The Best
Algae Eaters in Tropical Tanks: Green Swordtail – The Swordtail Xiphophorus hellerii is
extremely popular. It is among the most pretty aquariam fish and quite sturdy.
In the wild, it's an olive green body with at times colorful and yellow along
the sides and red speckles on its fins. With this coloration, it is most often
called the Red Swordtail or the Green Swordtail. Nevertheless, in captivity, it
has been bred to the fantastic colors making it so highly prized today.
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The Best Algae Eaters in Tropical Tanks: Green Swordtail
The Swordtail is an incredibly
hardy fish that can conform to a wide array of water conditions. They are
livebearers which implies that the baby fish come out free swimming. Like their
livebearer counterpart, the guppy, the swordtail is a prolific breeder along
with a female will give birth about once every 28 days. Please check out the
breeding livebearers page to find out more if you are thinking about breeding
them.
It has a bulkier body
than either of those two, however, and also has a "sword" extending
in the underside of the male's tail fin. This anal fin that is specialized
develops as the male fish grows. The middle rays of the anal fin are changed
into a narrow copulatory organ.
Feeding
In the wild, swordtails
feed on a variety of invertebrates, insects, plant matter and alga, and are
omnivores. This diet should be copied as closely as possible in the home
aquarium and could be attained through feeding a number of foods. The principal
percentage of their diet should consist of a higher quality flake food, also it
will be supplements with blanched vegetables and frozen or live foods.
Habitat: Distribution
Heckel described the
Green Swordtail Xiphophorus hellerii in 1848. They are seen in North and
Central America, where they range in the Atlantic slopes of southern Mexico
(Rio Nantla, Veracruz) to northwestern Honduras. They have been introduced to,
and become established in, a number of countries in southern Africa and along
the eastern coast of Australia.
Swordtail Disposition / Behaviour
The swordtail is a tough
litte fish. When there are bigger fish in the tank, they are able to take care
of themselves. The males could become aggressive.
Sexing
The male is also more
slender and has a "sword" formed anal fin called a gonopodium. The
female is rounder of body, has a fan shaped anal fin, and may have a spawning
patch at breeding time.
There's an occasional
tendency for a female Swordtail to alter sex and develop a "sword" on
her tail, particularly when old or impacted by parasites. Though many the time
they're infertile she could even try courtship with another female.
Care
Choice of décor is just
not particularly critical though it will look best in a heavily-put set-up with
a substrate that is dark. Wild sorts must also suit an aquarium arranged to
resemble a flowing stream with water-worn rocks and little boulders.
The addition of some
floating plants and driftwood roots or branches to diffuse the light going into
the tank also appears to be appreciated and adds a more natural feel.
Filtration will not have to be especially powerful though it does seem to value
a degree of water movement.
Reproduction
Swordtails will normally
breed with no intervention from their owners on their own. There is a familiar
joke that to get swordtails to breed, just add water – and this isn’t far in
the reality.
Behaviour and Compatibility
In confined spaces
groups of males have a tendency to form dominance hierarchies and might invest
a significant percentage of time keeping their various positions.
The Best Algae Eaters in Tropical Tanks: Green Swordtail
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Oleh
Aquascaper