Do you have swordtails in your aquarium? The chances are that if you do, they’re doing just fine—however, the odds of your swordtails dying increase dramatically when we make rookie mistakes.
Swordtails are one of the hardiest freshwater tropical fish and won’t die easily. Swordtails die either of old age, diseases, or because of the carelessness of the owner. They die due to mistakes like overfeeding them or not changing their water often enough.
This article will discuss how to keep these hardy fish alive and healthy for as long as possible!
Why Did My Swordtail Fish Die?
Swordtail is fish are tropical freshwater fish. They are hardy and can tolerate a wide range of temperatures. Nevertheless, death is a common occurrence in swordtail fish because they are delicate.
There are many reasons why your swordtail might have died. Swordtails can die when they come of age. They can also die of illness and diseases.
However, if you brought home a young and perfectly healthy swordtail, the common cause of death can be unfavorable environments. The slightest fluctuations in the temperature and water quality can lead to the death of your swordtail.
Similarly, your swordtails can even die when you underfeed or overfeed them. Therefore, it is crucial to take care of your swordtail’s tank requirements to prevent swordtails from dying.
If your swordtails keep dying, it is because they are unable to tolerate their tank environment.
Common Reasons For Swordtail Death
It’s important to keep your swordtails happy and healthy if you want them around for a while. Check the following list of common reasons why a beloved fish died in their tank:
Lack Of Space
Swordtails need lots of room to move around and swim to avoid stress and aggression. Therefore, a tank is not the best choice for swordtails unless you can create a lot of space by separating other fish.
Poor Water Conditions
Swordtails are sensitive to water conditions and require pristine levels of cleanliness. Anything from an uncycled tank, a dirty filter, or a lack of air circulation can stress the fish and cause death.
Aggressive Behavior
If you have an aggressive male swordtail in your tank attacking other females, he will quickly run out of mates, and many of the females will die.
An Inadequate Diet
Swordtails require a varied diet to be healthy, so if you fail to feed them properly, this can cause death.
Lack Of Oxygen
A tank that does not have sufficient oxygen levels is also problematic for swordtail health – it can lead to suffocation and death.
Illness
Swordtails are prone to parasites and other ailments, such as dropsy or fin rot. These can cause an early death if they go untreated.
Excessive Stress
High stress levels can cause a swordtail to die, so if you notice any signs of breathing rapidly or darting out for air, the fish is experiencing high stress levels.
Old Age
Swordtails can live up to five years, but their average lifespan is closer to two. So, there are chances that your swordtails might have died because they got old.
How Do I Know If My Swordtail Is Sick? What Are The Symptoms?
Sickness can cause death in a swordtail. Therefore, you have to check for all possible diseases by identifying the symptoms to know whether your swordtail is sick.
Check the following list of common symptoms to see if your swordtail is sick:
Behavioral Symptoms
- Restlessness
- Aggression toward other fish in the tank or aggression from other fish in the tank that might be reacting to illness.
Physical Signs Of Sickness
- Dropsy (swollen scales)
- White spots on the body
- Abnormal bulging eyes or swollen abdomen
- Lethargy (lack of energy)
If your swordtail displays any of these symptoms, then it’s best to take them out and isolate them in a separate container to avoid passing an illness onto other fish. The only way to treat this illness is to isolate the swordtail and treat it with medication.
The Top Tips For Keeping Your Swordtail Healthy
Swordtails are the hardiest freshwater tropical fish around, but that doesn’t mean they’re invincible! Here’s a list of things to keep in mind if you want your swordtails to live and keep them from dying for as long as possible:
Appropriate Tank Conditions
Please provide them with plenty of space in the tank. Also, keep a clean tank (don’t forget to regularly change the water, filter it well, and ensure adequate air circulation).
Fill your tank with plants! Swordtails are naturally inquisitive creatures that enjoy investigating new things and exploring their environment to hunt prey in it. So get some live plants (not fake plastic ones) for them, so they have hiding places and plenty of food to munch on.
Maintain Water Parameters
Keep your water clean and in top condition. Any changes can stress the fish, making them more vulnerable to disease or attack from other fish.
The appropriate temperature for swordtails is 76-80 degrees Fahrenheit. The pH and Hardness should be within the pH range: neutral, Hardness (KH): 0-15.
Even the tiniest fluctuation in temperature or pH can change the water’s chemistry and lead to a toxic environment.
Provide Adequate Diet
Please provide them with a varied diet that includes different types of food. Swordtails are omnivorous, so they eat both meaty foods and plant matter. Feed them many live plants (try to vary the type not to overload their digestive system).
Plants are an important part of swordtail’s diet because they eat algae and tiny creatures. Also, make sure not to overfeed them.
Keep Compatible Tank Mates
Keep an eye out for signs of bullying or fighting, and separate the swordtails if you see any aggression developing.
Give them plenty of places where they can hide or swim away from other fish. Otherwise, the larger, aggressive fish nip them all day long.
Don’t overcrowd the tank – swordtails prefer to live in groups of 4-5. Check the make female ratio and keep 1 male swordtail with at least 3 female swordtails.
Keep An Eye Out For Diseases
Diseases such as ragged fins or brown patches on the skin are signs that your swordtail is sick.
If you notice any of these, treat the tank with an anti-bacterial treatment as soon as possible, and don’t feed them for a few days until they start to recover.
Treat any signs of illness immediately by isolating the animal and treating it with medication.
FAQs
What Is The Lifespan Of Swordtail Fish?
The lifespan of swordtails can range from a few years to up to 10 years. In the lid, swordtails can live up to a decade or so. If your swordtails are healthy and take good care of them, they will easily live for 3-5 years.
How Can I Know If My Swordtail Is Happy?
Swordtails are happy to fish when they have plenty of plants to swim around, and we can feel the temperature at least 78 degrees.
If your swordtails are happy, they will swim around actively and engage with other fish in the tank.
How Can I Know If My Swordtails Are Stressed?
Swordtails will start to act more cautiously and hide in the plants when they feel stressed.
If you notice your swordtail acting differently, change out 25% of their water every other day for a week until things seem normal again or bring them back into our warm house.
Conclusion
You must make sure your tank has plenty of plants, and the water temperature stays above 78 degrees. If the swordtails in your tank still keep dying, it could be due to a lack of nutrients or stress from new surroundings.
In this case, we recommend bringing them back into our warm house for a few weeks until things feel normal again. Take proper care of your swordtail fish and maintain all preferred conditions.
Good tank conditions, best mates, adequate diet will keep your swordtails happy and keep the death away.
