Veil swordtail

A striking and well-liked fish among aquarium enthusiasts is the Veil Swordtail. This fish, which is distinguished by its vivid colors and long, flowing tail, lends a sense of refinement to any aquarium. Beyond its attractive appearance, the Veil Swordtail is renowned for its resilient character and serene disposition, which makes it an excellent option for aquarists of all skill levels.

These fish are variations on the common swordtail, but they are distinguished by their distinctive fins, which resemble veils and trail gracefully in the water. They get along well with a variety of other species and thrive in well-kept aquariums with lots of room to roam around. The Veil Swordtail is a great addition to any freshwater setup because it is aesthetically pleasing and requires little upkeep.

Feature	Description
Appearance	Veil swordtails are known for their long, flowing fins and vibrant colors, often in shades of red, orange, or yellow.
Size	They typically grow to about 4-5 inches, with males having a sword-like extension on their tails.
Behavior	Peaceful and social, they do well in community tanks but can be a bit territorial with other males.
Water Conditions	They thrive in slightly alkaline water with a temperature range of 72-82°F (22-28°C).
Diet	Omnivores that enjoy a varied diet of flake food, pellets, and live or frozen foods like brine shrimp.

Veil swordtail

Picture of Veil Swordtail

Geller’s swordtail hybridizes with pecilia to produce the morph known as the veil swordtail. The mountain swordtail is essentially the only pure species of swordtail found in aquariums in Russia and Ukraine. It is a hybrid swordsman, all others. Everything is black, white, green, koi, sulfur, bonomaline, t.D., and t.p., as well as a tiger and a flag. These are all the crossbreeds between three-color and spotted ozilium and Geller’s swordsman.

The collective term "veiltail swordtail" refers to all morphs having long fins, such as flag, lyretail, and forked.

The requirements for maintaining veiltail swordtail are the same for all species.

Class: Fish with ray fins.

Tooth-cyprinos in order.

The Poeciliidae family.

Aquarium circumstances:

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.

Central America (Southern Mexico and Guatemala) is the home region of swordtails. 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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A popular fish for aquariums, the veil swordtail is a colorful and graceful freshwater fish with long, flowing fins and a lively personality. It is a great choice for both novice and expert aquarists wishing to add a touch of elegance to their tanks because of its beauty and ease of maintenance.

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.

Picture of Veil Swordtail

Aggressive and large fish, such as cichlids (acaras, astronotus, diamond cichlazomas, etc.), are incompatible with swordtails. Furthermore, it’s not a good idea to place them with "veil" fish because swordtails can "pinch" them by fluttering their fins, and the latter are slow.

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. Consequently, swordtails should be housed in aquariums in haremas with two to three females for every male. Fish are noticeably less aggressive within their own species in this instance. Check out the article on aquarium fish compatibility.

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 volume for swordtails

Small aquariums are home to many inexperienced aquarists’ swordtails. This isn’t totally accurate, though. Swordtails are actually pretty big fish. Additionally, a harem family’s minimum aquarium size should be 50 liters because swordtails should be kept in a ratio of one male to three or more females. Swordtail aquariums should be large; a hundred liter tank 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 changes (replacement) of aquarium water are 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 terrible 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 preparations that neutralize harmful substances during deep water changes with 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.

Swordtail veil twisted image

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 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 works well as a basic feed. plus feeds that also contain carotenoids.

Allow me to make a small note. Color series feeds – enhance the natural color of fish (red, yellow colors), since they are 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. Eating plant and animal food rich in carotenoids, flamingo plumage, which is initially white, gradually turns pink. The more the birds receive 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 should be mentioned that astaxanthin is an antioxidant, among 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.

In conclusion, color series feeds are beneficial but 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. Eat once a day for the swordtails, and observe fasting 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 look for dates of manufacture and expiration, avoid purchasing food by weight, and store it in a closed container to prevent the growth of harmful flora.

Reproduction and breeding of veil swordtails

Swordtail breeding and reproduction are incredibly easy tasks. 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. Maintaining a male to female ratio is advised for breeding purposes as well as the fishes’ 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.

A woman’s pregnancy lasts between four and 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. 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.

Making sure the young survive is arguably the most crucial guideline when it comes to swordtail breeding. 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 densely on the surface, in the water column, and on the bottom. As a result, the fry receive protection "from evil parents" and the majority of them make it out alive.

Additionally, you can use specialized spawning tanks, which are made like funnels with the female remaining inside and the spawned fry falling out into the spawning aquarium, to preserve the offspring. As a result, at first, there is no communication between the fry and the producer.

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 a giving birth

Swordtail, a heavily pregnant woman =)

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 kept as "pedigree," while the weaker and faulty 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.

Beautiful offspring can occasionally be obtained through independent crossing between swordsmen of different types.

One fascinating aspect of these fish’s existence is that the female swordsman can eventually change into a male, changing the floor, among other things. The struggle for the species’ survival explains why this occurs when there is a "lack" of males. Nearly 90% of the progeny from a female + former female pair are female.

Diseases and treatment of swordtails

Swordtails are incredibly hardy fish that can tolerate challenging maintenance situations. But as with all living things, good health does not last forever. Maintaining aquarium water at ideal levels is essential for successful fish care.

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: MEDICAL DISEASES OF FISH, AQUA.

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 Veil Swordtail adds a pop of color and movement to your aquarium, making it a stunning and vibrant addition. Both novice and expert fish keepers adore them for their flowing fins and vivid colors.

These fish are a great option for hobbyists of all skill levels because they are not only aesthetically pleasing but also reasonably simple to care for. Veil Swordtails are a vibrant addition to any aquarium, provided they have the proper conditions, food, and attention to their social requirements.

You can spend many years with these gorgeous fish if you know what they need and give them the care they need. Their elegant presence will undoubtedly draw attention to your underwater world’s beauty.

Video on the topic

How to launch a new fish. Berlin swordtail.

Swordtails in a 30-liter aquarium

Black veiltail swordtail (Xiphophorus helleri veiltail)