Question bout swordtails

[Tyler777]

I'm thinking bout getting a mini school of swordtails.
Do several males n females will get along with each other ?

I mean will several females get along with each other ? And several males b OK with each other or will fight a lot ?

 

[emeraldking]

It depends more on the size of your tank. Multiple males and females with sufficient space won't be a problem. But when they're housed smaller, more activity among eachother will happen. It doesn't have to be a fight but more impressing another.
I also keep and breed several kinds of swordtail species in several tanks. And there are both sexes in multiple numbers and they do just fine among eachother.

 

[MaloK]

The alpha male wont have to shreds his fins to be the prominent figure of the tank and competition is always under cover with them. So a little quick male can do a lot while looking right toward the alpha and meet a lots of lady's while he looks away.

Dichotomy of the ruling class toward the real rulers. They are all mutts and if you don't remove them they take over.

Once the tank is mutted, competition slows down. but they are more aggressive by nature. They bully without discrimination and you have to cope with it.

@emeraldking is a saint to be able to comply and control all that at the same time.

 

[Tyler777]

It depends more on the size of your tank. Multiple males and females with sufficient space won't be a problem. But when they're housed smaller, more activity among eachother will happen. It doesn't have to a fight but more impressing another.
I also keep and breed several kinds of swordtail species in several tanks. And there are both sexes in multiple numbers and they do just fine among eachother.

I have a 46 gallons tank.
Thanks for your info my friend

The alpha male wont have to shreds his fins to be the prominent figure of the tank and competition is always under cover with them. So a little quick male can do a lot while looking right toward the alpha and meet a lots of lady's while he looks away.

Dichotomy of the ruling class toward the real rulers. They are all mutts and if you don't remove them they take over.

Once the tank is mutted, competition slows down. but they are more aggressive by nature. They bully without discrimination and you have to cope with it.

@emeraldking is a saint to be able to comply and control all that at the same time.

Ok thankbyou

 

[FishyD]

I haven't really had much damage, but they can display dominance for sure. As Emerald King said, a couple pairs together can be no problem. I had a pair of largish Montezuma's last round. The female was VERY timid to my surprise and hid behind the sponge filter most all the time. The male was immediately in charge of the tank. He didn't harm anything, but probably because everybody backed off when he came around. I sold them to a dealer after a few months, with some offspring. Mostly because the female was just not loving life and I had no other large tank I thought appropriate. Anyway, I intend to try swords again. Hopefully I can find a younger pair this time, or some juvies.

 

[Colin_T]

In the wild, most female livebearers hang out in large groups consisting of between 20 & 50 (but sometimes up to 100 or more) females. These groups have a pecking order with the biggest most dominant female ruling the group and she has a group of girlfriends who back her up. All the other females live in the group but are lower down the pecking order.

The groups of females move around rivers and waterways looking for food and places to hang out. As the groups move around a few males follow the group and try to breed with any females. The groups of males have a pecking order too and the biggest male will bully his smaller mates.

In the confines of an aquarium, the males will constantly harass the females and try to breed with them. This puts undue stress on the females and if there are too many males constantly pestering the females, the females can get sick and die prematurely.

In my opinion it is preferable to keep common livebearers like swordtails in single sex tanks (either male or female but not both sexes together). If you want a group of males and females then have 1 male and at least 6 females (preferably 10 or more females per male) so the harassment is spread out over more females.

 

[Oldspartan]

We have one male and four females in the 37G tank. No big issues although the male does spend his time chasing one or another of the girls. The courting is spread pretty evenly though so the ladies to not act stressed for the most part. No litters yet but I am sure they will happen.

The swords are destined for the currently mothballed 44 gallon that will be in our bedroom at some point. Hoping they will peacefully share the space with a couple of Angelfish and a BN Pleco.

 

[Ichthys]

As Colin says, only keep one male, with several females, or there'll be trouble.
They don't shoal (you mentioned a shoal of them), and of course they absolutely need hard water. Is your water hard?

 

[emeraldking]

They don't shoal

Actually, swordtails can shoal for sure. But they're not schooling fish...

 

[Tyler777]

Actually, swordtails can shoal for sure. But they're not schooling fish...

Ok, thanks

 

[Ichthys]

Actually, swordtails can shoal for sure. But they're not schooling fish...

They don't normally shoal in a tank, is what I meant. In a tank, usually the dominant male bullies or kills the other adult males, and stresses out the females. In a tank, usually the only way to keep them is one male to half a dozen or so females.

 

[emeraldking]

@emeraldking is a saint to be able to comply and control all that at the same time.

It works just fine...

 

[emeraldking]

THey don't normally shoal in a tank, is what I meant. In a tank, usually the dominant male bullies or kills the other adult males, and stresses out the females. In a tank, usually the only way to keep them is one male to half a dozen or so females.

You should take a look overhere if you get the chance. Then you'll see the opposite happening...

 

[Colin_T]

You should take a look overhere if you get the chance. Then you'll see the opposite happening...

Is that with your wild caught fish?
Just wondering if there's a change in their behaviour due to domestication vs wild. In Australia the fish all come from Asian fish farms and the males are just straight out bottoms. All they do is hassle the females and argue with each other.

 

[emeraldking]

Is that with your wild caught fish?

Yes but also with my breeding forms I've kept. Most of our Dutch wholesalers get their fish from Asia, Czech Republic, Israel, Germany, Brasil and from private breeders such as me.