Hey there guys, I have a new tank (I'll have had the fish two weeks on Monday 
) and I have a few questions. The tank is ten gallons, the temp 26 C (75 F), and the water is pretty normal (7.5 ph and 0 nitrite and ammonia). I have a very young, what I believe to be male (no sword yet), black swordtail and a really pretty big yellow female swordtail. I know that I need another female but three swordtails would overcrowd a tank of this size. I have a feeling that two swordtails is too much for ten gallons as well, but every website I read has a different opinion 
. Any opinions by experienced swordtail owners? I have my eye on a very cheap 160l (40g) tank. Anyway, my questions...
1: Salt? I know that swordtails don't need it, but if they ever get sick, I would like to have some on hand. I looked everywhere, but the only stuff I can find comes in giant packages and I only need a few teaspoons! I live in Germany, but one would have thought that German fish need salt too, right...? Does anyone know any companies that sell aquarium salt? I'm assuming one can't use kitchen salt...
2: At what age do male swordtails become sexually mature? When I got my male, his anal fin was still somewhat roundish, but now I'm pretty sure it's turning into a gonopodium. I've stared at his fin for ages, but no sign of a sword yet . It would really help to know at what point he can start breeding!
3: I have also noticed that my female chases my male around sometimes and nips him a bit. Sorta confusing, since I thought the males were supposed to pester the females! As far as I can tell, I think it's pretty harmless, she only really does it for a minute or two after feeding time, but I just want to make sure. I'm guessing it's territorial, so once I get that bigger tank, will that resolve the problem? Also, will rearranging the decorations help a bit?
4: I'm worried that my female might be pregnant. I noticed she had a dark spot on her side, which I thought might be a gravid spot a few nights ago. It seems to have disappeared or at least faded in the daylight, but there is definately a pink area behind her stomach which was not there before. Can gravid spots start out pink? I really want to know if she's pregnant as early as possible, so I can cycle that new tank and get the male out of there! Btw, if I were to put the male in the new tank would the fact that he is alone affect his health negatively?
5: Finally, I read that long poo is usually a bad sign with fish. Well, mine have been having some long poo lately and I don't know how to stop it! I've been feeding them some frozen food every day, but it doesn't go away! I gave them some frozen algae, beef heart, and red mosquito larvae. Could the problem be that I feed them three times a day? Or are they not eating enough of the frozen food? They hardly touched the beef heart and when I gave them red mosquito larvae (which I was sure they would love) they only nibbled on it. Silly little guys, this makes me made because I have to spend forever fishing out excess food and they don't like me sticking my hand in their tank!
Lol!
Thanks for reading this entire post, sorry that it's so long! Any answers are greatly appriciated!
) and I have a few questions. The tank is ten gallons, the temp 26 C (75 F), and the water is pretty normal (7.5 ph and 0 nitrite and ammonia). I have a very young, what I believe to be male (no sword yet), black swordtail and a really pretty big yellow female swordtail. I know that I need another female but three swordtails would overcrowd a tank of this size. I have a feeling that two swordtails is too much for ten gallons as well, but every website I read has a different opinion . Any opinions by experienced swordtail owners? I have my eye on a very cheap 160l (40g) tank. Anyway, my questions...1: Salt? I know that swordtails don't need it, but if they ever get sick, I would like to have some on hand. I looked everywhere, but the only stuff I can find comes in giant packages and I only need a few teaspoons! I live in Germany, but one would have thought that German fish need salt too, right...? Does anyone know any companies that sell aquarium salt? I'm assuming one can't use kitchen salt...
2: At what age do male swordtails become sexually mature? When I got my male, his anal fin was still somewhat roundish, but now I'm pretty sure it's turning into a gonopodium. I've stared at his fin for ages, but no sign of a sword yet
. It would really help to know at what point he can start breeding!3: I have also noticed that my female chases my male around sometimes and nips him a bit. Sorta confusing, since I thought the males were supposed to pester the females! As far as I can tell, I think it's pretty harmless, she only really does it for a minute or two after feeding time, but I just want to make sure. I'm guessing it's territorial, so once I get that bigger tank, will that resolve the problem? Also, will rearranging the decorations help a bit?
4: I'm worried that my female might be pregnant. I noticed she had a dark spot on her side, which I thought might be a gravid spot a few nights ago. It seems to have disappeared or at least faded in the daylight, but there is definately a pink area behind her stomach which was not there before. Can gravid spots start out pink? I really want to know if she's pregnant as early as possible, so I can cycle that new tank and get the male out of there! Btw, if I were to put the male in the new tank would the fact that he is alone affect his health negatively?
5: Finally, I read that long poo is usually a bad sign with fish. Well, mine have been having some long poo lately and I don't know how to stop it! I've been feeding them some frozen food every day, but it doesn't go away! I gave them some frozen algae, beef heart, and red mosquito larvae. Could the problem be that I feed them three times a day? Or are they not eating enough of the frozen food? They hardly touched the beef heart and when I gave them red mosquito larvae (which I was sure they would love) they only nibbled on it. Silly little guys, this makes me made because I have to spend forever fishing out excess food and they don't like me sticking my hand in their tank!
Lol!Thanks for reading this entire post, sorry that it's so long! Any answers are greatly appriciated!
Ebay is a good idea too, I'll check it out. I have been trying to take some photos, but my fish seem pretty camera shy. I'll keep trying and post some as soon as I have some decent ones. Thanks for helping!
