# Swordtail behaviour before dropping fry



## LariM78 (Nov 2, 2010)

Hi all,

Has anyone ever noted the way a swordtail will behave before dropping a batch of fry? One of mine looks quite plump and square in the belly. For the past 2days she has been hiding behind a clump of java moss and not doing much else. She will come out if I put food in the tank but then will go back and sit there. It looks like she wants to drop but she is sure taking her time. She does not show any signs of sickness just by the way. She is also the only fish in the tank at the moment, she's in the quarantine/nursery tank. I left her in there after she and a few others completed their time in quarantine. I decided to leave her in there as she will have less stress to drop.

There are marbles on the bottom for the fry to fall in between and there is some plastic and live plants as well. The water is at 28 deg C
Any ideas to speed her up.

Thanks


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## jamnigh (Apr 24, 2013)

Unfortunately as far as I know there is no way to "speed things up". I had a guppy who was pregnant for what seemed to be the longest time, plump and fat, so preggo she would float on her side. She did the same thing, just sat and hid. She is in a 5g tank by herself so no stress. She just finally started dropping her fry this morning. In 3 hours, she dropped 5 fry, and still has more in her. They will go at their own pace and drop when they feel comfortable and ready.


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## ArtyG (Jun 29, 2011)

She is in hiding because of the community tank environment. Put her in a tank of her own and she'll be far less timid. Hiding amongst the Java moss is her only option now.


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## LariM78 (Nov 2, 2010)

Well, she finally dropped during the night last night. I have been able to find and save nine fry. The mom is the only adult fish in the tank so I don't think many if any were eaten. To be honest I really was expecting more fry, the mother is quite big and she was quite fat. The fry themselves are quite large for swordtail fry so maybe that's all she had. She still is a bit plump so I don't know if she has more that she needs to drop. I keep checking for more fry but I think I have them all. They are in a breeding net at the moment and I am feeding them finely ground food. Mom is still in the tank and I will move her to the main community tank tomorrow afternoon.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

my orange swordtail which is over a year old now.she has frys every 28 to 30 days. the day before she swims around very fast.once she has a few batches you can get really good when to put her up.hope this helps.


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## pineappleswordies (Apr 13, 2013)

One of my swordtails had like 8 fry in an hour and I came back a half hour later and there were 20+. They were also very hard to find. If you vacuum the bottom you might find more. Also, my fry werent very active for a few hours after they were born. So they might just be relaxing down on the bottom for a little.


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