danger from predators.
Live plants like hornworts, guppy grass, java moss, java fern, etc., can provide the necessary cover for your fry when larger fish hunt them. Decors like fake plants, driftwoods, caves, seashells, etc., can also provide those hiding spots.
Thus, proper hiding spots can increase the survival rate of swordtail fry.
Adequate Diet
Another most important factor to keep the swordtail fry alive is good quality food. All organisms require a balanced diet to grow and develop. Swordtail fry also needs the right supplement of nutrients so they can grow healthy.
Swordtail fry like adults are omnivores and can eat small chunks of blood worms, brine shrimps, daphnia, algae, and blanched veggies. You must provide them with live meat as much as possible as it is a reliable source of protein. You can also feed them quality flake foods by crushing them into tiny pieces.
However, make sure not to overfeed them-provide them with a tiny amount now and then, maybe 3-5 times a day.
Therefore, these are some of how you can keep the swordtail fish alive and safe.
How Long Are Swordtail Fry At The Risk Of Being Eaten?
You need to give extra care to your swordtail fry until four weeks. After four weeks, they turn into juveniles with slight development.
The period might be different for different fish, but nothing can stop them from developing into juveniles within six weeks if the tank is well-conditioned.
Juveniles are large enough for other fish not to see them as food. Thus, they will be able to vent for themselves and avoid any potential dangers.
Thus, it is better to keep the fry separated until they are juveniles. Then, once they are big enough, you can shift them to the main tank.
Related Questions
How Many Fry Can Swordtail Fish Deliver At Once?
Swordtail fish will give birth to 50-150 fry at a single pregnancy. Therefore, you need to properly care for the fry because the mother does not have a maternal instinct to take care of her babies.
To make sure your fry are safe and healthy, maintain water conditions, add live plants, and feed them proper food.
What Are Swordtail Fry Growing Stages?
The swordtail fry is first newborns, then juveniles, the adults, and old fish. The fry develops into juvenile in 4-6 weeks, juvenile into an adult in 12-15 weeks.
Swordtail fish live for around 3-5 years. The final years can be regarded as the old stage. Swordtails are ready to join the primary tank as juveniles and ready to breed as adults.
Conclusion
Breeding a swordtail fish is easy, and so is taking care of the fry if you follow the precautions. Swordtail fry is a cute little creature with large eyes that can keep you interested or occupied for a long time if you look at them.
They grow with fast swimming abilities and do not need parental care as other organisms do. To keep your swordtail fry alive, you have to consider the above-mentioned factors. Only when you take care of your fry can they grow into healthy adults, making your tank lively.
If you’re looking into breeding fish, give these little guys a chance. They grow fast under favorable conditions and are pretty easy to look after.
