Tropical Fish of the Day – Swordtail

Assorted Swordtails: Colorful Swords in Motion

One fascinating thing about swordtails is the sword-like structure that develops in a male swordtail fish as it ages. Its peaceful temperament towards its family and other fishes makes it a great aquatic ornament and storing assorted swordtails in a single aquarium should not be a problem as well.

Jeffrey Roberts via Compfight

Imagine a tank filled with assorted swordtails of different color variations. Thankfully, captive hybrid breeding of a fish of this kind was able to mix different colors, hence enhancing the already unique characteristic of a swordtail fish. Even though it is just the male that has this amazing sword-like structure, the females, however also has its own uniqueness.
Valentin Hintikka via Compfight

Swordtails are livebearers and the females give live birth to a fry instead of laying down eggs. The process is the fertility process we all know about, where the sperm fertilizes the egg. A female swordtail can hold up to 6 batches of sperm inside her, therefore it can give birth even without the presence of a male if it stored enough sperm.

Water temperaments should be 21.0 – 28.0 °C (69.8 – 82.4 °F) and a pH level of 7.0 – 8.0. Free space for swimming and a lot of live plants is a must for successful caring and breeding. They can swim very fast and jump out too, so keep an eye on that one. Swordtails feed on fish flakes, although they entice on green algae mostly. Variation of diet is essential, to ensure nutrition of assorted swordtails.

More Swordtail information

Baby Swordtail care