# Swordtails



## sammies4787 (Jan 8, 2009)

So, I just got three swordtails for my 16 gallon bowfront aquarium. I have a few questions about them as I don't really know anything about them. 

The guy at the pet store said that they were not really aggressive but were a community fish. But, when I got them home, one of the swordtails is really aggressive to the other two swordtails. I have noticed though that this is only really when the he/she thinks there is food coming. 

I am pretty sure that I have three different kinds of swordtails, they all look pretty different from each other. 

So, I was wondering, should I try and net the aggressive one out during feeding time and feed him/her separatly? Also, how do you tell between a male and a female swordtail? 

And, I am really afraid I am feeding them too much. I am really confused on how much to feed these little guys/gals. They are so much fun to watch though. And, they really don't mind when I put my finger in the water, they're just really curious. I only put my finger in the water when I put food in it. I try to let some of the flakes fall so the "lower" fish can get some. The aggressive one won't really let them get closer to the top of the tank where the food is. I think it's kind of funny how he/she kind of shoots up his/her top fin and wiggles around really fast when he/she's mad. 

So anyways, any advice on these type of fish would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

Well, I will answer what I can.
This will give your post a bump, so someone else will see it.

A male will have a gonopodium, it a long pointy anal fin. If you have both males and females, you will notice a difference.
They really do not need to eat allot to stay healthy and grow. If they all get a couple flakes each a day, that is plenty. Giving them a variety of food would be good.

Aggression, I will not comment on. I have never kept them. I am guessing that they do no real damage? That trying to seperate at feeding time could cause allot of stress on the fish. Maybe if no one is getting hurt, just let the fish work it out.
You can always try dropping food on both sides of the tank at once.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Dropping food on each end of the tank works well. No one would get any food in my tank other than my clowns if I didn't to that. Clowns can be absolutely voracious and create quite the frenzy when feeding. Staying on opposite ends of the tank when feeding ensures everyone gets meal. I'm sure doing this would allow all your swords to get fed.


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## sammies4787 (Jan 8, 2009)

Thanks! I will try that. Yeah, it's funny, the semi-aggresive one is actually always that way or most of the time, its really not just during feeding time. But, it has been getting better I think and it's only been one day so I'll see how it goes. 

Also, I was wondering, should I leave a lamp on at night or something for them. I know I probably don't need to leave their florescent light on but, I think that may have been one of the reasons why my first fish died because, it is like pitch black in the house when all the lights are off in the house and I tried turning off their florescent light as well as all the lights, and then I turned it back on after a few minutes and they were kinda going crazy, they definitely weren't relaxed I don't think. Is it alright to turn off the light at night?


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## fishkid (Jul 29, 2008)

The females usually don't have the tail extensions. If multiple males are kept together, they can get aggressive.


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

Its ok to turn out the lights.
The lights going on and off does startle some fish, but they live through it.
I put some led lights on some of my tanks for night lighting, not needed, but it does seem to relax some of my fish.


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## sammies4787 (Jan 8, 2009)

Oh okay, thanks. Yeah, I am pretty sure that they are all males. But, I am going to take a video of them swimming around and put them on Youtube so if you can look at the video I could be sure from you all. They seem like they are working it out now. They are now all able to come to the top of the tank for food. 

Thanks!


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## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

sammies4787 said:


> Thanks! I will try that. Yeah, it's funny, the semi-aggresive one is actually always that way or most of the time, its really not just during feeding time. But, it has been getting better I think and it's only been one day so I'll see how it goes.
> 
> Also, I was wondering, should I leave a lamp on at night or something for them. I know I probably don't need to leave their florescent light on but, I think that may have been one of the reasons why my first fish died because, it is like pitch black in the house when all the lights are off in the house and I tried turning off their florescent light as well as all the lights, and then I turned it back on after a few minutes and they were kinda going crazy, they definitely weren't relaxed I don't think. Is it alright to turn off the light at night?


It's perfectly ok to keep all the lights out for periods of time, I usually keep my lights off tbh, because my tank sits 2-3 feet from a window. Thankfully the sun isn't at the window for a long period of time but it get's medium light throughout the day. It also slowly raises and lowers the lights, not automaticaly, which is good for lower stress. My Lights are only used for viewing.

I'm not telling you to put your tank near a window though unless you have some good blinds b/c I'm probably 2-3 months in an I already have a considerable amount of algae.

Anyway, back to the lights. When you turned the lights on, from pitch black, that was most likely the only reason you saw your fish going crazy..


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

Swordtails are easy as pie to sex. Apart from the gonopodium, males also have a sword. This is a long, brightly colored extension on the lower part of the tail (caudal) fin. Females don't have this feature. 

You could also try turning on the lights in the room for a few minutes before turning on the tank lights in the morning. This creates something like a dimly lit "dawn" for them so they aren't as startled when the tank lights come on.


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## sammies4787 (Jan 8, 2009)

so, what if they eat like maybe 5-10 flakes a day, is that too much?


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## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

Feed them twice a day if possible, just stand there for 2-3 minutes allowing them to eat as much as they want (a little at a time).


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## sammies4787 (Jan 8, 2009)

Also, I got some frozen brine fish today. I was wondering, how do you feed them this?


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

Your fish will love that!
Frozen bloodworms are another favorite for fish.
Place the frozen shrimp in a small cup with a litlle tank water to thaw.
Once thawed you can either poor some of it into the tank or use an eye dropper to feed them through.


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## sammies4787 (Jan 8, 2009)

ok thanks!


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## sammies4787 (Jan 8, 2009)

Hey, so I have a few questions again.. 

When I feed them the brine shrimp they dont eat the shrimp that are all white but they seem to eat the ones that are darker? They don't seem to thrilled about them as much as the flakes?

Also, today, I did a 10% water change and I also rinsed out my filter cartridge for the first time and it is all brown? I rinsed it out with old tank water like you suggested, I am just wondering if it's okay that it's all dark brown besides the very top of the cartridge where the water doesn't go through. 

They seem really kind of stressed out right now because I did that water change, and they are hiding a lot, which is really abnormal for them. Is there anything I can do to make it less stressful when I do a water change? Also, I turned off the filter so I could rinse out the cartridge, is this okay? 

Thanks again!


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

They may just not know what shrimp is yet. I am sure they will soon discover it is pretty taste. Try some bloodworms sometime. That is the favorite of most of my fish.
Its fine that the filter media is still brown. I am guessing allot of the dirt came off when you cleaned it in the old tank water.
I dont know of anything to make water changes less stressful. Maybe they will get use to it. Some of my fish hate water change days, others love it and are always in my way.
Its fine that you turned your filter off. When just changing out media, I leave mine running. I sometimes even leave my filters running durring water changes, if the water line is not going to get so low, the filter starts sucking air.


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## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

You'll commonly see swordtails listed as "community fish" although they are a semi-decent community fish, the males (especially the older ones) can get pretty mean to their species/other fish in your tank. I recently bought some swordtails, (1 male, 1 female - 3 in a bag) and the male started attacking my females. I was a little bit surprised and kind of quickened their water adaptment period from 1 hr. to 40 minutes or so. If you have more than one male...you'll probably see a little bit of fighting from time to time. Like Aunt Kymmie suggested, just allow some food on one side, and more on the other.

I agree, they may just be new to the whole brine shrimp thing, most fish love it.

Your filter cartridge being brown is fine, if you want it to be less brown next time, clean it more often.

The only thing I could think of after a 10% water change is the water that was put in was hotter/colder than the water in the tank by about 10F. This can happen, and shouldn't be a big deal until you get to 25-50% water changes but they may hide from the effects. Just leave the lights off for 1-2 hours after a water change, that will let the water temperature adjust, and the lights being off will allow them to settle in.

Best of Luck, Sj


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## sammies4787 (Jan 8, 2009)

ok thanks a lot! I really appreciate all of your help!!


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## sammies4787 (Jan 8, 2009)

Also, I was wondering, when do you think I could get more fish? It is Monday today, Thursday will have been two weeks since I got the first three swordtails. I was looking forward to getting two silver sailfin mollys, would these be a good choice? Also, I heard that these mollys prefer plant matter as their food? How do I feed them this?


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

If your ammonia levels and nitrites have remained zero, I think it would be fine to add a couple more fish now.
Keep in mind the sailfin molly can grow to 5-6in. I think the two would be fine though in the 16gal tank as long as you keep up on your weekly maintenance.
As far as food, they would probably appreciate some spirulina flakes, my mollies also like to nibble on algea wafers.


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## sammies4787 (Jan 8, 2009)

you can get those at the pet store then?


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

Our petsmart here in ohio do not have them, but I have seen them at other pet stores.


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## sammies4787 (Jan 8, 2009)

Hey, so, I did a 10-15% water change today, and than I tested the water an hour later. The nitrites and ammonia are perfect, but the nitrates are just pushing into 40ppm and maybe a little more. What should I do for this?


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## catfishtabbi (Nov 10, 2008)

hi, i too love watching my fish eat, it's obvious weve pleased them. We have to remember that overfeeding can cause fish health problems and produces alot of extra waste for us to clean which lowers water quality. 2 small feedins per day is plenty some will say one.If you have the need to feed you can do like me i give a couple granules then later i give some plankton/shrimp sticks then a cone of bloodworms or shrimp and then a veggie algea wafer but always small feeding spread out thru the day & eve.Gotta have fun, right.

I don't know what part of this i read, oh well i hope it does'nt look too wierd here.


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

If you dont have nitrates in your tap water, like me, you can lower your nitrates with some water changes.
Dont be afraid to do 25% water changes every week if it keeps your nitrates under 40ppm.
Like catfishtaddi said, over feeding can also lead to high nitrates as well.
Did you find some sailfin mollies?


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## sammies4787 (Jan 8, 2009)

No, I was afraid to get some yesterday because of the nitrate level. But, I am thinking of getting some today. 

I think it is over feeding. Thank you!  By the way, what are some serious signs your fish are getting sick?


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## catfishtabbi (Nov 10, 2008)

Sick fish or fish suffering from high no2, no3, no4 may appear to be gasping for air, swimming on the surface, wobbly, rapid gill movements, darting. Really any change or differences in thier normal behavior. Deviations from usual behavior are elemental to diagnosing. As are your tests.


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## sammies4787 (Jan 8, 2009)

So, if I have stopped feeding them less and it still is not decreasing, what should I do? 

Also, I put in a little water today to top it off as it was getting below the line, and when I did, all this fish waste and particles flew everywhere? Should I replace my filter cartridge, is it picking everything up like it should, or is the filter cartridge supposed to do that? How do I clean up the excess fish waste?


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

Do you have a gravel cleaner?
You need to do a water change and siphon the gravel.
Once nitrates are in the tank, the best way to lower the levels is through water changes. There is no bacteria in the tank to remove the nitrates, so you need to do that your self.
If the filter media is looking nasty even after trying to clean it in old tank water, go ahead and replace it. If your filter holds media in two places, it would be best to change out only one at a time. 
Also filter maintenance may be needed. Make sure nothing is clogging your intake tubes, you may need to clean the propeller. These are best cleaned in old tank water as well. I check and clean my filter parts about once a month.


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