OK I've been asking around and came up with these conclusions to start breeding my swordtails I will need 1 male and 2 females. Next I will need to leave them in the main tank until one of the females is preganant. Then I will need to move the preganant female to a 10 gallon aqaurium. After she has her babies move her back to main aquarium and let babies grow.

OK heres my concerns... :huh:

Is the 10 Gallon big enough?

Will it be safe to move the female from one tank to another while preganant?

Any small plant(s) need for the newborn to hide under?

If there is any of this information already present on the boards I couldn't find it. Thanks All help will be welcome this will be my first time to breed EVER!!

Floating plants help keep the fry safe. I keep some Anacharis floating just for that purpose. My Swordtail and Platy fry like to hang around up there or they hang out at the base of plants in the gravel. It helps to keep the temp up a bit as well. ... to get the breeding going, I mean. Upper 70's seem to work best. A 10 gallon should be fine. Not sure about moving the pregnant female. I never move mine because it's such a chore to catch them. What do you think about one of those little boxes you hang on the tank that keep the fry safe and separate from the mother? That way the fry don't get eaten by other fish. I've never tried that either, but if I did, I'm sure I would have more fry grow to adults. As it is, I get one or two now and then. I'm not intentionally trying to breed them though. They bred more often when the temp was up and as long as their were live plants in the tank.

there really isnt a ton of prep to happen for breeding swords.... you dont NEED a 2-1 ratio, it only reduces stress on the females. i always stuck mine in a Lee's 3-way breeder compartment....... ive had a Molly who had over 200 fry.... swordtais are about as easy as convicts to breed, except cons breed every 2-3 weeks as opposed to 3-4 weeks for the swords.

Keep the temp up a bit, I agree. I also agree with, DO NOT MOVE THE FEMALE!
Instead, just get alot of floating plants and hiding ares near the gravel. I moved my pregnant guppy and she gave birth in that 3 in one thing, dead birth, then she died! AND she did not die because of me catching her. She swam willingly into the box thing.
I decided survival of the fittist. (sp) Now I have so many fry, from not moving anything or anyone. Let nature take its course. :)

A 10 gallon is not big enough for swords, in my opinion. I've kept them in a tank that size before, but they never prospered and never reached full size, either. If you'd like live bearers, an alternative could be platys (which look quite similar to swords), guppies or those balloon mollies.

Some say that the female gives birth to more underformed young when removed from the water, or absorbs them all together. Even if this is not the case, pregnancy and birth is very stressful for the fish, and moving as well. I wouldn't do it. :)

I've tried java moss, and the babies are never interested in hiding in it - only on the surface. When I had duckweed, I had the highest fry survival rates ever. :)


Hope I've helped. :)