The name of the aquarium fish with the birthplace of the swordsman. Names of aquarium fish and their homeland of origin. Breeding swordtails of different species
IN natural conditions the swordtail lives in the waters of Central America, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras. These mobile fish inhabit ponds, lakes, lower reaches of rivers, reservoirs with stagnant or slowly flowing water. Sword-bearers were brought to Europe and then to Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, immediately gaining great popularity among amateurs. aquarium fish OK.
Aquarium swordtails |
By its popularity among aquarists swordsmen do not yield. The ease of keeping and breeding these fish makes it possible to recommend them both for beginners (along with or), and for experienced aquarium fish lovers.
Breeding swordtails of different species
At present, after many years of work of breeders, there are practically no purebred swordtails left in aquariums. As a result of crossing the swordsman with various types of platies, a large number of breeds of swordsmen of various colors and with various form fins.
By artificial selection were bred red, gold, lemon, black, brindle(combination of red and black colors), chintz(a combination of red, black and white colors) and other color varieties of swordtails.
Grey-green aquarium swordtails, outwardly resembling the wild original form of these fish, are also the result of selection work.
Male and female swordtails
A characteristic feature of this species of aquarium fish, for which they got their name, is the presence of a xiphoid outgrowth of the lower part of the caudal fin in males. A source:
Female swordtails differ from males in larger sizes, not so bright colors and the absence of a "sword". Under natural conditions, females reach 10-12 cm, males - 8 cm.
In aquariums, swordtails, as a rule, do not grow to such sizes, but at the same time retain their natural forms and the ability to reproduce. The original natural coloration of males can be judged by the so-called green swordsman, which has a silvery-olive color, and in reflected light it is greenish. A brown-red stripe runs along the entire body, including the head and tail fin, bordering the male's sword from above and below.
Aquarium for swordsmen
 Swordtails in the aquarium |
Swordtails are very unpretentious to the composition and volume of water in the aquarium, they tolerate fluctuations in water temperature quite well, although the temperature of 22-24 ° C is optimal for their growth and reproduction. Regularly, at least once a week, about 1/3 of the volume of water in the aquarium should be replaced. In addition, it is desirable from time to time to enrich the water with oxygen (aeration).
For an aquarium, it is advisable to choose small-leaved plants that form dense thickets in which fry could hide from adult fish. The most suitable for this may be kabomba, vallisneria, toothed elodea and others. On the surface of the water, it is desirable to let riccia - openwork bright green moss, forming picturesque islands. Dense thickets of plants must be alternated with free space for swimming fish.
Such mobile inhabitants of the aquarium as swordtails sometimes frolic so much that they can jump out of the water and die. To avoid this, the aquarium should be covered with glass.
Swordtails are quite peaceful with other fish species and get along well with them. When keeping a group of swordtails in an aquarium, it is necessary that there are more females than males. Often a stronger male starts chasing a weaker one. The vital activity of swordtails, like other varieties of fish, depends on proper nutrition. With regard to food, swordtails are unpretentious: they willingly eat any live food (cyclops, daphnia, bloodworms, tubifex), they perceive quite well combined types stern. Their diet should definitely include food of plant origin: algae, various varieties of lettuce, spinach, crushed oatmeal.
Reproduction of swordtails, pregnancy, fry of swordtails
Swordfish belong to the family of viviparous fish. The number of fry in a female swordtail depends on her age, size, living conditions and ranges from 15-20 to 100 or more at a time. Shortly before giving birth, a pregnant female swordtail should be placed in a separate aquarium or jar with a large number of small-leaved plants located on the bottom and on the surface of the water. The presence of a sufficient amount of algae will allow the fry to get lost among them and thereby avoid the teeth of the female, which can destroy them. After giving birth, the mother should be separated from the babies in a common aquarium.
The birthplace of the swordsman is Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras. From America, these fish were brought to Europe, and then to Russia at the very beginning of our century. In nature, the female swordtail reaches a length of 11 cm, and the male - 8 cm (without a sword). In the aquarium, the fish, as a rule, are smaller.
The swordsman got its name from special form the lower part of the caudal fin - in the male it is elongated in the form of a long, sharp sword.
The main background of this fish is greenish. Both the female and male swordsmen are colored the same.
You can distinguish a female from a male either by the caudal fin (the male usually has a sword on the tail), or by the anal fin. The anal fin, as I told you, is the fin at the end of the abdomen. In females, it is always rounded, and in males, it extends into a kind of gonopodium tube. With the help of this tube, the eggs are inseminated in the female's abdomen.
Of course, you know that in the so-called spawning fish, the female lays eggs, and the male pours milt on the spawned eggs and inseminates them. If the eggs are not inseminated, then there will be no fry from it. Swordtails, guppies, platies, mollies, gyrardinus, mosquito fish are viviparous fish, and in viviparous fish, eggs are inseminated inside the female's abdomen, and almost fully formed live fry are born.
I already told you how to find out if a female is ready to throw fry: in such a female, the abdomen becomes thicker, and a large dark spot appears at the end of the abdomen. But what you probably don't know is that female viviparous fish can give birth to fry even when they live without males. In viviparous fish, it is enough for a male to inseminate a female once, and she will bring fry two or even three times in a row. And female guppies can even throw fry six to eight times in a row, living in an aquarium from where the males were planted.
Viviparous fish toss fry about every month. Sometimes a little more often, and sometimes less often - it happens that the break between throwing stretches up to two months. The better the food and the higher the water temperature, the more often the fish throw fry.
Red swordtail (Xiphophorus helleri)
The number of fry in one litter also depends on living conditions - better conditions, more in the litter of fry. More fry are tossed by older females. Sometimes old female swordtails bring up to 200 fry.
Sometimes in viviparous fish, ugly fry are born - with the remnants of the yolk bladder. These fry usually die. One of the reasons for the birth of such freaks is the anxiety delivered to the female when transplanting from an aquarium to an aquarium shortly before throwing. Therefore, it is necessary to plant females early. Healthy fry, born, immediately fall on the ground, and then, almost immediately, rush into the thickets of grass and hide there.
Fry of viviparous fish are immediately taken to catch small cyclops.
In addition to the usual, many differently colored swordtails live in the aquarium. There are swordtails green, red, black, brindle... There are swordtails with modified fins. All these fish are bred in aquariums through various crosses. So, the red swordsman was obtained by crossing the green swordsman with the red platy, the black - by crossing the green swordsman with the schwartz (black platy), the brindle - from crossing the black swordsman with the red platy.
Remember, I told you that I could not get offspring from tiger swordtails. The fact is that the males of these swordtails are very rare - when crossing, almost only females were bred, and if males appeared, they were barren. Therefore, tiger swordtails have always been obtained only by crossing black swordtails with red platies. I did not know this and stubbornly continued to search for a male tiger swordsman, and when I found it, I still could not get offspring from tiger swordsmen. Now other tiger swordtails, which are called red-speckled, live in aquariums - they breed well.
You can meet in aquariums the so-called calico swordtails, and lemon, and swordtails with high veil dorsal fins - all this is the result of diligent and painstaking work amateur aquarists.
The optimal water temperature for all swordtails is 20-23°, the minimum is 18°.
Literature: Onegov A. School of young naturalists. Living corner / Art. V. Radaev, V. Khramov. - M.: Det. lit., 1990. - 271 p.: ill.
The swordtail (lat. Xiphophorus hellerii) is one of the most popular and unpretentious fish in the aquarium. The first swordtails appeared in aquariums back in 1864, and have not lost popularity since then.
A long outgrowth on the lower fin in males, similar to a sword, gave it its name. But not only for this they love the swordsman - he is unpretentious, beautiful, very diverse in color and easily reproduces.
Swordtails are generally quite peaceful fish, well suited for community aquariums. But, they have very different tempers, and he can be both quiet and timid, and a bully bully. Especially males can be aggressive towards each other.
Homeland fish in Central America from southern Mexico to Guatemala. There are several colors of the original Xiphophorous helleri, which are considerably paler than the aquarium and breeding forms.
They live in nature in various reservoirs, both with running and stagnant water.
They prefer shallow, abundantly overgrown places where they feed on various insects, algae and detritus.
Description
swordsmen can grow quite large, males up to 11 cm, and females up to 12. But, usually in aquariums they are smaller, it very much depends on the type and conditions of detention. They live in an aquarium from 3 to 5 years.
As for coloration, it is difficult to single out any one form, although the most popular will be red with a black tail.
And so they are red, green, black, albinos, spotted, yellow. Describing them all is quite a difficult task.
But, anyone who has ever seen an aquarium imagines what a swordsman looks like. This fish is so common.
Difficulty in content
One of the most popular fish for beginner aquarists. Unpretentious, not too big, just divorced.
The disadvantages include the pugnacity of some males, especially among themselves.
Like many livebearers, swordtails can live in brackish water, but this is not necessary.
Feeding
You can feed them flakes, live or frozen food, and other aquarium fish foods. Like all fish, swordtails need a varied diet.
It is especially important to feed them plant foods that are high in fiber.
The fact is that in nature most the diet of swordtails is made up of thin and fragile algae and other growths.
In an aquarium, this amount of algae will be overkill, but you can always buy flakes with a plant component.
You can make such flakes the basis of the diet, and live food as additional nutrition. Live food can be given any, swordtails are completely unpretentious.
Swordtails are very unpretentious in content. In an aquarium with a volume of 35 liters, you can keep one swordtail, but this is a very active fish and the larger the volume, the better.
Remember that for breeding you need to keep one male and 2-3 females, but if there is 1 male and 1 female, then the male can drive her to death.
And try not to buy several males in one tank, as swordtails have a pronounced hierarchy. The main male will always drive the rest, and these are fights, injuries, confusion.
Swordtails are quite unpretentious when it comes to temperature and can live at both 18C and 28C. Ideal would be 23-25 C.
Parameters such as hardness and pH are not very important for them, but they feel better in water of medium hardness and at pH 6.8-7.8.
It is desirable that the aquarium has filtration, an internal filter is quite enough. Required water changes to fresh, about 20% weekly.
But keep in mind that in addition to being a very fast swordsman, he also jumps well. The aquarium must be covered, otherwise you risk finding a dried corpse.
How to decorate an aquarium - to your taste.
The only thing is that it is desirable that it be densely planted with plants, since swordtails love such aquariums, and it is easier to hide from the aggression of males in the bushes.
Compatibility
Old males can attack other fish, but it depends on the individual. Some live quite peacefully for themselves, and some become violent.
Aggression is promoted by cramped aquariums without plants. Here's what you don't need to do exactly, is to keep two or more males in the same aquarium. This leads to guaranteed fights.
Who do they get along with? With viviparous:,. They get along well with a variety of spawners: angelfish, gourami, neon, iris. But it’s better not to keep them with gold ones ...
For gold you need more cold water, and swords are restless neighbors.
Sex differences
It is extremely easy to distinguish a male from a female in swordtails. Only the male has a sword on the caudal fin, a long outgrowth for which the fish got its name.
Also, in all viviparous, the anal fin of the male is pointed and narrow (gonopodium), and the female is wide.
Quite often it happens that a female swordsman suddenly grows a sword and becomes a male! At the same time, she behaves like a male, cares for other females, but is barren.
The reasons for this phenomenon are not entirely clear.
Reproduction of swordtails
Swordtails are viviparous fish, that is, their fry appear not in the form of eggs, but fully formed. The male fertilizes the eggs inside the female's body, and she bears them until they are fully mature.
Usually this period lasts 28-30 days. Actually breeding swordsmen at home is not easy, but elementary.
The young male is constantly active and chasing the female, in fact, all you need to do is regularly remove her.
As for other viviparous (,), it is very easy to get fry from swordtails.
The female can even give birth to fry without a male, the fact is that she can store the male's milk in a frozen state and fertilize herself with them ...
So if suddenly your female gave birth to fry, but there is no male in the aquarium, then this is exactly the case that worked.
Swordtails are quick to breed and sometimes the only thing to do is raise the temperature in the aquarium to 25-27C.
At the same time, the level of ammonia and nitrates should be kept as low as possible, and pH 6.8-7.8.
When the female gains weight, watch for a dark spot near her anus. When it darkens, and the female recovers significantly, then the time for childbirth will soon be.
This dark spot is actually the eyes of a fully formed fry that show through her body.
You can leave the female in the aquarium, but the fry will not survive very long, as other swordtails eat them very actively.
If you want as many swordtail fry as possible to survive, then it is better to transplant the female.
Whichever option you choose, the main thing is that there are a lot of thick bushes in the aquarium. The fact is that the birth of a female swordsman is best in such thickets.
The fry of the swordtails are large, active and hungry. What to feed fry swordtails? You can feed finely grated flakes and Artemia nauplii. It is better to add to the diet.
The combination of spirulina + live food and your fry will grow very fast and bright.
Post navigationThe homeland of the swordfish is the countries located in Central America. The reservoirs in which these fish are found are distinguished by abundant vegetation and have stagnant water or a weak current. Outwardly, natural individuals significantly lose to their relatives bred by breeders. They have an inconspicuous greenish-gray color, which is the same in males and females. It is possible to distinguish their gender only by size (females are larger) and the tail, the lower part of which is longer in the male and resembles a sword.
Habitat
The wild natural form of the swordtail can be found in most bodies of water from Guatemala to Mexico and in Honduras. Brought to Europe, and then to Russia, these fish were only at the beginning of the 20th century. They immediately gained popularity. dim appearance wild individuals was the impetus for the start of breeding work.
Unpretentious swordsmen in nature easily inhabit small stagnant water bodies, and also feel great in the lower reaches of rivers with slow flow. You can find such fish in habitats in almost all ponds and lakes. Some forms can also survive in rivers that have turbulent current, but they are much smaller, and their appearance is even more inconspicuous.
Wild swordtails live in Central America.
Being freshwater, the swordsmen endure and slightly brackish water which significantly expands their habitat. They can live in the lower reaches of rivers flowing into the sea or ocean, and normally tolerate the admixture of salt water in the river.
Kinds
Some forms of fish are found everywhere, while others have a specific habitat, outside of which they are almost never found.
- Alvarez. The body of the fish is bluish. The size rarely exceeds 5 cm. It lives everywhere in its region. Among all natural forms, it stands out not only for its small size, but also for its rather bright appearance.
- Clemence. Lives only in Papaloapan and is a Mexican endemic. The difficulty of breeding in captivity has made this form a rarity for aquarists.
- Montezuma. The second name is royal. The fish has corpus luteum and a black edging of the sword on the tail. It is also a rare species for aquarists, which is found everywhere in the habitat, but in small numbers.
- Pygmy. It is found only in Mexico in the Panuka River basin. It is contained in aquariums, but in small quantities due to the lack of decorative qualities.
Origin aquarium fish swordsman, which is familiar to all aquarists, is associated with the work of breeders who received red, green and calico forms.
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). Few females larger than 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.
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Sword Compatibility
Swordtails are non-aggressive. They are compatible with almost all medium-sized peaceful fish. Among the best neighbors are tetras, minors, thorns, danios, all platy fish, etc. They are compatible with almost all bottom fish: corridors, acanthophthalmus, platidorus, ancistrus, sac-gill catfish, etc. They get along well with peaceful and not large cichlids, for example, with scalars.
Swordtails are not compatible 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. they 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 or more females, minimum size aquarium for them should be from 50 liters per harem family. Aquarium for swordsmen should be wide!!!
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, maintaining optimal parameters 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 a lot of oxygen, but too frequent change(changing) aquarium water is not as beneficial for them as it is 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 living vegetation. As aquarium plants, it is recommended to use wallisneria, echinodorus, cryptocoryne, richcia, duckweed and other plants. 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 highest protein content 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 on the aquarium counters the food of the Tetra company - the leader of the Russian market, in fact, the range of food of this company is amazing. 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
The natural color of the swordsmen is gray-green. However, as a result of selection, a large number of swordtails of various colors and shapes were bred. The unpretentiousness in breeding and the ease of crossing have led to the presence today of more than two dozen accepted species of swordtails. Here are some of the most popular:
Bulgarian white swordsmen;
High-planed swordsman;
Mountain swordsman;
Green swordsman;
Red-speckled tiger swordsmen;
Red swordsman;
Lemon swordsman;
Lyretail swordsman;
Swordbearer of Hell;
Rainbow swordsmen;
Calico swordsman;
Black swordsman;
All types of swordsmen with a photo .
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 gestation period for a female is 4-6 weeks. This period depends on the parameters of the aquarium water, temperature, lighting and feeding.
The pregnant female has a full belly and has a "black spot of 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, or rather born
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.