Pregnant Swardfish?

[Fishy friend2]

honestly, with the amount of fry a swordtail could drop, and the starting size of the fry. I dont think a standard breeding trap would be enough space for them to grow properly during the first few weeks

 

[AshleyT]

Erm what would happen if I put like I fishing net into the tank a big one what you would you would use in a lake or sumthing?

 

[Fishy friend2]

depends on how big it is. but IMO atleast 2-2.5 feet in lenght, and 1-1.5 feet in hieght, and width is needed to grow out swordtail fry as swrods have the potential to reach 4 inches

 

[AshleyT]

Yeah it's about that size, so would that be fine, yes?

 

[Fishy friend2]

for about 10-20 fry, but you realize that if you keep all those fry that you wont have much space in your tank

 

[Cazgar]

How big is your tank?

 

[soybean]

Loads of plant cover and let nature take its course.

This won't be the only batch of fry she ever drops and can you realistically keep them all? You'll be overrun in no time. Part and parcel of having livebearers is having babies in the tank that either make it or don't.

 

[AshleyT]

Yeah but more than likely more than half will proberly die

And a 380 liter

 

[soybean]

And? You can't save them all anyway, they'll be eaten as they're born, usually during the night or early morning.

When I had platys I had one male and two or three females, and about six months later I was offloading nearly 80 young ones to a shop, for free, and I hadn't done a thing to save any of them.

They're canny little things and can find shelter in nooks and crannies if you supply them, and in plants, and find tiny particles of food.

Livebearers have babies constantly, just leave them to it, it's what they do.

 

[AshleyT]

Was 80 from just one fish? And how big are they when born?

 

[soybean]

80 in total from two or three females, that grew up in the tank without any help from me. Not born all at once, obviously. They're probably around a cm when born.

I tell you this just as an example of how quickly livebearers will populate the tank with your help or not.

 

[AshleyT]

Do you know the size for a swardtail or guppie?

 

[Fishy friend2]

4 inches is the max for a swordtail
1-1/2 inches is the max for a guppy

 

[soybean]

Probably about the same, swordtail maybe a bit larger, guppies around the same but more slender.

 

[AshleyT]

Ok thanks