Red swordtail

A popular option for novice and expert aquarium enthusiasts alike is the red swordtail. This fish, which has a sword-like tail and a brilliant red color, adds vivid energy to any tank.

Community aquariums can benefit greatly from the versatility of the red swordtail, which is easy to maintain and adapts well to a range of environments. It grows well in planted tanks with plenty of swimming room and gets along with most peaceful fish.

The red swordtail is not only aesthetically pleasing but also resilient and lively, bringing continuous movement and intrigue to your aquatic arrangement.

Red swordtail

Picture of a red swordtail

The Geller swordtail hybridizes with pecilia to produce the color morph known as red swordtail. The mountain swordtail is essentially the only pure species of swordtail kept in aquariums in Russia and Ukraine. The remaining swordtails are all hybrids. Everything: koi, green, black, white, tiger, flag, gray-brown-raspberry, etc.d.&p. These are all the crossbreeds between three-color and spotted ozilium and Geller’s swordsman.

The requirements for maintaining a red swordtail are the same for all species.

Class: Fish with ray fins.

Tooth-carp is the order.

The Poeciliidae family.

Conditions for aquarium maintenance:

The water is between 22 and 26 °C.

(allows 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 Poeciliidae, are members of the family Poeciliidae. In Greek, Xiphophorus helleri means "sword" (xiphos) and "to carry" (phoros). The German natural scientist Karl Bartolomeus Geller, a swordsman, was given the prefix "HELLERI" for catching these fish in Mexican lakes and bringing them back to Europe in a safe manner.

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Compatibility of swordsmen

The swordsmen don’t use force. They work well with nearly all peaceful medium-sized fish. Tetras, Minora, Ternetius, Danio, all Pecilium fish, and t.D. are some of the best neighbors. Nearly all bottom fish, including Platidoras, Antsistrus, Platidoras, and corridor fish, are compatible with them. For example, they get along well with Scalars and other "peaceful" cichlids.

The red photo is the swordsman.

When swordsmen come into contact with large, aggressive fish, like cichlids (akara, astronotics, diamond cichlisoma, etc.), they become incompatible. 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. There have been incidents where men have fought to the point of hurting one another. Swordtails should thus be housed in harem aquariums with two to three females for every male. In this instance, the fish’s intraspecific aggression is notably diminished. Check out the article on aquarium fish compatibility.

Popular and hardy, the red swordtail is a freshwater fish with a distinctive sword-like tail and a striking red color. It is an excellent option for beginning aquarists because it is low maintenance and thrives in community tanks.

Life expectancy of swordtails

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

Small aquariums are home to many inexperienced aquarists’ swordtails. 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.

Check HERE to find out how many fish can be kept in an aquarium of X liters (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 require weekly replacement of up to 1/4 of the aquarium water volume, as well as aeration and filtration. It is important to remember that these fish don’t require a lot of oxygen, and that they don’t benefit from too frequent water changes in the aquarium as much as other kinds of fish do. Thus, nothing negative will happen if you change the water less frequently—for instance, once every 14 days as opposed to once every seven. This rule (NH4, NO2, NO3) is appropriate when there is zero nitrogen and a stable biobalance.

Picture of a red swordtail

Like with other fish, an excessive amount of ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates is undesirable. Drop tests are something that every responsible aquarist should always have on hand, if only for phosphate and nitrate. Thankfully, they are now reasonably priced, and there are no issues with their acquisition or variety. You can get cheap Vladox tests offline, in the stores in your city. Friends, beware of nitrogen compounds. If you control them, you and your pets should be fine.

Using preparations that neutralize dangerous substances during deep water changes and having a clean water supply would be beneficial. For example, Tetra AquaSafe eliminates heavy metals and chlorine compounds while also including B vitamins, iodine, and other beneficial ingredients for aquariums.

Picture of a red swordtail

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, duckweed, vallisneria, echinodorus, and cryptocoryne as aquarium plants for them. Plant thickets are an imitation of a fish’s natural habitat.

4. You must set up an area that is open to swimming when decorating an aquarium. 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 basic food that is simple to use. and foods rich in carotenoids as well.

Allow me a small note. Color series feeds – enhance the natural color of fish (red, yellow colors), as it is enriched with such pigments 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. Eating plant and animal food rich in carotenoids, flamingo plumage, which is initially white, gradually turns pink. The more the bird gets 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. 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 the health, environment, life circumstances (stress/spawning), and features of the aquarium lighting all affect the fish’s color.

In conclusion, while the Color series feeds are beneficial, they shouldn’t serve as the main course. Imagine what would happen if someone consumed nothing but beets for the entire 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. Once a day, feed the swordfish, and observe fast days. One of the keys to their maintenance success will be this. It is important to remember that when purchasing any dry food, you should check the date of manufacture and expiration, avoid buying food in bulk, and store it in a closed container to prevent the growth of harmful flora.

Reproduction and breeding of red swordtails

Swordtail breeding is not at all a difficult undertaking. Breeding guppies and other livebearers is comparable to this. It can also be said that it genuinely occurs on its own.

Swordtails reach sexual maturity between the ages of 5 and 6 months. It is advised to maintain the fish in a ratio of one male to three females for breeding purposes as well as for their own comfort. The male does shuttle movements back and forth, resembling a mating dance, while courting 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 of a pregnant female, and her belly is swollen. 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, 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 take the fry out of the aquarium to eat.

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. Thus, the majority of the fry survive because the young are given refuge "from evil parents."

Additionally, you can use specialized spawning tanks, which are made like funnels 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.

After spawning, separating the producers is the third way to preserve 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

Swordtail, a heavily pregnant woman =)

The female is kept apart and fed copiously following spawning.

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 and "pedigree" ones are kept, while the weak and flawed ones are destroyed.

The juveniles grow quickly; the 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.

The female swordtail fish has the ability to change gender at some point in their life, which is an interesting fact about their species. This occurs when there is a "shortage" of males, which makes sense given the species’ struggle to survive. Nearly 90% of female individuals are the progeny of a pair consisting of a female and a previous female.

Diseases and treatment of swordtails

Due to their extreme resilience, swordtails can tolerate harsh conditions while being held in captivity. But like all living things, this kind of great health doesn’t last forever. The ideal 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 be identified in order to treat swordtails correctly, and then the required measures must be taken. 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 are being delivered to Moscow and the surrounding areas.

Category	Description
Scientific Name	Xiphophorus hellerii
Size	Up to 5.5 inches
Temperament	Peaceful but can be territorial
Tank Size	Minimum 20 gallons
Water Temperature	72-82°F (22-28°C)
Diet	Omnivore, prefers both plant-based and protein-rich foods
Lifespan	3-5 years
Care Level	Easy, suitable for beginners

Vibrant and lively fish, red swordtails add a pop of color to any aquarium. They are excellent for both novice and seasoned aquarists because they are comparatively simple to maintain.

These fish can flourish and maintain good health for many years in tanks with the right water parameters, a well-balanced diet, and a calm atmosphere. They are also a popular choice among fish keepers due to their adaptability to different tank settings.

Red swordtails are a delightful addition to take into consideration, whether your goal is to add a bright focal point to your aquarium or just enjoy the activity and charm of these fish.

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