breeding questions?

Question

i have 2 female swordtails the male died because i forgot to close the feeding door and he jumped out one of my females is pregnat and i want to keep the babies what should i do

there in 10 gal tank

Answer 1

You will need to seperate the fry into another tank at some stage if you want them to survive, you could plant the tank heavily but this is not going to save them all. Murphy's law states that the ones that survive will be females.

A breeding trap will save them from the mother if she's fed well but they will begin to die after a few days in there.

AJ

Answer 2

Separate the pregnant female in a breeders net/box or with a tank divider when its close to her time to give birth (usually about 3-4 weeks after impregnation). You can tell she is about to give birth when she is really big (sometimes they look like a square in front) and if you look closely at the gravid spot (the spot by the tail, near the bottom) you might be able to see the fry in there or at least some tiny black specks, which are their eyes. When the fry are born than I would wait a day or so to make sure the female is done giving birth and than remove her, as she might eat the fry. Oh, and in the place where you do put the pregnant female make sure there are plenty of plants and places for the fry to hide. When the fry are born than you can feed them powdered flake food (put flakes in a plastic bag and crush it into a fine powder) or you can hatch brine shrimp (a hatchery for that can be bought at a local pet store. This makes fry grow faster, bigger, and healthier). Hope this helps.

Answer 3

You can separate them from your other fish( tank divider, breeding trap, different tank), or provide plenty of plants to hide in. Breeding grass is also a good hiding place for the fry! After they are born, you can give them finely crushed flakes, baby brine shrimp or you can buy fry food at most pet stores! Good luck!

Answer 4

You can either plant the tank very heavily so the fry have lots of hiding places, or you can put one of the females in a breeding net, again, though with lots of hiding places for the fry or she'll eat them.