Black swordtail

A species you should be familiar with if you’re at all interested in aquarium fish is the Black Swordtail. This fish is a favorite among hobbyists because of its eye-catching appearance and vibrant personality. It gives a touch of elegance and intrigue to any tank with its sleek, black body and unique sword-like tail.

A variety of the Swordtail fish, which belongs to the wider livebearer family, is the Black Swordtail. These fish are a fantastic option for both novice and seasoned aquarists because they require little maintenance and adjust well to a range of tank conditions. They can survive in a variety of water conditions due to their hardiness, but an aquarium that is well-maintained and has lots of swimming space is ideal for them.

Their dynamic behavior is one of the most exciting aspects of owning Black Swordtails. They like to explore their surroundings and are enthusiastic swimmers. They are also well-known for being gregarious and frequently flourishing in groups. Because of this, it’s interesting to watch how they interact with one another and their surroundings in addition to their visual appeal.

A vibrant energy can be added to your aquarium by adding Black Swordtails. They are a striking addition that will draw the attention of anyone looking into your underwater world thanks to their distinctive appearance and lively antics.

Feature	Description
Scientific Name	Xiphophorus hellerii
Common Name	Black Swordtail
Appearance	Black body with a long, sword-like tail fin
Size	Up to 4-5 inches (10-12 cm)
Temperament	Peaceful, active, and social
Tank Requirements	Minimum 20 gallons, with hiding spots and swimming space
Water Conditions	Temperature: 72-78°F (22-26°C), pH: 7.0-8.0
Diet	Omnivorous; will eat flake food, live or frozen foods
Breeding	Livebearers; easy to breed in home aquariums

Black swordtail

Dark swordtail picture

Geller’s swordtail hybridizes with pecilia to produce the colorful morph known as the "black swordtail." There are nearly exclusively mountain swordsmen in aquariums in Russia and the Ukraine. The remaining swordtails are all hybrids. Everything: green, black, white, koi, tiger, flag, gray, brown, crimson, etc. These are all crossbreeds between the tricolor and spotted platy and the Heller swordtail.

The requirements for owning a black swordtail are the same for all species.

Class: Fish with ray fins.

Tooth-carp is the order.

Peciliidae is the family.

Conditions for aquarium maintenance:

The water is between 22 and 26 °C.

(allows for a brief drop in temperature to 15 °C)

PH of "Acidity": 7.0–7.5.

Hardness dH: 6–20°

10% of the population is non-aggressive.

Maintaining: not difficult at all.

Swordtails are native to Central America, specifically to southern Mexico and Guatemala. They reside in reservoirs that are heavily covered in a variety of aquatic plants and have stagnant, slowly moving water.

Swordtail fish, or Xiphophorus helleri, are members of the pecilia fish family. Translating Xiphophorus helleri from Greek means "sword" (xiphos) and "to carry" (phoros). Swordtails are known by the prefix "Helleri" after the German naturalist Karl Bartholomeus Heller, who was the first to catch the fish in Mexican lakes and bring them back to Europe safely.

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Aquarium enthusiasts often choose the Black Swordtail, a captivating freshwater fish with an eye-catching appearance and lively disposition. This fish thrives in a range of aquatic environments and adds a touch of elegance to any tank with its sleek, dark body and unique sword-like tail. This post will discuss how to take care of a Black Swordtail, including the right tank setup, food, and behavior, so you can provide a healthy home for this beautiful fish.

Swordtail compatibility

Swordtails don’t bite people. They work well with nearly all small, calm fish. Tetras, minors, ternetias, danios, all killifish, etc. are among the best neighbors. Nearly all bottom fish, including ancistrus, coridoras, acanthophthalmus, and platidoras, are compatible with them. For example, they get along well with angelfish and "peaceful" cichlids.

Dark swordtail picture

Aggressive and large fish, such as cichlids (acaras, astronotus, diamond cichlazoma, etc.), are incompatible with swordtails. Furthermore, planting them next to the "veil" fish is not advised. The latter can be "pinch" by swordsmen for fluttering fins because they are slow.

Male swordsmen behave aggressively and with some intolerance toward one another. Male fight incidents were recorded until there was harm done to one another. Because of this, it makes sense to have a harem in the Aquarium of the Swordsmen, where one male can have two to three females. In this way, the intraspecific aggression of the fish is significantly decreased. Check out the article on aquarium fish compatibility.

The life expectancy of swordsmen

By aquarium standards, swordtails have a medium-long lifespan. In ideal circumstances, their lifespan may reach five years. This link will tell you how long other fish live!

Minimum aquarium size for swordtails

Swordtails are kept in small aquariums by many novice aquarium owners. This isn’t totally accurate, though. Swordtails are actually pretty big fish. Additionally, the minimum aquarium size for a harem family of swordtails should be 50 liters, as it is advised that they be kept in a ratio of one male to three or more females. A large aquarium is ideal for swordtails; one hundred liters is preferable.

See HERE for details on how many fish can be kept in an X-liter aquarium (links to aquariums of various sizes are located at the bottom of the article).

Care requirements and conditions for keeping swordtails

Swordtails don’t require any unique circumstances. Actually, the secret to their health is keeping the aquarium water parameters at their ideal levels. Nevertheless, remember this:

1. Swordtails definitely need aeration and filtration, weekly replacement of up to 1/4 of the volume of aquarium water. It is worth noting that these fish do not need a lot of oxygen, and too frequent change (replacement) of aquarium water is not as useful for them as for other types of aquarium fish. Therefore, if you change the water less often, for example, once every 14 days, and not every 7, nothing bad will happen. This rule is appropriate with a stable biobalance and zero nitrogen: NH4, NO2, NO3. As for any other fish, a high concentration of poisons is unacceptable: ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Every conscientious aquarist should always have a set of drop tests on hand, at least for nitrate and phosphate. Fortunately, they have now become inexpensive, there are no problems with their assortment and acquisition. In the stores of your city – offline, you can find inexpensive Vladox tests. Watch out, friends, for nitrogen compounds, keep them in check and everything will be fine for you and your pets.

Using medications that neutralize dangerous substances during deep water changes—when there is a clean water supply—won’t be unnecessary. For example, Tetra AquaSafe eliminates heavy metals and chlorine compounds while also including B vitamins, iodine, and other beneficial ingredients for aquariums.

Dark swordtail picture

The reputable FF online retailer Aqua Logo Shop is where you can buy the medications, gear, and other helpful items for an aquarist that were mentioned above. We advise against it!

2. The fish are nimble and can jump out of the aquarium and perish, so it needs to be covered with a lid.

3. Swordtails, like many other fish, are at ease in the presence of greenery. It is advised to use riccia, vallisneria, echinodorus, cryptocoryne, duckweed, and other plants as aquarium plants for them. Plant thickets are created to resemble fish habitats in the wild.

4. You must arrange an open area for swimming in an aquarium before you decorate it. Swordtails have superb swimming abilities. Shelters are not necessary for swordtails.

Feeding and diet of swordtails

Swordtails are omnivores with an easy way with food, and they tend to overeat. They enjoy eating chips, granules, and flakes that have been dried or freeze-dried. Tetramin is a versatile food that is easy to use. and foods rich in carotenoids as well.

Allow me to make a small note. Color series food – enhances the natural color of fish (red, yellow colors), since it is enriched with pigments such as canthaxanthin, astaxanthin. In fact, carotenoids are natural "coloring" substances. It is astaxanthin that gives plants a red-orange color, carrots are a striking example of this. Or, for example, have you ever wondered why flamingos are pink? Yes, yes, that is exactly why. Eating plant and animal food rich in carotenoids, the plumage of flamingos, which is initially white, gradually turns pink. The more of this substance the birds get with their food, the richer and redder their plumage becomes. If you look even deeper, flamingos eat the well-known brine shrimp – pink, saltwater crustaceans and also turn pink.

In actuality, if the meal includes carotenoids, the same thing occurs with fish. Not to be overlooked, astaxanthin is an antioxidant in addition to its other beneficial qualities. Generally speaking, carotenoids benefit all aquatic life, including aquarium plants, in addition to fish. The only requirement is that everything be balanced and in moderation. You must realize that a fish’s color is also influenced by its health, surroundings, life events (such as stress or spawning), and the lighting in the aquarium.

To sum up, while the Color series feeds are beneficial, they shouldn’t serve as the main course. Just think about what would happen if someone consumed nothing but beets for a week. The idea is unsettling. Fish is the same way. I apologize; they start to poop adorable pink poop.

It is crucial in this case, incidentally, to avoid overfeeding the fish in order to prevent digestive tract issues. Eat once a day for the swordtails, and observe fasting days. One of the keys to their maintenance success will be this. It should be mentioned that when purchasing any dry food, you should be aware of the manufacture and expiration dates, avoid purchasing food by weight, and store it in a closed environment to prevent the growth of harmful flora.

Reproduction and breeding of black swordtails

The task of breeding swordtails is incredibly easy. It is comparable to how guppies and other livebearers reproduce. It can also be said that it genuinely occurs on its own.

Swordtails reach sexual maturity between the ages of 5 and 6 months. The ideal fish to female ratio is one male to three females for both breeding and personal comfort. The male engages in back-and-forth shuttle movements, akin to a mating dance, while courting the female.

The mature eggs are fertilized inside the female. This might take a few days to complete. One noteworthy characteristic of swordtails is their ability to procreate multiple times after fertilization, even in the absence of a male.

The woman is carrying a child for 4-6 weeks. The conditions of the aquarium’s water, temperature, lighting, and feeding affect this time frame.

A "black pregnancy spot" appears under the tail, and the abdomen is full in a pregnant female. It is thought that the female starts to move more actively, "rushing" up and down along the aquarium glass a few hours before "giving birth," and her abdomen becomes "square."

The female can spawn anywhere from fifteen to one hundred fry at a time. Typically, spawning takes place in the morning.

Monthly births are possible if the water is between 26 and 27 °C and there is ample feeding.

Ensuring the survival of the offspring is arguably the most crucial breeding rule for swordtails. Regretfully, the parents consume their own young, and since swordtail fry are big and vividly colored, this process essentially becomes eradication. In the wild, swordtails never get to see their young since the current whisks the fry away as soon as they are born. The parents in an aquarium use the fry as food.

The aquarium is heavily planted with aquarium plants in order to preserve the progeny. In the aquarium, plants are arranged in the water column, on the bottom, and particularly densely on the surface. As a result, the fry receive protection "from evil parents" and the majority of them make it out alive.

Additionally, you can use special hatcheries, which are shaped like a funnel with the female remaining inside and the spawned young falling out into the spawning aquarium, to preserve the offspring. As a result, the producer and the young don’t interact at first.

Eliminating the producers as soon as they spawn is the third way to protect the progeny. This is an easy option, but it does require the aquarist to be punctual and focused.

Photo of a pregnant female swordtail, here is one giving birth

A swordtail woman who is heavily pregnant =)

The female is taken out and fed copiously after she spawns.

Young swordtails are fed live dust (nauplii, brine shrimp, cyclops, microworm, rotifers, and cut tubifex) as their first meal.

A week later, the young swordtails start to be sorted; the strong and "purebred" ones are kept separate, while the weak and flawed ones are destroyed.

The males’ anal fins start to change after two months, and by the third month, the "sword" starts to grow. The young grow quickly.

Independent crossing happens when keeping swordtails from different species, and this can occasionally produce stunning offspring.

One fascinating aspect of these fish’s existence is that the female swordtail has the ability to change gender at some point. This is explained by the struggle for the species’ survival when there is a "shortage" of males. Almost 90% of the progeny born to a pair of females and one former female are female.

Diseases and treatment of swordtails

Due to their extreme hardiness, swordtails can tolerate harsh conditions when confined. But like anything living, this kind of wonderful health is fleeting. Having ideal aquarium water conditions is essential for successful fish keeping.

Swordtails require the same care for all common aquarium fish illnesses, with no special considerations.

First, the disease must be diagnosed, and only then can the appropriate measures be taken to treat swordtails. This will support you. Diseases and treatments for aquarium fish as well as website sections: Aqua. Med. Fish Diseases.

These and a variety of other fish are always available at the physical supermarkets Aqua Logo and the internet retailer Aqua-Shop. Live goods delivery is offered in Moscow and the surrounding areas.

The black swordtail’s sleek, dark appearance and graceful movements make it a captivating addition to any aquarium. It is a favorite of both beginning and seasoned fish keepers due to its distinctive coloring and graceful fins. Its popularity is also attributed to its hardiness and adaptability, which make it a dependable option for a variety of tank configurations.

Black swordtail maintenance is quite simple, but paying attention to its particular requirements will guarantee a robust and colorful fish. The keys to keeping this species happy are maintaining ideal water conditions, offering a balanced diet, and building a stimulating habitat with lots of room and hiding places. Maintaining regular water changes and keeping an eye out for any indications of illness or stress will also help keep it healthy.

The black swordtail is a popular community fish because it gets along well with other peaceful species in tanks. It adds to the overall dynamics of the aquarium with its lively presence due to its social behavior and active nature. You can have a vibrant and eye-catching aquarium by comprehending and providing for the needs of the black swordtail.

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Black swordtail

Black swordtail / Black Sword Xiphophorus hellerii var. black