Flag swordtail

Popular and striking, the flag swordtail fish livens up any aquarium with a burst of color and movement. A favorite of novice and expert aquarists alike, this species is distinguished by its eye-catching, flag-like tail fin.

These colorful fish are more than just eye candy; they require little maintenance and are resilient. They are the perfect addition to community tanks, where they can live in harmony with a wide range of other species, thanks to their vivid colors and lively behavior.

The flag swordtail is a fantastic choice whether you’re starting your first aquarium or just want to add some variation to an already-existing tank. These fish can flourish and brighten your aquatic world with a little attention and the correct conditions.

Flag swordtail

Flag swordtail image

Geller’s swordtail hybridized with other pecilia to produce the morph known as flag swordtail. This variation first showed up at Gardena, California, breeder Mrs. Thelma Simpson in the late 1950s. An extended dorsal fin is one of the morph’s distinguishing features. The mountain swordtail is essentially the only pure species of swordtail found in aquariums in Russia and Ukraine. The remaining swordtails are all hybrids. Everything – including the tiger, the flag, the green, the black, the white, the koi, the gray, brown, crimson, etc. d. and t.p. All of these are crosses between the tricolor and spotted pecilia and the Heller swordtail.

Regarding flag swordtail keeping requirements, they are the same for every species.

Class: Fish with ray fins.

Toothcarp is in order.

Peciliidae is the family.

Conditions for aquarium maintenance:

The water is between 22 and 26 °C.

(is able to withstand a brief dip 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 were given the prefix "Helleri" in honor of Karl Bartholomeus Heller, a German naturalist who caught the fish in Mexican lakes and brought them back to Europe without incident.

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Swordtail Compatibility

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

Flag swordtail image

Large, aggressive fish that hunt swordtails, like cichlids (acaras, astronotus, diamond cichlazoma, etc.), are incompatible with swordtails. Furthermore, it is not advisable to place them with "veil" fish since swordtails can "pinch" them for fluttering fins because the latter are sluggish.

Male swordtails can be aggressive and intolerant of one another. There have been incidents where men have fought to the point of hurting one another. As a result, swordtails should be housed in aquariums in haremas with two to three females for every male. In this instance, fish exhibit significantly less intraspecific aggression. Check out the article on aquarium fish compatibility.

Life expectancy of swordtails

By aquarium standards, swordtails have a medium-long lifespan. They have a five-year lifespan if kept in good conditions. This link will tell you how long other fish live!

Minimum volume of an aquarium 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 swordtails in a harem family 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. In actuality, the secret to their wellbeing is keeping aquarium water at ideal parameters. 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 instead of 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 drip 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. Follow your friends, with nitrogenous compounds, keep them in UES and everything will be with your pets with a bundle.

It will be helpful to replace deep water with clean water sources and medications that neutralize dangerous materials. Tetra Aquasafe, for instance, eliminates heavy metals and chlorine compounds while also including B vitamins, iodine, and other tasty ingredients for aquariums.

Famous swordsman image

Purchase the previously mentioned medications, gear, and other items helpful for aquarists from the FF-trusted online retailer Aqua Logo Shop. We advise against it!

2. A lid must always be placed over the aquarium. Being agile, the fish can leap out and perish.

3. Swordsmen are at ease among vegetation, just like many other fish. It is advised to use riccia, vallisneria, echinodorus, cryptocoryne, duckweed, and other plants as aquarium plants for them. Plant thickets are an imitation of a fish’s natural habitat.

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, that"s exactly why. By eating plant and animal food rich in carotenoids, flamingo plumage, which is initially white, gradually turns pink. The more the birds get this substance with food, the richer and redder the 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. It’s important to remember that astaxanthin is an antioxidant in addition to its other advantageous 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 the conditions of the fish’s life—such as stress or spawning—as well as the environment and lighting in the aquarium all affect the fish’s color.

In conclusion, color series feeds are beneficial, but 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 mindful of the product’s manufacture and expiration dates, avoid purchasing food in bulk, and store it in a closed container to prevent the growth of harmful flora.

Reproduction and breeding of flag swordtails

The task of breeding swordtails is incredibly easy. The reproduction of guppies and other livebearers is comparable. Furthermore, one could argue that it truly occurs on its own.

Swordtails mature sexually between the ages of five and six months. Maintaining a male to female ratio is advised for breeding purposes as well as the fishes’ own comfort. The male engages in a sort of mating dance, pacing back and forth, while he courteses the female.

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 expecting a child in four to six 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. A few hours before "giving birth," the female is said to start moving more actively and "rushing" up and down the aquarium glass, causing her belly to become "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.

Ensure the survival of the young is perhaps the most crucial rule to follow when breeding swordtails. Regretfully, swordtail fry are eaten by their parents, and because they are large and vividly colored, this process effectively results in extinction. 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 densely on the surface, in the water column, and on the bottom. Because of this, most of the fry survive and are given shelter "from evil parents."

Additionally, you can use specialized separators, which have a funnel-like design and allow the spawned young to fall out of the funnel and into the spawning aquarium, in order to preserve the offspring. Therefore, at first, the producer and the young don’t interact.

Separating the producers as soon as possible after spawning is the third method for protecting 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 are sorted; the strong ones are labeled as "pedigree," while the weaker and flawed ones are destroyed.

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

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 a female swordtail has the ability to change sex 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

Swordtails are tough fish that can survive challenging circumstances. But like all living things, this kind of great health doesn’t last forever. The right aquarium water conditions are essential for successful fish keeping.

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

The disease must first be identified in order to apply the appropriate measures for treating 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.

Name	Flag Swordtail
Scientific Name	Xiphophorus hellerii
Origin	Central America
Size	Up to 5.5 inches
Temperament	Peaceful
Tank Size	20 gallons or more
Water Temperature	72-82°F (22-28°C)
Diet	Omnivore
Life Span	3-5 years
Special Feature	Long, sword-like tail fin

With its vivid colors and lively behavior, the Flag Swordtail is a stunning and dynamic addition to any aquarium, sure to add some color and vibrancy to your space.

These fish are a terrific option for both novice and seasoned aquarists because they require little maintenance. Because of their calm disposition, they get along well with other fish and foster harmony in the environment.

You can appreciate the beauty and vitality of the Flag Swordtail in your aquarium for many years to come if you give them the proper habitat and food.

The Flag Swordtail is a colorful and resilient freshwater fish that is well-liked by both novice and expert aquarium hobbyists due to its eye-catching tail fin and low maintenance requirements.

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