Aquarium lovers should be well aware of the fish called the swordtail. Swordtails are aquarium fish, but their habitat is not limited to beautiful glass containers, they can freely live in open water. In 1848, Dr. I.Ya. Heckel named these beauties in honor of the famous botanist K.B. Heller - Xiphophorus helleri. And in the same year, for the first time, he provided nature lovers with a description of these fish.

Swordtails belong to the Placilia family, the carp-tooth order. They prefer fresh water and are viviparous. On their tails they have an outgrowth resembling a sword, thanks to this sword the fish got their name - swordsmen.

What do swordtails look like - aquarium fish

Swordtails live for four to five years and can reach sizes of 8-12 cm during this time. This is the length of the body without a sword. This applies to males, since nature did not reward females with such an interesting property. The size of the fish largely depends on the size of the aquarium, in natural conditions they can grow up to 13 cm, with aquarium maintenance on average, the length of the swordsman is 4-7 cm. The body is elongated in shape and flattened laterally. Thanks to selective breeding, swordtails can delight us with a wide variety of colors and fin shapes. These fish are black, red, yellow, orange, in addition, the colors on their body can be beautifully combined. For example, a red body and black fins. There are swordsmen who have one sword at the bottom of the tail and another sword at the top.

Swordsmen in nature

Swordtails look very beautiful in an aquarium, but in nature they are no less beautiful, maybe this beauty is facilitated by the atmosphere of the naturalness of reservoirs. Nowadays, you can buy an aquarium swordsman of any color, the choice is large, but a fish of a natural color is hard to find in pet stores. natural look not very bright, but it does not lose its charm from this. Males in nature are light brown in color with a greenish back. On the sides there is one red stripe, above and below this stripe there is another thin red stripe. The sword is edged in black. Females in nature look dull against the background of males: the body has a silvery sheen, there are three stripes on the barrels, one of which is wide and two are narrow, like in males, only paler. Finishing the conversation about natural swordtails, I would like to trace their path to Russia. At first, swordtails traveled from America to Europe, at the beginning of the 20th century these fish were brought to Russia, they immediately won sympathy and confidently took their place among aquarium fish OK.

Types of swordsmen

There are many different types of swordsmen. Swordtails (aquarium fish), if their different species are kept together, can mate, as a result of which very beautiful, interestingly colored fry can turn out. In some cases, to the great delight of the aquarium owner, a the new kind. Among the existing ones, I would like to note some that are especially distinguished by their beauty. The Lemon Swordtail, for example, is distinguished by its beautiful yellow-green coloration. Unfortunately, these fish do not breed well. Another type of swordsman with an unusual color is the chintz swordsman. They named it that because white color with black and red spots. The tiger swordsman looks very beautiful in the aquarium. This fish is painted red with black spots, moreover, it also has a strict black sword. Each species is beautiful and able to delight lovers of aquarium fish.

There are some types of fish that are very difficult to care for, but this is not the case with everyone. For example, you have an aquarium fish swordtail, keeping such a beauty will give you more pleasure than trouble. For one pair of such residents, a minimum of 6 liters of water will be required. The water temperature should be 23-25 ​​degrees, hardness - dH 8-25, acidity - pH 7-8. It is recommended to add to 10 liters of water 1 tablespoon of table or sea ​​salt. Once a week, you need to change the water by 1/3 of the volume. Swordtails also love thickets of algae; Vallisneria or toothed elodea are ideal for this purpose.

When filling the aquarium with plants, be sure to leave ample space for your pets to swim freely. One more important rule! A nimble swordsman (fish), the content of which will not be a problem, should live in an aquarium with a lid. Males are really very frisky, sometimes they jump out of the water and can die.

Swordtails (fish): with whom do they get along in the same aquarium?

The aquarium is a large glass house with many fish neighbors. Each neighbor has its own character. Small water inhabitants are calm, but they are also cocky. Handsome swordsmen (fish): with whom do such nimble neighbors get along? They love to coexist with peaceful, non-evil fish, as they themselves are calm. In the same aquarium, it is better to keep fish of the same size and with the same peaceful character. It is not recommended to add fish that are too slow and with large fins, swordtails will definitely bite them, and they will not give rest to fish that are smaller than themselves. In one aquarium, you need to keep more females than males, there must be one male, or there must be more than three. Otherwise, there will be fights in the glass house.

How and what to feed

Feeding the swordsmen will also not cause much trouble and will not take much time. Swordtails are fish, the care of which will not be difficult even for people who often go on business trips. If you have to leave the house for long time they can go without feeding for two weeks. It is still not recommended to leave them unattended for so long, but if necessary it is possible. During this time, swordtails will feed on small snails or algal formations on glass or on plant leaves. The rest of the time, any food is suitable for swordtails: dry, frozen, canned. We should not forget that the fish need live food, such as tubifex, bloodworm, daphnia. It is also good to include nettles, peas, spinach, different types of lettuce in this diet. If fry appeared in your aquarium, then you need to increase the amount of protein in the feed. Use rotifers, microworms, cyclops nauplii for this. The emerging young growth needs frequent feeding.

How swordtails breed

Swordtails are viviparous, so it is not difficult to breed them. At 5-6 months, your aquarium farm will already have swordfish ready for mating.

Reproduction must be carried out under supervision so as not to lose fry. After all, parents immediately after birth strive to eat their offspring. If you take all measures for the safety of the cubs, then the swordsman (female fish) can give birth to up to 50 fry at a time.

Mating and bearing offspring

Mating of the swordsmen occurs with the help of the male's genital organ. The swordtail (male fish) lays eggs in the abdomen of the female. This process may go unnoticed by the owner, but if you still notice that the mating has taken place, then note the time, and in five weeks you will have replenishment in the water kingdom. During the gestation of fry, you need to carefully monitor the temperature in the aquarium and the quality of the food, the health of newborn fish and even what gender they will be born will depend on this. If the water temperature is about thirty degrees, then the ratio of females and males will be 1:10, if the water is about twenty degrees, then the ratio will change to reverse side. Try to place the female in a separate container 3 days before the birth, you can just put it in a glass jar. You will notice the approach of childbirth by a noticeably rounded abdomen.

How to keep newborn fry

In order to save fry, there are different ways. You just need to be careful, do everything quickly and in a timely manner, then save the kids from negligent and cruel parents. All methods are easy! You can immediately put the female into a common aquarium after spawning, because small swordtails are born completely ready for life. They immediately swim and eat on their own. If you did not have time to transplant the female, then you can prepare in advance a special spawning device that looks like a funnel. When the fry are born, they fall out through the funnel into the aquarium for spawning, and the female remains in the funnel. There is a way that fits all cases. A spawning tank should have a lot of algae both at the bottom and at the top. These algae will serve as a shelter for the kids, where they can hide from their parents. With the right content at the age of two months, young people will begin sexual changes, and at three months it will be possible to distinguish males from females. At this time, the "boys" will begin to grow a sword.

What do swordtails get sick, and how to prevent it

Fish, like all living things, sometimes get sick. Subject to various diseases and swordsmen. Fish whose diseases are known to their owner are safer. After all, if you are familiar with the problem and could notice it in time, then it is much easier to deal with it. Swordtails can get sick viral disease or fungal. If you have purchased a new fish, you risk introducing an infection into the aquarium with it. Therefore, a new acquisition must be quarantined for 10-12 days. If the fish is sick, then during this time the disease will make itself felt. Immediately after the purchase, place the swordsman for 20 minutes in a jar of salt water (take 1 tablespoon of salt per 1 liter). During this time, harmful microorganisms will die. To avoid fungal diseases, you need to thoroughly and regularly clean the aquarium and remove food debris from it in a timely manner. Only buy live food from vendors you know and trust. With live food, you can also introduce viral infections to your fish. If, however, your pet is sick, then urgently put him in another aquarium and start treatment. If you delay, you will lose not only one sick fish, other inhabitants of your water world can become infected from it.

Curious about the life of the swordsmen

If you carefully observe the life of the fish, you can notice a lot of interesting things. Swordtails are aquarium fish, in the history of which there are many curious facts. Do you know that a female swordsman, due to certain circumstances, can change sex and grow a sword? After that, she will behave like a male, stick to other females, fight with males, only she will not be able to fertilize. Nature sometimes jokes a little and brings curious surprises!

This is one of the most popular fish in the aquarium for the novice and professional breeder. The fish is so unpretentious that sometimes only guppies and swordtails turn out to be in the aquarium for beginners. Perhaps even those people who have never started fish and are not going to do so know about them.

They appeared in human aquariums as early as 1864 and since then have become permanent residents of apartment reservoirs.

These fish got their name from sword-shaped tail in males. Outwardly, the fish are very cute, and their color is diverse. Swordtails are liked not only because of their unpretentiousness, but also because they breed easily and very rarely get sick.

Swordsmen cannot be called peaceful fish, but they show the most aggression towards each other. Sometimes there are instances of a very timid nature.

Swordtails feel best in aquariums with abundant vegetation and at the same time sufficient space for swimming. In addition, abundant vegetation helps the fry of these livebearers to hide.

Swordsman in nature

The birthplace of these cute fish is Central America. Range in wild nature distributed from Mexico to Guatemala. Wild swordtails are not as brightly colored as their domesticated relatives.

AT natural environment swordtails prefer strongly overgrown shallow reservoirs with both running water and stagnant water. They feed mainly on insects, as well as plant foods.

These fish belong to the Pecilian family. They gained their fame thanks to the German biologist Geller, who caught them from the lakes of Mexico in 1848. As the first description of the swordsmen testifies, their body is arched and compressed on the sides, and their mouths are slightly upturned. The size of swordtails can reach ten centimeters in females and slightly less in males. The male also has a gonopobia - an anal fin. hallmark from the rest of the pecilia is the tail in the form of a sword.

The color of these fish can be very different. There are orange swordtails, black, red and even yellow. Sometimes the body of the fish is painted in one color, and the tail in another. The color of the male is always slightly brighter than that of the females. Males can be distinguished from females even by the caudal fin. In males, it is radiant. Thanks to their upturned mouth, it is easy for swordtails to get food from the surface of the water.

Types of aquarium swordtail

There are several types of fish with tails in the form of a sword:

  • Bulgarian white is an albino fish. When breeding, it is unstable and often produces offspring that differ from the parents.
  • Another albino, but only a lemon shade. Greenish fish very whimsical, and its breeding is problematic due to total absence guarantee upon receipt of the result.
  • is a hybrid derived from the green swordtail and the black picilia. The color of the black swordsman is not matte, but with a green tint. This species is very problematic, as the hybrid often gets sick. The excess of pigment obtained by crossing is to blame for this.
  • actually has a brown-olive color. On the body you can see red blotches in the form of stripes. His tail is beautifully edged in red.
  • red pigment obtained from the swordtail by crossing the green swordtail and the red picilia.
  • Tricolor painted in three shades: red, black and white, as the main one.
  • The most disease resistant species is brindle. They have a black tail and a red body with black spots.
  • yellow swordsman otherwise called mountainous. It has creamy zigzag stripes on the sides.
  • Rainbow color in swordtails is rare and has several shades. Usually it is gray, orange and green, and red stripes on the sides.

As a result of the work of breeders, a lot of different species have turned out. These are Tuxedo, Hell Swordsman, Viennese, Evelyn, Berlin Swordsman and Koi. If you have several species of swordtails in your aquarium, then after a while you will notice what a variety of offspring can be obtained by mixing species. Sometimes there are such specimens that you want to select yourself. True, unfortunately, it is almost impossible to fix the result.

But, scientists have already managed to diversify this type of pecilia as much as possible. There are fish with veil fins, lobed and lyre-shaped. And the variety of colors is simply amazing.

This hardy fish is usually kept in a common aquarium with the rest of the inhabitants. The water in the aquarium should be enriched with oxygen, be constantly clean and alkaline. A water filter must be present. Rigidity in the range of 15–30, that is, moderate. The amount of water is at least fifty liters so that the fish have enough space for swimming. Change about a quarter of the water in the aquarium once a month.

Be sure to cover the aquarium with a lid or glass. These fish are distinguished by high jumping ability.

As for the neighborhood of swordtails with other fish, they get along well with mollies, catfish, minors and various tetras, and they most often show aggression towards each other. It is advisable to keep swordtails with fish of the same size as they are.

Swordfish breeders advise choosing an oblong, elongated aquarium so that pugnacious males can hide from each other.

Maintain a stable water temperature in the aquarium. These fish are sensitive to sudden changes and can get sick with a disease such as ichthyophthyrosis. The disease can be detected by the following features: the fins of the swordsmen shrink, and the fish itself gravitates to the bottom where it scratches the body on the stones. Such signs occur with a sharp hypothermia of the water in the aquarium.

In order for them to feel comfortable, try to keep the temperature at least twenty-five degrees. To do this, there are aquarium heaters with a thermometer that will help you ensure proper care of the aquarium habitats during the winter and autumn months.

Feeding

For breeders aquarium swordsmen lucky, these fish are absolutely omnivores. They feed, as in the wild, on worms and crustaceans, phytoplankton and dry insects. The diet also includes plant foods in the form of algae. They are fed both fresh and frozen food such as daphnia, chironomids and brine shrimp. Excellent eat dry flakes and any other aquarium food. The only condition is that the food should be varied, and the menu should consist of at least three types daily.

The feeding regimen involves small portions, but several times a day.

Breeding

In order for the swordsmen to feel comfortable, the number of males should be constantly monitored. The males of these fish are prone to fights, during which they can even kill an opponent. If they are in a large spacious aquarium, preferably elongated and with abundant vegetation, then the chances of avoiding fights will become much greater.

They reproduce quite easily. As soon as the swordsmen reach the age of seven months, the mating season. Distinguishing males from females is easy enough. Male swordtails have a sword-shaped tail, while females have a short and regular tail. In addition, the female is always larger. Usually, one male and several females are selected for breeding.

Large breeders during breeding are guided by the following rules of keeping:

  • Males and females must be at least six months old.
  • The female is chosen from strong fruitful families.
  • The male selected for breeding should be larger than the rest. Body length is desirable at least eight centimeters without a tail.
  • Usually such males and females are planted at the age of three months and grown separately from the rest.
  • Original, young females are crossed with already experienced males.
  • Very often, the swordsmen enter into a relationship with the picilii. If you have these types of fish in your aquarium, you can expect hybrid offspring.

The sperm of the male is able to be stored in the body of the female for a long time and fertilize her more than once. The fact that the female is pregnant can be guessed by the rounded belly. Pregnancy lasts for forty days, after which small nimble fry are born. AT last days before giving birth, the female's abdomen becomes somewhat square.

Breeders breed swordtails for a whole year. Special conditions for breeding and maintenance are not required, the main thing is to plant the female on time after the appearance of fry. Otherwise, she will simply start eating them.

There are special spawning aquariums. They have a fake organic glass bottom. Through gaps in the bottom, the fry escape from their mother in the first minutes of life.

Usually in the first litter up to thirty fry are born, in the future their number sometimes increases, reaching one hundred and fifty pieces.

You can also breed fry in a common aquarium, provided there is abundant greenery, preferably floating on the surface of the aquarium. Unfortunately, their own fry are the favorite food of the swordsmen. They literally hunt them and very often from total Newborns are left with fifteen percent of fry.

Tips for care and maintenance:

  • Feed your fish regularly. Even if the food is over, you can give oat flakes. Usually, in the absence of food, swordtails switch to eating algae. If you want to keep your aquarium vegetation beautiful, don't let your fish get hungry.
  • Swordtails will not breed at constantly low temperatures in an aquarium. Maintain temperature regime at twenty-seven degrees. To do this, you should get a special aquarium heater with a thermometer.
  • Aquarium is best to choose an elongated shape.
  • Mix the water in the aquarium every month about one quarter of the total volume.
  • Cover the aquarium with a lid to keep jumping swordtails from jumping out.
  • Get plenty of greens. The fry will hide in it. Among the plants must be duckweed or pistia.

Diseases and their prevention

Inspect the fish before buying. There should be no wounds, rashes or incomprehensible plaque on the surface of their body. Be sure to carry out a preventive procedure. To do this, run the fish in salted water for twenty minutes. Water is salted in such a way: for one liter of liquid, a tablespoon of salt. The fact is that microbes from the previous aquarium can be on the body of the fish, and with the help of salt they die.

Common fish diseases are colds, as well as infection melonosis. You can determine it by fluffy neoplasms on the body of the fish. It is treated as follows: the fish is placed in water with a solution of methylene blue at a water temperature of no more than twenty-three degrees. A solution of biomycin or tripoflavin is excellent for any infections. In the instructions for medicine There is a description of the use and dosage.

One of the most popular exotic domestic fish is the old-timer of many aquariums and the favorite of not only experienced but also beginner aquarists - the swordtail. Many breeders have liked Xiphophorus Helleri for its cheerful disposition, mobility, variety of shapes, species and colors, as well as unpretentiousness to living conditions. Nevertheless, it won’t hurt to learn some of the subtleties of keeping and caring for these fish, and this article will help with this.

The homeland of the swordsmen are Central America, Southern Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. These fish have chosen there overgrown reservoirs with slowly flowing or stagnant waters.

In nature, only green swordtails are found, and all aquarium varieties are artificially bred by selection and crossing with platies.

The fish were brought to Europe by the doctor and botanist B.K. Geller. They got their name for the xiphoid outgrowth on the caudal fin, which only males have (translated from Greek, xiphos is a sword, phoros is to carry).

Description

Aquarium swordtails have a body of 5-8 cm, elongated and laterally compressed. Their mouths are slightly upturned to make it easier to take food from the surface of the water. Females are larger with a prominent abdomen and rounded fins, are duller in color, and do not have a sword on the caudal fin. At good care these fish can please owners for up to five years, which is considered average duration life.

Initially, swordtails were only brownish-olive with a silvery sheen, a pale reddish stripe along the body and a yellow, red or green sword. But today many varieties of black, lemon, red color have been bred, there are even spotted individuals. Breeders also experimented with fins, resulting in fish with elongated fins and even with two swords.

Male swordsman of natural color.

Behavior in the aquarium

The character of the swordsmen is peaceful, they, as a rule, do not show aggression towards representatives of their own species. Can be kept in the same container with neons, tetras, minors, thorns, danios, guppies, different types catfish, angelfish, etc. It is undesirable to settle with veil fish, since the tails and fins of the latter are at risk of being plucked.

Swordtails should not be placed together with large aggressive fish, such as astronotus, acara, cichlazoma and the like.

Within the species, skirmishes and fights can occur between males, especially if there are only two of them in the aquarium. Therefore, experienced aquarists recommend housing at least three male swordtails at the same time.

How to arrange a habitat?

When choosing an aquarium, it is better to stop at a wide version, with a volume of at least 30 liters. The calculation should be such that one fish has three liters of water. The length of the container is recommended to be at least 30 cm. A lid or glass is required on top, as swordtails are very nimble and can accidentally jump out.

As for the quality of water, it is better to stick to the temperature within 18-26 degrees, hardness 8-22 DH, acidity 7-8 pH.

The purity of the water is very important, so installing a filter will be useful. Regularly (about once a week) you need to replace the water by a third of the volume of the aquarium, before having stood it for about a day.

For the prevention of diseases of swordtails, experts recommend adding a tablespoon of sea or table salt. But this is not always possible, as it can negatively affect other inhabitants of the aquarium and plants.

Fish do not tolerate a lack of oxygen in the water, so aeration is a prerequisite for their maintenance.

Lighting should be good, but not in direct sunlight.

Swordsman color "koi".

The soil can be taken in any color and texture.

As for algae, for the background it is better to arrange dense thickets of kabomba, toothed elodea and the like. On the side of the aquarium, small-leaved and long Indian limnophila, glitter, and pinnate are planted. It is good to place Riccia on the surface of the water. The foreground should be free space for swimming and feeding.

You can decorate the aquarium with stones, grottoes, snags. But this is not necessary, since swordsmen do not need shelters.

What to feed?

Unpretentiousness in food is another of the advantages of these fish. But in order for their growth and development to be the best, nutrition should be diversified and alternated. What can be used?

  1. Dry, live and frozen food ().
  2. Vegetable food prepared independently (algae, spinach, nettle, lettuce leaves are scalded with boiling water and then crushed).
  3. Non-standard top dressing: boiled egg yolk, crackers, squid or boiled fish. Of course, everything must first be crushed.

Swordtails are not only omnivorous, but also prone to overeating, so they will not be harmed fasting days and even a week-long hunger strike.

Remaining food should be removed so that the water in the aquarium stays clean longer.

A swordsman with a forked tail.

About diseases

These fish don't get sick very often. The main causes of diseases of the swordsmen are non-compliance with the conditions of detention, colds and infections that have come in with food.

After buying new pets, you need to especially carefully check them for plaque, fluff, rashes or sores on the body. If any of the above is present, then the fish is sick.

A salt bath (at the rate of one tablespoon of salt per liter of water) for 15-20 minutes will help treat your pet and prevent general infection in the aquarium. You can fix the effect of the bath by placing the fish for two days in a weak solution of methylene blue (temperature about 25 degrees).

For the treatment of diseases of the gills, scales, as well as for infectious individuals, trypaflavin and biomycin are used in solutions.

A female with an upper tail.

If the aquarium is overpopulated with female swordtails, then they can change their gender to male. At the same time, the xiphoid process grows in them and a gonopodium appears on the anal fin. Males do not have the gift of reincarnation.

Now, having studied the features of keeping and caring for swordsmen, even novice lovers of these fish will be able to create ideal conditions for your pets.

Latin name:

Xiphophorus helleri.

Class: Ray-finned fish.

Squad: Carp-toothed.

Family: Pecilia.

Aquarium conditions:

Water temperature: 22 - 26 °С.

(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 Difficulty: light.

Everyone knows swordsmen, even those who have never encountered the aquarium world. The swordsmen gained such fame due to their wide distribution (we can say that they were included in the set of every young aquarist former USSR), and also thanks to a special sign - a tail fin in the shape of a sword. Actually, it was for this tail that the swordsmen got their name.

The birthplace of the swordsmen is Central America (Southern Mexico and Guatemala). They live in reservoirs with stagnant and slowly running water, densely overgrown with a variety of aquatic plants.

Swordtails (Xiphophorus helleri) belong to the platy fish family. Xiphophorus helleri translates from Greek as "xiphos" - sword, "phoros" - to carry. The prefix "Helleri" was assigned to the swordsmen by the name of the German naturalist Karl Bartholomeus Geller, who first caught these fish in Mexican lakes and safely transported to Europe.

In 1848, these fish were first described by Dr. Johan Jakob Heckel, the museum's preparator. natural sciences at the Imperial Natural History Cabinet of the Museum of Natural Sciences in Vienna.

The body of the fish is elongated and laterally compressed. The mouth of the swordsmen 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). The females are somewhat larger than the males, similar in shape to all other pecilia. In addition to the presence of a "sword" on the lower edge of the caudal fin, the male has a gonopodia - an anal fin transformed into a sexual organ.

Subscribe to our You tube channel not to miss anything

Sword Compatibility

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

Swordtails are incompatible with aggressive and big fish who will hunt them, for example, with cichlids (acaras, astronotus, diamond cichlids, etc.). In addition, it is not recommended to plant them with "veil" fish, because. the latter are slow and the swordsmen can “pinch” them by their fluttering fins.

Life expectancy of swordsmen

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

The minimum volume of the aquarium for swordsmen

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 swordtails are recommended to be kept in the proportion of 1 male 2-3 or more females, the minimum size of the aquarium for them should be from 50 liters per harem family. An aquarium for swordsmen should be spacious, it is better to take 100l in general.

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

Requirements for the care and conditions of keeping the swordsmen

The swordsmen do not need any special conditions. In fact, compliance with the optimal parameters of 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 in large numbers oxygen, and too frequent change (replacement) of aquarium water is not as useful 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 at 7, nothing bad will happen. This rule is appropriate for a stable buy balance and

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

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

4. When designing an aquarium, it is necessary to organize an open space for swimming in it. Swordsmen are excellent swimmers. Shelter swordsmen absolutely do not need.

Feeding and diet of swordsmen

Swordtails are unpretentious in food, they are omnivorous and prone to overeating. With pleasure they eat dry and freeze-dried food: flakes, granules, chips. They love live and frozen food (bloodworm, brine shrimp, daphnia, etc.). Food is taken by the fish in all layers of the aquarium water. The food remaining on the surface and falling to the bottom will also not be left without attention.

The diet of swordtails must necessarily include plant foods: flakes or granules with spirulina, special algal 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 astronotus. The article talks about this in detail, it outlines the basic principles of the diet and feeding regimen 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, it is necessary to take into account the gastronomic preferences of a particular fish and, depending on this, include food in its diet either with the greatest content protein or vice versa with herbal ingredients.

Popular and popular food for fish, of course, are dry food. For example, all the time and everywhere you can find food from Tetra, the leader Russian market, actually and the range of forages of the given company strikes. Tetra's "gastronomic arsenal" includes individual food for a certain type of fish: for goldfish, for cichlids, for loricariids, guppies, labyrinths, arowans, discus, etc. Also, Tetra has developed specialized feeds, for example, to enhance color, fortified or for feeding fry. Detailed information You can find out about all Tetra feeds on the official website of the company -

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

Varieties of aquarium swordsmen

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

With that said, there is confusion on the internet and among beginner aquarists regarding the identity of the swordtails that inhabit their tanks. Well, we will try to level the gaps and help the reader understand the issue. species composition swordsmen.

The natural types of swordsmen are as follows:

Geller's swordtail or green (Xiphophorus helleri)


This 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)


Clemencia Swordsman (Xiphophorus clemenciae)


Montezuma's swordsman (Xiphophorus montezumae)


Alvarez's swordsman (Xiphophorus alvarezi),

most expensive and rare


Pygmy swordsman (Xiphophorus pygmaeus)


There are several more little-studied species of swordtails. And all the other swords are artificially bred breeds. Some of them are artificial imitations of the swordsmen Montezuma and Alvarez. And let's say the Berlin swordsman is a hybrid of the Heller swordsman and the red black-finned artificial breed of the spotted platy Xiphophorus maculatus.

Types of sword morphs

Bulgarian white swordsmen


High Planked Swordsman

Red-speckled tiger swordsmen


Red swordsman

lemon swordsman

Lyretail Swordtail

Hell swordsman


Rainbow swordsmen


Calico swordsman

black swordsman

In general, there is practically only one pure species of swordsmen in the aquariums of Russia and Ukraine - the mountain one. All other swordtails are hybrids. All - both brindle, and flag, and green, and black, and white, and koi, gray-brown, etc. etc. These are all hybrids of the swordtail Geller and the tricolor and spotted platy.

So somehow friends! Thank you for your attention. See our livebearer videos and related links on the subject.

Reproduction and breeding of swordsmen

Breeding and breeding swordtails is an absolutely simple 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 the proportion of one male to three females. In the process of "courtship" of the female, the male performs a kind of mating dance- shuttle movements back and forth.

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

The duration of the 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 has " black spot pregnancy" under the tail. It is believed that a few hours before the "delivery" the female's stomach becomes "square", the female begins to move more actively, "rush" up and down along the aquarium glass.

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

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

In the photo, a male and female swordsman


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

To preserve offspring, the aquarium is densely planted with aquarium plants. Plants are placed at the bottom of the aquarium, in the water column and especially densely on the surface. In this way, juveniles are provided with shelter "from evil parents" and most fry survive.

Also, to preserve the offspring, you can use special jigger, 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, the absence of contact between the spawner and juveniles is initially ensured.

The third option for saving offspring is the jigging of producers immediately after spawning. This option is simple, but requires care and timeliness from the aquarist.

Photo of a pregnant female swordsman, now giving birth

Photo juveniles, fry 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).

A week later, juveniles of the swordsmen begin to weed out - they are divided into strong and "pedigreed", and the weak and defective are destroyed.

Juveniles grow rapidly, after two months the anal fin begins to change in males, 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 in conditions of "shortage" of males and is explained by the struggle for the survival of the species. The offspring from a pair of female + former female is almost 90% female.

Diseases and treatment of swordsmen

Swordtails are very persistent fish and can endure harsh conditions. However, like all living beings, such excellent health is not eternal. The key to successful keeping of fish is to ensure optimal conditions for aquarium water.

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

For the correct and correct treatment of swordtails, it is necessary to diagnose the disease, and then apply the necessary procedures. The 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 lively emotions, allowing you to more fully and subtly feel the world of aquarism. Register on, participate in discussions on the forum, create profile topics where you will talk about your pets in the first person and firsthand, describe their habits, behavior and content, share your successes and joys with us, share experience and learn from experience others. We are interested in every bit of your experience, every second of your joy, every realization of a mistake that makes it possible for your comrades to avoid the same mistake. The more of us, the more pure and transparent droplets of goodness in the life and life of our seven billionth society.

Popular swordfish video