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Swordtails are another very popular tropical livebearing fish, ideal for the community aquarium. They are colourful, peaceful, easy to care for and simple to breed.
Mainly native to eastern Mexico, wild Swordtails are usually olive-green with several red stripes along their bodies. Mature males are a brighter green and develop a long extension to their tail fin (the "sword").
Like their close relatives the Platies, Swordtails have been selectively bred for many decades. This has resulted in a wide range of very attractive fish of various colours and fin shapes, all of them excellent aquarium fish.
Male Swordtails can grow to 7-8cm, and the females to 9-12cm, but they usually remain a bit smaller. They will eat most standard fish foods and will also pick at green algae growing in the aquarium. While not particularly fussy about water conditions, they prefer neutral or alkaline water of moderate hardness rather than soft acidic water.
Swordtails can comfortably tolerate temperatures around 18-20 C, but prefer temperatures in the mid 20's.
Like most livebearers, Swordtails are easy to breed. From a single mating a female can give birth a number of times, large females may give birth to 50-100 fry. The gestation period varies from 4-6 weeks depending on water temperature. When born the fry are fully developed and can be easily raised on commercial fish foods, starting with fry foods such as Super Baby Min and Fry Bites. The fry need to be isolated in a small aquarium or in a breeding trap, otherwise most will be eaten by any other fish present, including their mother.
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