Pied swordtail with black tail. Aquarium fish swordtail. What do swordtails look like - aquarium fish

Everyone knows swordtails, even those who have never encountered the aquarium world. Swordtails gained such fame due to their wide distribution (one could say that they were included in the kit of every young aquarist of the former USSR), as well as due to a special feature - a sword-shaped caudal fin. Actually, it is for this tail that swordtails got their name.

Description

Swordtails belong to the family of viviparous toothed carps. The body is elongated, flattened laterally.

The natural background color of males is light brownish-olive, with a green tint on the back. A two-millimeter red stripe runs along the sides, and below and above it are two more narrow red stripes. The long lower ray of the caudal fin (sword) has a clear black edge. The color of the female is much paler, the body has a silvery sheen, the middle of the body is occupied by a wide stripe, and below and above this stripe there are two more narrow stripes 0.5 mm wide.

As a result of selection, swordtails have not only various forms fins, but also different colors of their body: black, red, olive, orange, yellow and their combinations (for example, a yellow body and black fins). Swordtails have also been bred with two swords - in the lower and upper parts of the tail.

The male's body (without the sword) can grow up to 8 cm, and the female's body up to 12 cm.

Swordtails live up to three to five years.

Optimal water parameters : temperature 22-24°C, dH 5-20°, pH 7.0-8.0. Requires strong aeration and filtration. Once a week it is necessary to replace the water by 1/3 of the volume. It is recommended to add sea or table salt to the water: 1 tbsp. for 10 liters of water.

Dense thickets of small-leaved plants (for example, serrated elodea, cabomba, vallisneria) are perfect for an aquarium with swordtails. But there must also be free space for fish to swim. You can float Riccia on the surface of the water.

Any peaceful fish will be suitable as neighbors. In a group, there are conflicts between swordtail males, so it is necessary that there are more females than males. In this case, there should be either one male or more than three individuals - aggression is dispersed, and not directed directly at each other between two males.

BREEDING

Swordtails belong to the viviparous family. A female is capable of giving birth to from 15 to 100 fry, or even more, at one time. The number of fry born depends on the age and size of the mother, as well as her living conditions. For successful reproduction before giving birth, the pregnant female is placed in a separate aquarium. So that the newly born fry can avoid the teeth of an adult female, small-leaved plants must also be placed there. aquatic plants to create life-saving algae thickets in a small body of water, which are so good for hiding from danger. Breeding does not require any special care from the aquarist.

It will be enough just to isolate the female from the rest of the inhabitants of the aquarium during childbirth, and after giving birth, return her to her usual environment, leaving the swordtail babies to develop independently. At the time of birth, the fry are fully formed to begin an independent life. As soon as they are born, they immediately begin to tirelessly explore the space of the aquarium and actively feed. Kids are practically omnivorous, but it is preferable to give them daphnia and cyclops. With proper feeding, the fry grow rapidly, by 3-4 months they already acquire a “sword”, and sexual maturity occurs at 4-6 months.

COMPATIBILITY

Swordtails are not aggressive, peaceful fish. They are compatible with all similar fish: tetras, neons, minors, thornets, zebrafish, all poeciliids: guppies (can bite), mollies, etc. They are compatible with almost everything aquarium catfish– Corydoratuses (speckled catfish), acanthophthalmus, platidorus, ancistrus, sacbranch catfish, etc. Moreover, swordtails get along very well with peaceful and small cichlids, for example, with angelfish. It is not recommended to attach them to “veil” fish - they are slow and swordtails can “pinch” them by their beautiful, large fins. Not compatible with aggressive and big fish, for example, cichlids: acara, astronotus, diamond cichlids, etc.

What are the diseases and symptoms?

Diseases of swordtail aquarium fish have three main reasons:

An attentive owner will notice the beginning of diseases of swordtails during daily inspection of aquarium fish. Here's what it's worth note:

• freezing in place, lying on the bottom;
• erratic swimming, rocking, rubbing against rocks;
• loss of appetite;
• bloating;
• folding fins;
• cloudy and whitish spots on the body;
• cotton-like shreds.

A sick individual should be removed as soon as possible. Perhaps healthy people can be saved from infection.

Types and varieties

Green swordtail has a light olive-brown color with a greenish tint. There is one bright red stripe and several light ones along the body. The body itself is narrow and flattened on the sides. The sword is beautifully edged. Female swordtails are larger than males and have a paler color.

Lemon swordtail. This is an albino form of green swordtails, which is distinguished by its yellow-green body color. Low resistance during reproduction.

Bulgarian white swordtail. Another albino variety of swordtails. Bulgarian swordtails are stronger and more resilient than lemon ones.

Black swordtail. Hybrid of green swordtail and black pelicia. The body of the black swordtail is usually wider and shorter than that of the green one. The color is black, has a greenish or blue tint. Fish often suffer from melanosis (excess pigment), which makes them difficult to breed.

Red swordtail. The result of crossing a green swordtail with a red pelicia. It has a bright red body color.

So named because of its three-color coloration. It has White color body with several large bright red and black spots.

Rainbow Swordtail. The color resembles the Australian rainbow fish. The body is gray-green, has an orange tint. Along the body there are reddish-brown stripes. The fins of the fish are bright orange.

Tiger swordtail. So named because of the black spots on the background of the red body. Has a long black sword. Despite the dark spots, these fish rarely suffer from melanosis.

Mountain swordtail. It has a creamy yellow color. Small spots and pale zigzag stripes are noticeable on the sides.

Sword bearer of Cortez. In nature, it lives in the Mexican rivers San Luis Potosi and Panico. The size of the fish is approximately 5 - 5.5 cm, females are larger than males. From the root of the tail to the eye there is a dark brown zigzag stripe, reticulated scales of gray-yellow color, and a speckled dorsal fin. The sword is about 2 cm long, painted grayish-yellow.

Microswordtail. Under natural conditions it lives in Mexico in the Sotola-Marina River. The female reaches a length of 5 cm, and the male is about 4 cm. It has a beige or olive-gray color with transverse stripes, maybe without stripes. On the root of the tail behind the pelvic fin there are rather large dark spots. Males have a transparent sword up to 5 mm in length.

Clementia's Swordbearer. Under natural conditions it lives in the Mexican Sarabia River. The fish are from 4 to 5.5 cm long, the female is much larger than the male. The body of the fish is silvery-blue with two red longitudinal stripes. The back is painted olive - beige color, the sword of the male is yellowish with a black edging, the length of the sword is about 3.5 cm.

Montezuma's Swordtail V natural conditions lives in Mexico. The length of the body of the female is 6-7 cm, the male is about 5 cm. The body is colored lilac color, the back has a brownish tint, along the body there are 4-5 burgundy longitudinal stripes in the form of a zigzag and the same number of paler transverse stripes. The dorsal fin of the male is yellow, dotted with dark spots.

CICHLIDS AQUARIUM FISH SPECIES PHOTO DESCRIPTION.

The swordtail (lat. Xiphophorus hellerii) is a freshwater fish of the Poeciliaceae family. The first aquarium fish, the swordtail, appeared in European homes in the mid-19th century. Thanks to its endurance, unpretentiousness and ease of maintenance, the swordtail is popular to this day as a a pet.

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Characteristics

These fish are native to Central America and are found in the waters of Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala. Wild swordtails are characterized by a faded color compared to aquarium breeds. Xiphophorus hellerii can live in both running and standing water, in places where there is a lot of algae and insects.

Xiphophorus hellerii looks relatively large - the male has a body size of 10-11 cm, the female is larger - 12 cm, aquarium representatives are slightly smaller. Life expectancy in captivity: 3-5 years. Body color can vary - wild specimens have shiny olive-yellow scales, males have prominent a long tail. Red, green, yellow, spotted, black - each of these swordtails can be found in home aquariums.

Sexual dimorphism is pronounced: on the caudal fin of the female there is no long lower ray in the form of a “sword”, the male has one. The male has an anal fin (gonopodium) rolled into a “tube”. The female's anal fin is rounded and wide. Due to the lack of sex chromosomes, swordtails can sometimes change sex - females grow a lower tail ray and court other females.

Watch a useful video about keeping swordtails.

Content Rules

Suitable parameters aquatic environment, at which it is possible to keep fish: temperature: 22-26 o C, acidity 6.5-7.5 pH, hardness - average from 5 to 15 o. Complete care can be provided by filtration using an internal filter, weekly replacement of 20% of the water with fresh and clean water. Be sure to cover the tank with a lid - swordtails are very active and jumping.

Suitable for decorations tall plants, with small or wide leaves: elodea, cryptocoryne, anubias, echinodorus, arrowhead, vallisneria and others. Sand or pebbles are suitable as soil. Provide plenty of hiding places in the tank so that the females can hide from the male's aggression.

Keeping multiple male swordtails will create constant competition, so they are incompatible as neighbors. And so, swordtails get along well with proportionate, peace-loving fish species. Caring for swordtails in an aquarium can be simple if other viviparous species live in it: guppies, platies, mollies. Keeping is also allowed with spawning species: iris, gouramis, minors, thorns, tetras.

Feeding should be varied: feed live, frozen, dry and plant foods. In their natural environment, swordtails eat plants and algae, so fiber content in the diet is an important component of a complete diet. Xiphophorus hellerii eat bloodworms, tubifex, coretra, cyclops, daphnia, brine shrimp, insect larvae, lettuce and spinach leaves, food with spirulina. You can also give sinking granules and branded flakes.

Look at the flock of swordtails.

Varieties

The red swordtail is a hybrid form of the green swordtail and the red platie. Characterized by bright shade scales, the red pigment was obtained as a result of strict selection of adult individuals. Caring for the fish is simple, it easily adapts to a general aquarium. Water temperature for keeping: 22-25 o C, acidity 6.5-7.5 pH, medium hardness.

The green swordtail is a beautiful aquarium fish that was brought from Central America. The body is elongated, narrow, flattened on the sides. The color of the scales is olive-brown, or grayish-yellow with a green tint. A horizontal stripe runs across the body violet shade, parallel to it there are 2 more narrow stripes. Brown spots are noticeable on the dorsal fin; the male's sword on the tail shimmers in green and blue. The green swordtail in its pure form can only be found in nature; nowadays it has become the material for the creation of many hybrid breeds. Keeping the fish is also simple - it acclimatizes well in captivity.

The black swordtail is a descendant of the green swordtail and the black platie. The body is long and narrow, the color of the scales is velvety black, it shimmers with a blue tint. The eyes are silver with a dark pupil. Breeding this breed is quite problematic, since the female can develop melanosis - excessive pigmentation of the skin. Sometimes the female may be infertile, so breeding the breed is likely with proper water parameters. To prevent degeneration of the breed, females cannot be crossed with males of other breeds. Beautiful specimens are obtained by standard crossing of a green swordtail and a black platie.

Calico swordtail - got its name due to the triple color of its scales. Black and red splashes are scattered on a white background. Breeding is also problematic - it is quite difficult to breed a calico color. Nowadays, aquarium hobbyists are trying to use breeds of platies and “swordfishes” to obtain optimal results, but so far this has not been possible.

Rainbow Xiphophorus hellerii is a hybrid breed obtained by crossing the white Bulgarian swordtail. The color of the scales is gray-green, with an orange tint, and red-brown stripes are visible on it. The fins are colored red-orange.

Red-speckled brindle Xiphophorus hellerii - the breed was bred in the 40s of the twentieth century in Moscow. The color of the scales is ruby, there are black spots on it. The lower rays of the tail are long, melanosis is rare. When selecting a breed, it is advisable not to select fish with purely black caudal fins and a black pre-tail part.

Latin name:

Xiphophorus helleri.

Class: Ray-finned fish.

Squad: Carp-toothed.

Family: Poeciliaceae.

Conditions in the aquarium:

Water temperature: 22 - 26 °C.

(tolerates a temporary drop in temperature up to 15 °C)

"Acidity" Ph: 7,0 - 7,5.

Hardness dH: 6-20°

Aggressiveness: non-aggressive 10%

Content complexity: light.

Everyone knows swordtails, even those who have never encountered the aquarium world. Swordtails gained such fame due to their wide distribution (one could say that they were included in the kit of every young aquarist of the former USSR), as well as due to a special feature - a sword-shaped caudal fin. Actually, it is for this tail that swordtails got their name.

The homeland of swordtails is Central America (Southern Mexico and Guatemala). They live in reservoirs with stagnant and slowly flowing water, densely overgrown with a variety of aquatic plants.

Swordfish (Xiphophorus helleri) belong to the family of platyfish. Xiphophorus helleri translated from Greek language like "xiphos" - sword, "phoros" - to carry. The prefix “Helleri” was assigned to swordtails after the German naturalist Karl Bartholomeus Heller, who first caught these fish in Mexican lakes and safely transported them to Europe.

In 1848, these fish were first described by Dr. Johan Jakob Heckel, a preparator at the Museum of Natural Sciences at the Imperial Natural History Office of the Museum of Natural Sciences in Vienna.

The body of the fish is elongated and laterally compressed. The mouth of swordtails is upturned and adapted for taking food from the surface of the water. The fish can reach a size of 10 cm (without the sword). Females are somewhat larger than males and are similar in shape to all other poeciliids. In addition to the presence of a “sword” on the lower edge of the caudal fin, the male has a gonopodium - an anal fin transformed into a sexual organ.

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Compatibility of Swordtails

Swordtails are non-aggressive. They are compatible with almost all medium-sized peaceful fish. Among the best neighbors are , all, etc. They are compatible with almost all bottom fish:, etc. They get along well with “peaceful” cichlids, for example, with.

Swordtails are incompatible with aggressive and large fish that will hunt them, for example, cichlids (acaras, astronotuses, diamond cichlids, etc.). In addition, it is not recommended to add them to “veiled” fish, because the latter are slow and swordtails can “pinch” them by their fluttering fins.

Lifespan of swordtails

The life of swordtails, by aquarium standards, is medium-long. At good conditions kept they can live up to 5 years. You can find out how long other fish live

Minimum aquarium volume for swordtails

Many novice aquarists keep swordtails in small aquariums. However, this is not entirely correct. In fact, swordtails are quite large fish. And taking into account the fact that it is recommended to keep swordtails in the proportion of 1 male to 2-3 or more females, minimum size The aquarium for them should be from 50 liters per harem family. The aquarium for swordtails should be spacious, it is better to take 100 liters.

See how many fish you can keep in X liters of aquarium (at the bottom of the article there are links to aquariums of all sizes).

Care requirements and conditions for keeping swordtails

In some special conditions swordtails don't need it. Essentially, maintaining optimal parameters aquarium water is the key to their well-being. However, do not forget that:

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 large quantities oxygen, and too frequent changes (replacement) of aquarium water are not as beneficial 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 when there is a stable balance and

2. The aquarium must be covered with a lid, because The fish are nimble and can jump out and die.

3. Like many fish, swordtails feel comfortable among vegetation. It is recommended to use other plants for them as aquarium plants. Creating thickets of plants imitates the natural habitat of fish.

4. When decorating an aquarium, it is necessary to organize an open space for swimming. Swordtails are excellent swimmers. Swordtails do not need shelter at all.

Feeding and diet of swordtails

Swordtails are unpretentious in food, they are omnivores and prone to overeating. They enjoy eating dry and freeze-dried food: flakes, granules, chips. They love live and frozen food (bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, etc.). The fish take food from all layers of the aquarium water. The food remaining on the surface and falling to the bottom will also not be left unattended.

The diet of swordtails must include plant foods: flakes or granules with spirulina, special algae tablets. In addition, they willingly eat algae from the walls of the aquarium, plants and decor.

Feeding aquarium fish must be correct: balanced, varied. This fundamental rule is the key to the successful keeping of any fish, be it guppies or astronotuses. The article talks about this in detail, it outlines the basic principles of the diet and feeding regime for fish.

In this article, we note the most important thing - feeding fish should not be monotonous; the diet should include both dry food and live food. In addition, you need to take into account the gastronomic preferences of a particular fish and, depending on this, include in its diet food either with the highest protein content or, conversely, with plant ingredients.

Popular and popular food for fish, of course, is dry food. For example, food from Tetra, the leader, can be found on aquarium shelves all the time and everywhere. Russian market, in fact, the range of food from this company is amazing. Tetra's "gastronomic arsenal" includes individual food for certain type fish: for goldfish, for cichlids, for loricariids, guppies, labyrinths, arowanas, discus, etc. Tetra has also developed specialized foods, for example, to enhance color, fortified, or for feeding fry. Detailed information about everyone Tetra feed, you can find out on the official website of the company -

It should be noted that when purchasing any dry food, you should pay attention to the date of its manufacture and shelf life, try not to buy food in bulk, and also store the food in a closed state - this will help to avoid the development of pathogenic flora in it.

Varieties of aquarium swordtails

Swordtails have undergone serious breeding work aimed at obtaining different color morphs through hybridization. Morphs, in turn, actually drove all natural swordtail species out of the market.

With that said, there is a lot of confusion on the internet and among new aquarists regarding the identification of swordtails that live in their aquariums. Well, we will try to bridge the gaps and help the reader understand the issue species composition swordtails.

Natural species of swordtails are as follows:

Heller's swordtail or green (Xiphophorus helleri)

This is the species on the basis of which (by hybridization, mainly with morphs) all artificial breeding breeds were obtained. The name is given in honor of the Austrian botanist and naturalist Karl Bartholomew Heller (1824-1880), who first discovered this species of fish in 1848, during an expedition to study the flora and fauna of Mexico.

Mountain swordtail (Xiphophorus nezahualcoyotl)

Clemensia's swordtail (Xiphophorus clemenciae)

Montezuma's swordtail (Xiphophorus montezumae)

Alvarez's swordtail (Xiphophorus alvarezi),

the most expensive and rare type

Pygmy swordtail (Xiphophorus pygmaeus)

There are several more poorly studied species of swordtails. And all other swords are artificially bred breeds. Some of them are imitation of Montezuma and Alvarez swordtails, obtained artificially. Let's say the Berlin swordtail is a hybrid of Heller's swordtail and the red black-finned artificial breed of spotted platie Xiphophorus maculatus.

Types of swordtail morphs

Bulgarian white swordtails

High-winged swordtail

Red-mottled tiger swordtails

Red swordtail

Lemon swordtail

Lyretail swordtail

Hell's Swordsman

Rainbow Swordtails

Calico Swordtail

Black swordtail

In general, there is practically only one pure species of swordtails in the aquariums of Russia and Ukraine - the mountain one. All other swordtails are hybrids. All - brindle, flag, green, black, white, koi, grey-brown, etc. and so on. These are all hybrids of Heller's swordtail and tricolor and spotted platies.

So something like that, friends! Thank you for your attention. Watch our videos about livebearers and related links on this topic.

Reproduction and breeding of swordtails

Breeding and propagating swordtails is absolutely not a difficult task. It is similar to the reproduction of guppies and other livebearers. And, one might say, it actually happens on its own.

Sexual maturity in swordtails occurs at the age of 5-6 months. For breeding (and for their own comfort), it is recommended to keep fish in a ratio of one male to three females. In the process of “courting” a female, the male performs a peculiar mating dance- shuttle movements back and forth.

Fertilization of mature eggs occurs inside the female. This process may take several days. Interesting feature is that a once fertilized female swordtail can give birth to offspring several more times, even in the absence of a male.

The duration of a female's pregnancy is 4-6 weeks. This period depends on the parameters of the aquarium water, temperature, lighting and feeding.

The pregnant female has a full abdomen and a "black pregnancy spot" under her tail. It is believed that a few hours before the “birth” the female’s belly becomes “square”, the female begins to move more actively, “throwing” up and down along the aquarium glass.

At one time, the female spawns from 15 to 100 or more fry. Spawning usually occurs in the morning.

With plenty of nutrition and a water temperature of 26-27° C, birth can occur monthly.

The photo shows a male and female swordtail

Perhaps the most important rule What must be observed when breeding swordtails is concern for the survival of the young. Unfortunately, the producers eat their own offspring, and given that the fry of swordtails are quite large in size and brightly colored, this process simply turns into extermination. In nature, swordtails never see their offspring, because... The fry is immediately carried away by the current. In the aquarium, the parents mistake the fry for food.

To preserve the offspring, I plant the aquarium densely with aquarium plants. Plants are placed at the bottom of the aquarium, in the water column and especially densely on the surface. Thus, the fry are provided with shelter “from evil parents” and most of the fry survive.

Also, to preserve the offspring, you can use special aquariums, which are designed like a funnel - the female remains in the funnel, and the swept juveniles fall out of the funnel into the spawning aquarium. Thus, initially the absence of contact between the breeder and the fry is ensured.

The third option for preserving offspring is jigging the spawners immediately after spawning. This option is simple, but requires attention and timeliness from the aquarist.

Photo of a pregnant female swordtail, about to give birth

Photos of juveniles, fry of swordtails

After spawning, the female is removed and provided with abundant feeding.

The initial food for juvenile swordtails is live dust (nauplii, brine shrimp, cyclops, microworm, rotifers, cut tubifex).

After a week, the juvenile swordtails begin to be weeded out - divided into strong and “thoroughbred” ones, and the weak and defective ones are destroyed.

The juveniles grow quickly; after two months, the anal fin of the males begins to change, and by the third month the “sword” begins to grow.

An interesting fact from the life of these fish is that the female swordtail can at some point become a male, i.e. change gender This occurs under conditions of a “shortage” of males and is explained by the struggle for the survival of the species. The offspring of a female + former female pair consists of almost 90% females.

Diseases and treatment of swordtails

Swordtails are very resilient fish and can withstand harsh conditions. However, like all living beings, such excellent health does not last forever. The key to successfully keeping fish is to ensure optimal aquarium water conditions.

Swordtails are susceptible to all the typical diseases of aquarium fish and there are no nuances in their treatment.

For proper and correct treatment of swordtails, it is necessary to diagnose the disease, and then apply the necessary procedures. The following sections of the site will help you with this: FISH DISEASES, AQUA.MEDICINE.

All of the above is just the fruit of observing this type of aquarium fish and collecting various information from owners and breeders. We would like to share with visitors not only information, but also with live emotions, allowing you to penetrate the world of aquariums more fully and subtly. Register on, participate in discussions on the forum, create profile topics where you will talk about your pets in the first person and first-hand, describe their habits, behavior and content, share with us your successes and joys, share and learn from experience others. We are interested in every bit of your experience, every second of your joy, every awareness of a mistake, which makes it possible for your comrades to avoid the same mistake. The more of us there are, the more pure and transparent drops of goodness there are in the life and everyday life of our seven billion society.

Popular video with swordfish

The swordtail is one of the most popular tropical aquarium fish. Depending on the color, it is also known as black swordtail, gold, green, neon, red velvet swordtail, black velvet and others. They are native to southeastern Mexico, central Guatemala, southern Belize and northwestern Honduras. In nature, it lives in rivers, streams, warm springs, canals and ponds, in areas heavily overgrown with vegetation. Adults prefer to congregate in areas with strong currents, while young and adolescents prefer quiet, calm areas.

Origin

Xiphophorus helleri was first described by the Austrian taxidermist, zoologist and ichthyologist Johann Jakob Heckel. Belongs to the family Poeciliidae, suborder Carbotooth, class ray-finned fish. The species name “helleri” was given in honor of the Austrian botanist and naturalist Karl Bartholomeus Heller (1824-1880), who collected specimens of the species. “Xiphos” in Greek means “sword”, and “pherein” means to carry. This species is not listed in the Red Book and is not endangered.

Description

The swordtail has an elongated body with a blunt nose. The dorsal fin has 11-14 rays, the anal fin contains 4-10 soft rays. The male is easily identified by long sword, emerging from the lower part of the caudal fin; Females usually have an extended anal fin and no sword in the caudal fin. During puberty in males, the anal fin rays are modified into a narrow copulatory organ called the gonopodium.

Thanks to selection, aquarists have obtained many varieties of swordtails of various colors and caudal fin shapes. Most often, these aquarium fish are dominated by orange, black, gold, red colors and various combinations thereof. However, there are varieties such as blue pineapple, green pineapple, as well as rare varieties with a lyre-shaped tail.

The swordtail is omnivorous and wildlife his food consists of plant food, worms, crustaceans, annelids and insects. Females are slightly larger and grow up to 16 cm in length, while males grow only 14 cm in length. Fish reach sexual maturity after 8-12 months. The female produces 20 to 200 offspring after a pregnancy of 24 to 30 days.

This species has the ability to change sex under certain conditions. environment. In captivity, with proper care, it can live up to 5 years.

The swordtail is a hardy, peaceful aquarium fish, suitable for keeping in a community aquarium. This species is easy to care for, the aquarium should be about 50 liters in volume, with plenty of free space for swimming. The aquarium must have clean, oxygen-rich, alkaline water with strong filtration to maintain high level oxygen. The water is moderately hard, around 15-30 dGH. Aquarium swordtail fish are jumping, so the aquarium must be covered with glass or a lid to prevent jumping out of the water.

The aquarium should undergo regular water changes, 25% every 2-4 weeks. Swordtails, generally peaceful live fish, are considered good society for living together, they get along well with other good-natured fish species of the same size. Suitable aquarium neighbors: molynesias, platies, angelfish and corydoras catfishes, sucker catfishes, as well as small characins such as black thorns, minors and other tetras. Males can be aggressive towards each other, so the aquarium should be large enough.

Feeding

Swordtail fish are omnivores and in the wild their diet consists of plant foods, worms, crustaceans, annelids and insects, as well as phytoplankton and some macro algae. Captive aquarium fish Swordtails usually eat all types of fresh and frozen aquarium food, as well as dry flakes. The diet of swordtail fish should be balanced and the fish should receive both dry quality food and small live food, frozen foods such as daphnia, brine shrimp, tubifex and chironomid larvae. The swordtail is not picky about food, but it should be varied.

Feed several times a day in small portions.

Differences between a male and a female

It is very easy to distinguish a male swordtail from a female. The male is smaller and slimmer than the female and has a sword-like gonopodium, as well as a sword-like process of the caudal fin at the bottom. The female has a fan-shaped anal fin and a rounded body. During reproduction, the female establishes a spawning site for herself.

Reproduction

Swordtails are viviparous fish and reproduce easily in home aquarium without much participation from the owners, subject to good nutrition and proper care. The female produces 20 to 200 fry after a gestation period of 24 to 30 days. The aquarium should have dense floating vegetation to protect the swordtail fry from attack by adult fish. As a rule, swordtails reach sexual maturity at 8-12 months. From the moment the egg is fertilized until the fry is fully developed, it takes about four weeks. Adult fish may eat their young if they are hungry, so it is very important to feed the parents well.

It’s good if the aquarium with swordtails is planted with live or artificial plants so that there are shelters in which to hide. Fry should be fed a high protein diet, commercial food or live food such as newly hatched brine shrimp or frozen baby brine shrimp. Meals should be frequent and large enough to ensure that all fry receive food. Water changes and soil siphoning will help avoid water contamination from excess feed and the accumulation of harmful toxins such as ammonia and nitrites.

Another popular fish among aquarists is the swordtail, or rather, it would be more correct to say, the green swordtail, since this is the color that predominates among swordtails living in nature.

The swordtail is viviparous freshwater fish. They got their name from the elongated part of their tail, which resembles a sword. This type of fish was first described in 1848 by Dr. I.Ya. Neckel, but the fish got their name in honor of another botanist - Karl Heller, who found these fish in nature, and therefore they are called Xiphophorus helleri, or Heller's swordtails.
Natural environment The habitat of these fish is Central America and the subtropics South America– Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Brazil. They live in bodies of water with stagnant water and in shallow water bodies. As already mentioned, the natural color of the swordtail is green. But as a result of selection, breeds of red, lemon, black, and spotted colors were obtained.

Appearance of swordtails

Swordtails are quite large fish. In nature, a female can reach a size of 15 cm, and a male - 10 cm. In an aquarium, their sizes are somewhat smaller - 5-8 cm.

As a rule, the female is larger than the male, her mouth is upturned for better feeding from the surface of the water. The coloring of males is brighter than that of females. Characteristic feature males are elongated lower rays of the caudal fin, resembling a sword, and having a black color.
During selection, swordtails with different colors and fin shapes were bred. But we will show them at the end of the article.
Features of keeping swordtails in an aquarium
Swordtails are quite unpretentious fish. They get along well in aquariums where they have about 3 liters of water. In addition, swordtails feel better in long aquariums, at least 30 cm. In general, to keep a group of swordtails you need a spacious and elongated aquarium.
The water in the aquarium should be between 18-26°C, water acidity - 7-8 pH, water hardness - 8 - 25 dH. The fish stay in the upper and middle layers of water. The color and type of soil is not important for them. Swordtails love clean water Therefore, careful water filtration and regular water changes up to a third of the aquarium’s volume are recommended. Recommended plants include Limnophila indica, glitterwort, and pinnately. The backdrop looks good from jagged elodea, camomba. Riccia looks good on the surface.

Behavior of swordtails in the aquarium

Swordtails are quite peaceful fish, and get along with most other breeds of fish of the same size and temperament. You should not keep more than three males in an aquarium, otherwise they will compete with each other. Swordtails have one thing amazing property. Due to unfavorable conditions - overpopulation of females, long absence of males - females are degenerated into males. The lower rays of their tail grow and a gonopodium appears. The reverse transformation (from males to females) was not observed.

What and how to feed swordtails

Swordtails are not demanding when it comes to nutrition, which is why they can be recommended to beginners and not particularly active aquarium owners. The main criterion for feeding swordtails is variety in food. As a rule, this is achieved by alternating feeding with different types of food - live, dry, vegetable. As a result, there are three main types of food that need to be alternated:
Dry food, which can be purchased at a pet store;
Plant foods are usually prepared independently. These are crushed leaves of lettuce, seaweed, spinach, and nettle. Young leaves are used. Before cutting, the leaves are doused with boiling water.
Live food - bloodworms, mosquito larvae, daphnia, brine shrimp, cyclops and tubifex. The tubule needs to be cut.
Do not overdo it with feeding in order to avoid excess uneaten food and, as a result, contamination of the water in the aquarium.
For non-standard feeding, you can consider the following options:
- boiled yolk;
- cooked fish (chopped);
- squid (chopped);
- dried crushed bread;
- lean chopped meat.

Reproduction of aquarium fish - swordtails

Breeding swordtails is not difficult, or rather, if you follow all the conditions of keeping, they will breed on their own. Males are usually distinguished from females by their brighter coloring and the presence of an extension in the lower part of the tail. Female swordtails are viviparous fish, that is, the fry immediately emerge from the female - they are born.
The female reaches sexual maturity at 6-8 months. But, surprisingly, a female at an even younger age can be fertilized by a male, that is, before puberty. The male's sperm will remain in the female until he fertilizes her. Also, after a single fertilization, the female is able to give birth several times. Sword bearers have the ability to be reborn, that is, to change their gender.
Pregnancy in fish lasts about 30-35 days. As a rule, it is visually noticeable that the female has grown an abdomen. About 2 days before the expected due date, the female swordtail needs to be removed. It is advisable that the conditions of detention do not differ from aquarium conditions. It is necessary to place some vegetation with the female in any case. The vegetation will serve as protection for future fry. After their birth, the mother can eat them, so the fry will look for an opportunity to hide, and plants will help them with this. The number of fry can be more than 100 pieces. After the female swordtail has given birth, she must be placed back in the aquarium. The fry grow and develop on their own for the first time. All this is done for their safety, since they can be eaten in the aquarium. You can feed the fry with the same dry food, but additionally crushed. Next we will talk about feeding the fry in more detail.

How and what to feed swordtail fry

It is better not to feed the fry on the first day. On the second day after birth, you can give thoroughly mashed egg yolk or dry daphnia (also well mashed). Hatched brine shrimp will do. This crustacean is very nutritious for fish, which will affect their rapid growth and feeling good. In the second week of the fry's life, you can start feeding them bloodworms, daphnia and cyclops.
Initially, the fry can regenerate into both females and males. The dependence of degeneration depends on the temperature of the water in the aquarium. If it is closer to 30 degrees, then more males will be reborn, if closer to 20, then accordingly there will be more females.