A member of the Poecilidae family (the same family as the Guppy) the Swordtail is native to Guatemala and Mexico. Swordtails are popular freshwater tropical fish as they are hardy and easy to breed. They are happier in large tanks with open areas for swimming. They prefer a temperature of between 72F and 82F and do not like too acidic water.
They are excellent freshwater tropical fish for your community aquarium and live peacefully with other species.
In common with other members of the Poecilidae family Swordtails are live bearers. The male develops a Gonopodium, from the anal fins he matures which stores sperm and is used to fertilise the female. The female, once impregnated can store unused sperm in her oviduct walls for future fertlisations. Lighter coloured females will develop a gravid spot close to the anus after impregnation.
At birth, the fry are fairly large and well enough advanced to be able to swim away from danger. They will eat small flakes of food left over by the adults in the tank and grow rapidly. All fry are are born female. An early developing male will become a slender adult but a Swordtail that develops later into a male he will grow into a larger, thicker male.
The female lacks the sword that is typical of the male, which is a sword shaped anal fin. The females are larger than the males and grow to about 16cm, two centimeters longer than the males. In the wild the Swordtails are green with a brown or red lateral stripe and speckles on the caudal and dorsal fins. The sword is yellow. Many colours have been produced by breeding including red and black with a wide variety of patterns.
In the wild Swordtails have been introduced to many countries and have caused many ecological problems due to its hardiness and ability to breed prolifically. Among the countries where Swordtails are considered a nuisance are Southern Africa and Australia.
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Tags: swordtail, Tropical Fish Information
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