No, they do not. Swordtails are livebearers and therefore they give birth to live fry. They are easy to keep and easy to breed fish.
Do swordtail fish lay eggs?
Like other livebearing aquarium fish, swordtails (Xiphophorus hellerii) give birth to live young, or fry, rather than laying eggs. Although the swordtail’s gestation period is 28 days, it may be difficult to determine when she became pregnant.
Are swordfish born from eggs?
Females carry between 1-29 million eggs, which are fertilized externally. The eggs measure 1.6-1.8 mm in diameter and begin developing into embryos about 2.5 days after they are fertilized. As mentioned above, swordfish morphology changes dramatically as they mature.
How do swordfish mate?
During spawning, male-female pairs form, but they reproduce through external (rather than internal) fertilization, where the female releases her eggs into the water column while the male releases his sperm. Once the sperm find the eggs, fertilization occurs.
How often do swordtails have babies?
Swordtail Fish are Livebearers
This group gives birth to live fry. A female swordtail can produce offspring as often as every four weeks.
Do swordfish give live birth?
Swordtails are livebearers and therefore they give birth to live fry. They are easy to keep and easy to breed fish. That makes them a perfect choice for beginner aquarists.
Can swordtails change gender?
Amateur breeders have at times reported sex change in some old female swordtails of their aquaria, and biologists have re- ported sex inversions in domesticated Xi- phophortts helleri. Essenberg (1926) reported two instan- ces of complete sex inversion.
Can a swordfish regrow its sword?
Fishermen often catch swordfish with mangled swords, so breaking one isn’t fatal, but they do help their owners swim faster and feed. And they don’t seem to grow back, at least not for adults.
How many eggs can a female swordfish lay?
Swordfish reproduce by laying eggs, that is to say that they are oviparous. Female swordfish can lay anywhere between 1,000,000 and 30,000,000 eggs at one time and fertilization is external.
What does a female swordtail fish look like?
Swordtails have specific characteristics to easily differentiate male and female fish. Males have the characteristic “sword” on the ventral aspect of their tails. Females have a rounded tail edge and tend to have thicker bodies. This comes from carrying all their live baby fry.
Can swordtails breed without males?
A sexually mature swordtail fish can give birth any time of the month. They may not necessarily require males for mating. Therefore, to prevent gobbling down of the live births, it is advisable to keep the pregnant swordtail fish in a separate tank.
How do I know if my swordtails are mating?
Ultimately, you’ll be able to tell if your swordtail has been mating when babies, called fry, appear. The female swells as fry grow inside of her, and the dark-colored gravid spot by her anal fin becomes obvious as the young develop. About four weeks after mating she’ll give birth to as many as 80 live fry.
Do swordtails breed easily?
Swordtail breeding is a straightforward process. Like other livebearers, they are quick to spawn in captivity. In the right conditions, females can give birth once every 28 days! While they will readily breed in your primary tank without any intervention, it’s best to provide a separate breeding environment.
How long does swordtail birth last?
Common Causes of Delayed Birth
The gestation period of a swordtail is 28 days, but most of the times, the delivery might extend for around two or three days. If this happens, particularly if it is longer than one month, you should always know that something is wrong and you have to make changes in the aquarium tank.
How long do baby swordtails take to grow?
The fish will have grown fully when six months old. At this stage, they will be 12-14 cm (5 – 5.5 inches) long including their swords. Male have swordtails and develop longer tails and fins than the females.
How many swordtails should be kept together?
That being said, swordtail fish do best when kept in groups of 4 to 6. At least two or three females should be kept for every one male.
How long is a fish pregnant for?
As examples, the female swordtail and guppy will both give birth to anywhere from 20 to 100 live young after a gestation period of four to six weeks, and mollies will produce a brood of 20 to 60 live young after a gestation of six to 10 weeks.
Is swordtail a guppy?
The Yellow Top Swordtail Guppy is a very unique variety that boasts psychedelic coloration and an unusual sword extension at only the top of its tail! The Yellow Top Swordtail Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) is a very uncommon guppy variety that has a distinctive sword extension at the top of the tail in males.
What do swordtails look like?
Wild swordtails are green with red and orange lateral stripes on their sides. They are slim and have some speckled markings on their fins. Swordtail fish are sexually dimorphic. Males have a sword-like extension and gonopodium, which is a modified anal fin that allows the fish to transfer sperm.
Are swordtails aggressive?
So, are swordtail fish really aggressive? Swordtails are peaceful in general and will remain peaceful as long as their habitat is adequate. They are exclusively peaceful tropical fish species.
Can I keep just male swordtails together?
Male-Only Aquarium
As long as no females are present, males can harmoniously coexist in groups of six or more. The larger the numbers the better the chance you have of diffusing any potential aggression within the group, with no one fish bearing the brunt of another’s bullying.