# Swordtail tank



## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

I want to have a swordtail only tank, it will be 20 gallons with silk plants, how many males can i have in there compared to females, also, if you have personal pics of a male and female red swordtail not velvet, and a pineapple male and female also, what type of hybrids can be made with these by crossing them with other live bearers , please no website pics, just nice personal ones, also, if you have a swordtail only tank, post a pic of your set up, thanks


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## Sick-Lid-4-Life (Mar 22, 2008)

Swordtail mollies ?


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

Is that a combo or a question?


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## Sick-Lid-4-Life (Mar 22, 2008)

A question...


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

I have no idea if that would work, I'm new to keeping swordtails, sorry


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## Sick-Lid-4-Life (Mar 22, 2008)

Swordtail what ?


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

I do not get what you are asking, Im just trying to start a swordail tank, i just want diffrent pictures of the colors to see which i like the most, thanks


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## Guest (Jun 28, 2008)

Sick-Lid-4-Life said:


> Swordtail what ?


I think he means the livebearing ones.


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

Yeah, the livebearing ones


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

Yeah, the livebearing ones


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## Sick-Lid-4-Life (Mar 22, 2008)

Swordtail mollies are livebearers... You want to start a tank with swordtails yet you don't know what they are ?


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

Sick-Lid-4-Life said:


> Swordtail mollies are livebearers... You want to start a tank with swordtails yet you don't know what they are ?


Swordtail is the common name for the fish.


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

I know they are live bearers, in my first post i said "what type of hybrids can be made with these by crossing them with other live bearers" I knew that they were, you were just wording your posts weird, i was asking that question because i heard of swordtails and platies crossing, but i want to know if this is true, i think what you are asking is what kind of swordtail I am asking about, i am asking about the Xiphophorous hellerii not the swordtail mollie


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## Sick-Lid-4-Life (Mar 22, 2008)

I wasn't wording anything weird. Swordtails could mean a few things, especially to someone like yourself that doesn't seem to know what type of fish you're referring to. That's why I asked if you were talking about swordtail mollies. There's nothing weird about that. And Xiphophorus hellerii ARE swordtail mollies :?

Also, this is a cichlid forum. I've seen people get banned for posting things about non cichlids.


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

Sick-Lid-4-Life said:


> I wasn't wording anything weird. Swordtails could mean a few things, especially to someone like yourself that doesn't seem to know what type of fish you're referring to. That's why I asked if you were talking about swordtail mollies. There's nothing weird about that. And Xiphophorus hellerii ARE swordtail mollies :?
> 
> Also, this is a cichlid forum. I've seen people get banned for posting things about non cichlids.


You don't get banned for talking about non cichlids... instead your post is moved to the general forum (this is it) where it belongs. There is nothing wrong with talking about other fish in the general discussion area, but keep in mind that most people on this forum have an interest and expertise in cichlids rather than other fish.

You may find a more suitable answer to your question on a live-bearer forum.


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## Sick-Lid-4-Life (Mar 22, 2008)

I've seen it happen.


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

Hey I don't know much about swordtails, but I do know a guy who breeds any and all of them, making all sorts of combinations that he sells as candy type names :?.

Given the appropriate conditions I see no reason why you couldn't breed any two colour morphs/sub species together. The limiting factor is whether the fish are similar enough to mistake the other for a potential mate of the "same" sp.... However I have to ask, if they fall under Xiphophorus can they really be considered true hybrids? 
That's actually a question...:lol

I think you'd find this page useful:
http://www.xiphophorus.org/images.htm

http://www.xiphophorus.org/mapping.htm


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## MetalHead06351 (Oct 3, 2007)

swordtails can cross with platies and mollies. They come in any color from black to bright orange, so anything you could imagine pretty much exists. In the wild they are green, so all of the crazy colors you see today come from hybridization(mostly with platies), and line breeding. Pineapple swords are pretty, but my personal favorites are the black velvets. Male to female ratio works best when its 3f to 1m. In a 20g, I would imagine you could keep about a dozen, maybe more if its a species only tank. If you are planning on raising the fry, I would get some sort of breeding trap as they like to eat their young. No cichlid parenting in these fish....
Also, you can tell the females from the males by the tail. Only the males have swords. You can tell when they are pregnant by a black spot inside the fish near the vent. Its not always easy to see on some of the color morphs, though.


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

MetalHead06351 said:


> swordtails can cross with platies and mollies. They come in any color from black to bright orange, so anything you could imagine pretty much exists. In the wild they are green, so all of the crazy colors you see today come from hybridization(mostly with platies), and line breeding. Pineapple swords are pretty, but my personal favorites are the black velvets. Male to female ratio works best when its 3f to 1m. In a 20g, I would imagine you could keep about a dozen, maybe more if its a species only tank. If you are planning on raising the fry, I would get some sort of breeding trap as they like to eat their young. No cichlid parenting in these fish....
> Also, you can tell the females from the males by the tail. Only the males have swords. You can tell when they are pregnant by a black spot inside the fish near the vent. Its not always easy to see on some of the color morphs, though.


Thanks for the info everyone, and to the guy who said i do not know much about these fish, he is right, thats why i posted asking for pictures of these fish and some information about cross breeding. I even said that I am new to keeping them, also please do not make any attacks on my knowledge of fish, although I am not an expert on the hobby, I do know my fair share about them. And Im pretty sure i cannot get banned for this because just by looking down the General Aquaria Discussion list I see threads about danios, loaches, rainbow fish, clams, and plecos


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

MetalHead06351 said:


> swordtails can cross with platies and mollies. They come in any color from black to bright orange, so anything you could imagine pretty much exists. In the wild they are green, so all of the crazy colors you see today come from hybridization(mostly with platies), and line breeding. Pineapple swords are pretty, but my personal favorites are the black velvets. Male to female ratio works best when its 3f to 1m. In a 20g, I would imagine you could keep about a dozen, maybe more if its a species only tank. If you are planning on raising the fry, I would get some sort of breeding trap as they like to eat their young. No cichlid parenting in these fish....
> Also, you can tell the females from the males by the tail. Only the males have swords. You can tell when they are pregnant by a black spot inside the fish near the vent. Its not always easy to see on some of the color morphs, though.


Thanks for the info everyone, and to the guy who said i do not know much about these fish, he is right, thats why i posted asking for pictures of these fish and some information about cross breeding. I even said that I am new to keeping them, also please do not make any attacks on my knowledge of fish, although I am not an expert on the hobby, I do know my fair share about them. And Im pretty sure i cannot get banned for this because just by looking down the General Aquaria Discussion list I see threads about danios, loaches, rainbow fish, clams, and plecos


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## Sick-Lid-4-Life (Mar 22, 2008)

:lol: :roll: Do some research online and learn what you need for a successful molly setup.


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

Sick-Lid-4-Life said:


> :lol: :roll: Do some research online and learn what you need for a successful molly setup.


Asking questions is a good step in the right direction in regards to researching something of interest, don't you agree!?...

I can't understand why you're being so blunt towards the OP, someone who obviously _wants_ to learn more, someone who is asking pretty reasonable questions. You can read as much as you like but nothing can guide you quite like the direct experience of another aquarist....


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## Sick-Lid-4-Life (Mar 22, 2008)

It sure is ! And that was my point. But when asking what type of fish a user is taking about and them not knowing completely makes it hard for us to help them. Especially when a clearly asked question is said to be "worded weird".

Water under the bridge...


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

blairo1 said:


> Sick-Lid-4-Life said:
> 
> 
> > :lol: :roll: Do some research online and learn what you need for a successful molly setup.
> ...


Thank you for your understanding, and to be honest, sick-lid-4-life, if all your going to do is criticize my knowledge rather than help me, I would rather not have your help, thanks on a lighter note, to the user who posted the links with the cross breeds, thanks for that link


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

Sick-Lid-4-Life said:


> It sure is ! And that was my point. But when asking what type of fish a user is taking about and them not knowing completely makes it hard for us to help them. Especially when a clearly asked question is said to be "worded weird".
> 
> Water under the bridge...


 :-?

Anyone else confused by this?


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

Mr_Yellow_Shoes said:


> to the user who posted the links with the cross breeds, thanks for that link


No worries, we all have to start somewhere!


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

Yeah, it is a really helpful site


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## Guest (Jun 29, 2008)

Sick-Lid-4-Life said:


> Swordtail mollies are livebearers... You want to start a tank with swordtails yet you don't know what they are ?


Mollies are brackish water...he wants the freshwater livebearing swordtail tropical fish... Mollies and Swordtails aren't even in the same genus let alone species.

My point is, he's not asking about mollies, just swordtails.

~Ed


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## Guest (Jun 29, 2008)

Btw here's a website that has some info on swordtails: www.fishlore.com


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## Guest (Jun 29, 2008)

Sick-Lid-4-Life said:


> Also, this is a cichlid forum. I've seen people get banned for posting things about non cichlids.


He posted the topic in the General Aquaria Forum which allows discussion of anything aquaria related... And I've never heard of anyone get banned from this site posting non-cichlid but fish-related topics...


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## Guest (Jun 29, 2008)

Sick-Lid-4-Life said:


> :lol: :roll: Do some research online and learn what you need for a successful molly setup.


How many times do we all have to say that he doesn't want mollies?


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## Sick-Lid-4-Life (Mar 22, 2008)

Swordtail Mollies are what he's referring to...


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## Guest (Jun 29, 2008)

Sick-Lid-4-Life said:


> Swordtail Mollies are what he's referring to...


No he isn't... Swordtails and Mollies are two different fish, different species, and different genus's...


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

Yeah, I am talking about SWORDTAILS period, not mollies, not platies, SWORDTAILS, And by swordtail i mean the ones that the males have a "sword" on the bottom of there tails and the females do not, here is a picture in case you do not get it, http://aqualandpetsplus.com/livebe16.jpg

Sorry if Im coming on a rude, its just you don't get what I am saying, and thanks for Marduk for correcting that, I was actually starting to believe what he was saying that Mollies were Swordtail about them being the same fish


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

:lol: This is like a badly written comedy sketch right here....

Mr Yellow Shoes, quite frankly I think you've been more than polite and I can only commend your patience. It's not easy being new, you don't know whether what you've been told (previously) is entirely accurate, you always second guess yourself and unfortunately there is a lot of conflicting information to add to the confusion. Stick with it bud, it's not rocket science but there is a lot to learn (depending on how far you want to go with your knowledge) so time and patience are key, as is the importance of question asking.

Sick-lid-4-life, if you really have such a problem with helping someone who is obviously new/confused then I have to ask why you even bother... He didn't ask for your help, *you offered it* and then start taking the piss when your short and blunt one liners don't answer any questions for him, for someone new to the scene and a specific species who is trying to find out information, you cannot expect them to know anything and everything and/or to be entirely confident in their knowledge. If they were they wouldn't be asking for help now would they....

You say "go do research", why don't you point out some useful sites for the OP to utilize then - or is he/she supposed to automatically know where to get accurate and detailed information, google is ok, but it's not very refined.

If you want to help, then help, if you don't have the patience and want to be intolerant and rude because someone is a little confused/new and that irritates you, then leave them to it, there are plenty of us here who are happy to offer help and guidance, no matter how "clueless" the OP may seem (don't worry OP this is a generic statement not directed at you.)

Mollies are of the genus _Poecilia_, Swordtails fall under _Xiphophorus_, as do Platys, although Platys originally fell under the genus, _Platypoecilus_.... End of.

...."Water under the bridge".


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

Thank you for the correction on that blario1, now as for the fish, will they eat live plants


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

Well they'll only stay that way until another Ichthyologist comes along and decides to shuffle it all around again.... Keeps life interesting.

I don't believe swordtails do anything to the majority of plants, they may chow down on finer leaved plants - cabomba etc but not to any extent that I would get concerned - most of the swordtail keepers I know of like to have plants with them in the aquaria. These fish aren't really capable of inflicting that much damage...


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## Malawidolphin (Dec 15, 2006)

I have kept swordtails years ago and I had a mis of males and female with no specific number and I can't recall any aggression issues. I don't think they eat plants but they will pick the small algae off of the plants. They are great at picking algae and small creepy crawlies off the glass and such. I have seen some real stunnig swordtails available now that I have never seen in the past.


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

Thanks! Will they do anything to african dwarf frogs, mystery snails or glass shrimp?


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

They'll eat any juvenile glass(ghost) shrimp, but are likely to leave the adults alone. The others you've listed should be fine.


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

Ok, will the shrimp do anything to them? Just wondering, out of Snail and shrimp which will be better to clean up the uneaten food?


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

I'd go with shrimp bud - they're efficient cleaners. I like amano shrimp personally - _Cardinia japonica_:


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

How big do those get?


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

It varies bud, you get some real shrimp factories which are huge females whereas others of the same age are half the mass.... 1.5 inch average < 2 inch +/- IME and completely harmless when it comes to other fish and their fry - at least when dealing with Cichlids.


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

Sweet! Are those as commonly available as ghost shrimp


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

I don't know sorry bud - I'm terrible with common names, it's the ichthyologist in me that just won't have a minute of it :lol:.

I have a suspicion that what you refer to are actually called _Palaemonetes paludosus_. Much smaller, my fish would eat them in a matter of seconds :lol:.


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

swordtails will breed with other swordtails and platies, not mollies. if youre doing a 20 gallon i would start off with one male and 4 females. youll have more fry than you can handle in no time so stocking the tank wont be a problem. just make sure you have more males that females because the males are always really really horny.


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## Mr_Yellow_Shoes (May 28, 2008)

:roll: :lol: Thanks james, and I think I might just stick with dwarf frogs, I have some already, and I love them


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