Pregnant Swordtail

Hi.

I have two swordtails. One male one female. The female is pregnant. She has been pregnant for some time! She has been pregnant for two months. I think she has. I read somewhere that it takes that long for a dog but she is a fish not a dog. She is showing all the symptoms. She has a gravid spot on her abdomen, her belly has expanded, and when she was in the tank, she had trouble swimming. Can any one help me understand what is wrong? Thank you.

(This posting is from my nine-year-old. Please be kind and help. Thank you! -KL)

Describe your set-up please, post a photo if you can as well How big is the tank? How many fish do you have? How long have you had the tank for? Do you have plants? How long have you had the female for? What is the temperature?

Also if you know your water parameters, please post those too. I am interested in the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and hardness readings.

I think the female might have already given birth once, about a month ago.. but it would help if I knew the above to figure out what is going on!

Thank you, Kat. (This is from the dad.)

Here are the pictures you asked for. They contain the information about the water and my aquarium. The water temperature is 25.5 degrees Celsius. The tank is 20 gallons (over 80 liters). I have seven fish, and Samantha, the swordtail, is in the breeder. I've had the tank for, I think 2 years. I've had Samantha for, I'm guessing 3 months, but I'm not sure.

Thank you for all your help!
- Maggie

Kitty Kat said:

Describe your set-up please, post a photo if you can as well How big is the tank? How many fish do you have? How long have you had the tank for? Do you have plants? How long have you had the female for? What is the temperature?

Also if you know your water parameters, please post those too. I am interested in the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and hardness readings.

I think the female might have already given birth once, about a month ago.. but it would help if I knew the above to figure out what is going on!

Click to expand...

Thank you, that information helps quite a lot.

Maggie, do you know how cats and dogs always find a box or a corner to curl up in when they give birth? Some fish do something which is a little similar, and many Livebearers (Swordtails, Guppies, and so on) can delay birth until they find a place like that where they feel secure. I think Samantha is not comfortable in the little box because she is very exposed, so she is not ready to give birth. Now, there are a few things which you can do to help her:

1. If you let her out of the box, she might hide in some of the fake plants, and make that her little place. If you do this, some of the babies might not make it.

2. There is one plant which the Livebearers love and is very easy to look after that you could try: Java moss. There are two things you can do with it:
* You can place a bit of moss in the breeder box to make Samantha feel more secure.
* You can attach the moss to the rock structure you have on the right side of the aquarium and let Samantha out. When she gives birth, the babies will hide in the moss and more of them will make than without the moss.

I would recommend the last option because fish are not as good as humans, cats or dogs at giving birth in small, confined spaces.

Another bit of advice I can give is to get another female. Many Livebearers do better if there are 2 females for every male.