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Hiding Fry

3K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  1077 
#1 ·
Hey guys! So I have a velvet wag swordtail in my tank and he eats ANYTHING! All of my small fish -he eats. So I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to protect fry in case I'm not around to notice them.

Thanks! :)
 
#2 ·
You just have to provide them with lots of hiding places. Caves, flower pots and especially plants. Things like Hornwart or something similar that's big and dense. From everything I've read keeping swords and platys in breeding nets stresses them out badly and there's a possibility of killing both the mother and fry.
 
#3 ·
Hey guys, I'm dealing with the same issue... I have a Swordtail pair and watched the F get really big, hide, and 2-3 days later is skinny again. 3 times now no babies... But it's a 75 gallon tank and that is 18 inches tall, so my question is....
Do the fry want to be near the surface like Guppy fry or find places to hide at the bottom if they make it down there? Last time F hid it was in a tall plant near the surface... having said that should we remove all tall plants to force her to have her babies really low where there are great places to hide? Is that maybe why I'm not seeing any babies survive. Tropicalfish16 are you having the same problem? (I have all plastic plants)
Yes agreed Swordtail females HATE breeding nets/tanks. Mine went nuts so had to take her out back into the community tank.
 
#4 ·
Swordtails ,mollies,guppies, all have upturned mouths which suggest that they feed from the surface.The fry after they are born are instinctively drawn to the surface to feed, and hide among the floating vegetation assuming it is present. Some will be eaten by other fishes but many will survive if the cover is dense enough.Lot's of floating material (plant's) either real or artificial, is better than a sprig or two .
I have in the past used artificial bamboo grass that is purchased in three foot lengths and simply placed it on the surface and many of the fry were able to avoid being eaten. you really in my view need a bunch of this or live plant's that make getting to the fry too much trouble for the adult fishes.
 
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