ormali Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Hi guys, was just wondering if you can help us here. We currently have 3 sword females, one is just a wee girl but we are keen on your thoughts as to whether either of these 2 are pregnant, as we've never seen one that is so we're not sure. Also, does the orange one look like a full swordtail female? She's older than the grey, but very full in the tummy. If she's not pregnant does she look a normal shape? We are fairly new to tropical fish, so just want to make sure everythings as it should be. Cheers lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billaney Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 the top orange one from the picture even tho its fat looks like a male to me, the anal fin looks like a male godepodium ( bad speller) rather than the full anal fin of a female. and the 2nd one looks pregs but still a way to go i'm picking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ormali Posted May 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Hmm, interesting that you say that about the orange one. I've never really noticed, as we've always considered her a female. Ive just been and checked and its definately a fin, though she doesnt tend to spread it or use it much. and its a lot thicker than the other females, much like a gonopodium. Defect in the fin perhaps? Its certainly not the same as our male's. Im pretty certain shes female And the guy is always trying to get the groove on with her though she always resists. Do you get gay fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 You don't get gay fish but swordtails have the capability of changing sex Yep i had a female that decided to start developing a sword and ended up being a male. You will notice a black spot (gravid spot) develop at the back of the stomach when they are pregnant. My large orange swordtail has had quite a few spawns and she always has a dark gravid spot, it nevers seems to go away. The female is usually a lot rounder in the belly than the male as well as the difference in the gonopodium. I'm sure it wont be long and you will have quite a few lil fellas hiding in the plants and trying to blend in to the substrate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 That first one is obviously a pregnant male :lol: Are they fish fingers in the background? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ormali Posted May 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 You will notice a black spot (gravid spot) develop at the back of the stomach when they are pregnant. Hmm, that would be the dark area on the grey fish then? As i mentioned above we have a 3rd female that we recently acquired. She also has this dark area, though we thought she would be too small to be breeding yet. I guess we were wrong maybe. How big are they when they become sexually active? Our male who we had from a tiny wee guy has just started getting his urges, and when his female was refusing he was going and hassling the pleco's. Thats why we went and got him some more girls. Hopefully they'll do the trick. lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 The second one is definately in the family way The first looks like a male platy Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Yep thats the one, it's easier to see on the orange/red swords, just behind the silver stomach part. Not sure how old/big they have to be, mine it seems to be around the 60 mm ish mark. I started with 2 and theres about 60 in the tank (4 ft) now sharing with a ton of guppies. Looks like you have had some luck breeding fingers as there are a few there :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Mine won't drop their fry in breeding containers as they we're to stressed but didn't take long to drop when they went back in their own tank, the fry had a lot of places to hide and i was feeding twice a day so the bigger swordtails and guppies wouldn't eat the fry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ormali Posted May 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Hehe, yeah sorry about the fingers (not mine). We couldnt get her to take her attention off the rest of the tank, and a picture from behind aint gonna give anybody no clues Maybe a male platy eh? Haha, funny. Gonna have to get someone round to ID this fish properly i think. The male sword is definitely keen on it, whatever it is. He does his little courtship dance all over it. The affection isnt mutual though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ormali Posted May 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Mine won't drop their fry in breeding containers as they we're to stressed but didn't take long to drop when they went back in their own tank, the fry had a lot of places to hide and i was feeding twice a day so the bigger swordtails and guppies wouldn't eat the fry. Yeah we figured that may be the case. They were only in the breeder so we could get a decent photo. We have a smaller tank that we will use just for the birthing as soon as we get a new light and filter for it. Dont want to leave them where they are as i doubt we'll see the babies. Theyre in a 4ft 250L tank with angels, gourami, a molly, platties, danios, neons, golden barbs, betas, red tail shark, 2 plecos and a wee catfish. Nice community tank, and plenty that will gobble up the fry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 LOL mine are fairly safe as there are only guppies and swords in that tank, when i get to many guppy fry i catch a few and put them in with the rams and angels, the angels go ballistic chasing them, so funny to watch LOL, Clown, Striata, Lochata, and Golden Zebra Loaches are not interested in the fry in the slightest but the big Clown Loach (17-18 cm)will grab one if it swims past just can't be bothered chasing them. Or maybe he's brighter and lets the angels chase them and just lays in wait :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ormali Posted May 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Ah, i want a few clown loaches, they look like fun fish. Bit spensive to buy a group of them though. Will have to make do with my sharky for now, shes ALWAYS good for a laugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted May 3, 2005 Report Share Posted May 3, 2005 I traded my red tailed black shark in because it was chasing the rams and angels so off he goes LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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