# My first prego



## pineappleswordies (Apr 13, 2013)

So I have a pregnant pineapple swordtail. I can even see the little fry inside her. So my question is how much longer until they are here cause she is starting to square out. Also, I tried to get her with a net today but she is fast and I feel like chasing her around for 10 mins could cause something bad to happen. Should I try to catch them after they are born and put them into another tank?
The mom









Enough hiding spots???


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

Eh maybe. You will probably will get some survivors, but not many. And its hard to tell exactly how much longer she will be before she drops. It does look like she's getting close. But I have females that always look like they are about to drop so. But generally its about a month from start to finish.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Let your anacharis float and you will find your fry safely hiding in there when they are born.I do not seperate any of my females from the breeding crowd,but do have floating plants.I pull all my fry right from the breeder tank with 20+ 4-5 inch adults daily(10 yesterdayand today,I don't get them all every day as they really are elusive with the floating plants for cover.


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## pineappleswordies (Apr 13, 2013)

Well I got her into that plastic 3-way breeders they sell in the LFS. So should I let the anacharis float and let her out. Then try and get the little ones after they are born and put them in the breeder just for protection


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

You can leave her in breeder.Cut /or pull a peice of anacharis and place it in breeder for her and fry when they come(floating on top with her).Invisible to the eye there is live food on the plants for all fish ,but especially the fry.


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## pineappleswordies (Apr 13, 2013)

So last night I took her out cause she was freaking out. But this morning I was watching her and saw two fry get eaten by the others....I caught her early though and put her back in the breeder, and now I have at least 10! I keep shooing away the other two because they try and suck out the babies through the slots. Now time to research some fry food!


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

Very cool! Congrats. I use finely crushed flakes in a pinch. Hikari has a good fry food.


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## pineappleswordies (Apr 13, 2013)

Thanks for the help bandit and wingz. There are like 15-20 now, and I took her out so she could re-coop hahaha


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

HBH baby bites and frozen baby brine shrimp for a couple of weeks and they'll be able to eat whatever you want to give them then.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

glad you got it in the breeder cage.you can feed the babies frys first bites food and petsmart has it or your local fish store.good luck.


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## pineappleswordies (Apr 13, 2013)

Yeah I'm gonna try and go today and get BBS today. Could I also feed them some really mashed up bloodworms and a slurry of fish flakes until I get the BBS too? I also have the stick on the side of the tank tank nibblers they seem to disintegrate really well


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Ya!Livebearer fry are in comparison to other fish pretty good sized and have few problems with food.Even un crumbled flake will get soft or fall apart enough to feed the fry.
Enjoy!


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

Ya its not real hard to get them to eat. Its not like trying to feed fry that just hatched. They will eat whatever once its soft enough. 

The key right now is water quality. If you want them to grow fast and strong, I suggest a couple gallon WC per day for the first few weeks. Then you can tone down to one gallon a day.


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