Swordtail Fry Expected Tonight? Tomorrow?

[Panamera]

Hi,

i bought a few swordtails, they had babies, the usual.

but the poor things didnt stand a chance. abrely a day old they got masacred by my fully grown Kribensis.

(i put in a baby guppy. not fry. not adult. like just begining to get big. my krib ate the whole thing. one bite. it wouldnt even fit in its mouth. still ate it)

so this time my swordtail is pregnant. i have a breeding trap. i was wondering. when it has its babies. is it ok to keep them in the breeder trap until they are big enough to avoid being eaten by the krib? or would i need a seperate tank. i am trying to avoid the whol new tank things cause its costy.

also i dont know when to put my ST in the breeder this time. ive put it in 2 times with nothing happening. how huge does it exactly have to get? 5teady's topics didnt really help...cause going by that i should have had babies 2 weeks ago. his swordtail giving birth dosnt even look fat
heres a pic:
[URL="http/img65.imageshack.us/img65/511/dsc00213.jpg"]http/img65.imageshack.us/img65/511/dsc00213.jpg[/URL]

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the site Panamera.
It can be difficult to tell when a swordtail is ready to drop because they do not get as big or square off as much as a platy or a molly. If you know when the fish last dropped fry, you can figure that the next drop will be 4 weeks later plus or minus a bit. If you can catch the date on a second drop, the next one is likely to arrive at the same interval like clockwork. If you are patient enough, that third drop is very predictable. Newborn swordtail fry are smaller and even more vulnerable than guppies, they are even smaller than a guppy. I have no idea how long it might take a swordtail to grow big enough to survive a krib but I know that kribs can get quite large and are not herbivores. I would be upset enough with common swordtails but with my new nezzy swords I would be livid at losing fry to a krib.

 

[Panamera]

Hi thanks =).

yeah probably havnt noticed as i see them everyday, but i imagine my krib has probably gotten alot bigger. because when i got it. it was right in the middle of loads of guppy fry and it didnt even chase them. now it finds one fry. it knows there are more. it goes hunting lol. literally. searching everywhere for as long as it takes.

but my main issue is if i can keep the fry in the breeder thing until its big enough. for that reason i got the big 2 in 1 breeder. like when i take the mother out. i can take the divider out so its even more space.

 

[OldMan47]

Taking the divider out will give a little more room but I like to use a grow-out tank for my small livebearers. Right now I have my molly fry in a 55 gallon tank so that they can get bigger quickly and maybe be big enough for a club project where we will be setting up a tank in a nursing home for the residents to enjoy. In the meantime you need to be aware that good water and frequent feeding are a must for growing fry quickly. Warm water temperatures within the normal range for your particular fish, will also encourage faster growth.

 

[Panamera]

Hi i needa know if its due tonight or not lol. 5teady said 1 week to go last week exactly. now i can see the gravid spot . but does it get any darker or is this it?
and also is it always the case that the fish goes isolated? mines quite active still
thanks here are some pics. in the second pic you cans ee how round it is. sorry it swims so fast i cant get a decent shot

http/iforce.co.nz/i/iso2mh2z.jpg
http/iforce.co.nz/i/itmrbrhy.jpg

 

[OldMan47]

She is heavy enough that I would expect her to drop any day now. She could be as close as today or tomorrow. As I said earlier, I have a hard time judging swordtails because they don't square off like a molly does. If that was a molly, she would be a good week away yet.

 

[Panamera]

She is heavy enough that I would expect her to drop any day now. She could be as close as today or tomorrow. As I said earlier, I have a hard time judging swordtails because they don't square off like a molly does. If that was a molly, she would be a good week away yet.

Thanks for your help. yeah this is my first experience with swords. platties were so easy to tell. this .... ive been expecting it to drop anyday now for 2 weeks lol. its just got a gravid spot now. not very easy. i may place it in the trap tonight. will see what happens =).

you know what makes it so much harder to tell? when they eat. they bloat up extremely. so you thinkthey're gonna drop. then the next morning they're slim again.

 

[Panamera]

lol Oldman im beginning to think they aint comming...... no fry from that fish yet. is it possible that maybe shes keeping it for longer than shes suppised to? im beginning to see distinguishable dots in its gravid spot. which im guessing are the babies