Red swordsmen: description of the species, features of care, reproduction, life cycle, characteristic features and rules of keeping

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Swordtails are one of the most unpretentious types of fish. They are beautiful, good-natured, easy to breed - the most ideal option for beginner aquarists. Swordtails are a genus of ray-finned fish common in freshwater reservoirs of Mexico and Central America. There are several species of these unpretentious fish, their color varies from black or olive to bright red and lemon. In the article we will talk about them in detail.

Origin

In the wild, swordtails live in the waters of Central America, Mexico and Honduras. Moreover, both in stagnant reservoirs and in turbulent rivers. The natural color is usually green. Among the aquarium forms, you can find fish, the color of the scales of which is as close as possible to the natural shade. In wildlife, they can grow up to 20 centimeters. Aquarium red swordtails barely reach 12 cm.

Description

The body is elongated and flattened. Its length reaches 12-15 cm. Females are smaller than males. The upper fin is magnificent, resembles a fan. The tail can be forked or flag. The eyes are quite expressive for a fish. The mouth is small, slightly upturned. The lower fin is rounded. Males have an elongated pointed process on the tail, resembling a sword in shape. For which the red swordsmen, as well as the rest, got their name.

What you need for content

All aquarium swordfish (red, lemon, etc.) are unpretentious and peaceful creatures. But males can sometimes show aggression towards other males, and not only of their own species, so the aquarium for keeping these fish does not require a small one: from 50 liters per flock of 6 pieces. The water temperature in it must be maintained at + 24 … + 26 degrees. As for its hardness, the range ranges from 8 to 25, and the pH should not exceed 7-8.

Replacement of water in the aquarium is carried out once a week for one third of the total volume. If we are talking about a 50-liter aquarium, then this proportion will be 17 liters. When replacing water, the soil is cleaned of fish waste and food residues. This is done using a siphon, which is sold at any pet store. Once every three months, a complete cleaning of the aquarium is carried out. The tank is washed, the soil is removed and washed, 10% of the old water remains. The rest of the volume is replaced with water settled for three days. Or you can use a special water conditioner to disinfect the water.

What else is needed inaquarium with red swordsmen? Filter, heater, thermometer. For an aquarium with a volume of 50 liters, you can purchase a filter designed for 30-60 liters. The heater should be designed for a volume of 50-75 liters. A thermometer is needed to measure the temperature of the water in the aquarium. It can be with silicone Velcro or self-adhesive to the glass.

Soil should be at the bottom. It is chosen depending on personal preferences and financial capabilities. If you prefer pebbles, then you should buy a special basis for planting plants, which are laid under the ground. It is a specially prepared soil for aquarium plants. There should be many of the latter, red swordsmen are very fond of natural shelters.

Decoration - at the discretion of the owner. Aquarium lamps are a must. The light should burn in the tank for 8-9 hours. The lamps are turned off at night. The filter and heater are never turned off. It is desirable to close the aquarium completely, because a fish that has played out can jump out of it.

Neighbourhood

Who can be hooked to the red swordsmen? Any peaceful fish: guppies, neon, zebrafish, thorns, platies, mollies. Swordtails are calm, but, as mentioned above, males can sometimes defend their territory if there is not enough space in the aquarium. Some aquarists keep this species along with angelfish. This is possible if the aquarium is large.

How to feed

Are red swordtails (pictured) whimsical in nutrition? No, neither is the content. The fish are fed twice a day. Can be fed dry foodgranules or flakes designed specifically for swordtails. Or, as an option, universal flakes. Only they will have to be rubbed in the fingers before giving to the fish. What is the portion? No more than a pinch per feeding. Aquarium residents will not refuse live or frozen food either. Small bloodworm, tubifex and daphnia perfectly diversify the diet of fish.

What to do if you need to leave for a couple of weeks? What about the fish? If possible, leave the keys to relatives or neighbors to feed the swordsmen. If this is not possible, then special feeds are sold for the duration of the holiday. They are produced in the form of briquettes. One small briquette is designed for 2-3 weeks. Experienced aquarists say that red swordtails can live up to 2 weeks without food, but it is better not to experiment on pets. It is known for certain that fish of this species periodically pluck leaves from soft aquarium plants. This is an additional source of food for them.

Reproduction

Do you want to try yourself as a fish breeder? It's not difficult if you start with the swordsmen. The red swordsmen shown in the photo reproduce very easily. The male differs from the female in size. He is smaller than his girlfriend. And on the tail of the males is a "sword". These are the gender differences. In addition, young ladies are more rounded, unlike flat gentlemen.

The female's pregnancy lasts about 40 days. You can find out that she will soon give birth by the changed shape of the abdomen. It becomes square. Sword bearers give birth, this is not a typo in the text. These fish are viviparous. Fully formed and rather large fry are born.

Before giving birth, the expectant mother is placed in a separate aquarium. The so-called spawning should be small - 25-30 liters. Be sure to have plants in which newborn fry of the red swordtail will hide. Who are they hiding from? From her own mother, who is not averse to feasting on small fry.

After the fish has given birth, it is returned to the general aquarium. The fry are left in the spawning area and begin to feed. You can feed both industrial food for fry and homemade. For example, they enjoy eating boiled crumbled yolk.

He alth

Red swordtails easily adapt to new conditions. They are virtually disease free, which is one of the reasons why they are recommended to beginners and inexperienced aquarists. What you need to know when buying new fish? They are seated with the old-timers with great care. Ideally, beginners should endure a week-long quarantine in a separate tank. But the ideal is often far away.

Therefore, brief recommendations for planting new fish are as follows:

• The fish are transported in a special package. They can stay there for 3-4 hours. If oxygen is pumped into the bag or an oxygen tablet is thrown into it, then swordtails will live quietly in it for a day.
• After the fish were brought home, the bag is lowered into the aquarium in a closed form on15-20 minutes. This is done so that the temperature of the water in the aquarium and the bag becomes the same.
• After 20 minutes, the bag is opened and half a glass of aquarium water is poured into it. Stand for 2-3 minutes and pour the water along with the fish into the aquarium.
• Do not feed new pets on the day of purchase.

Views

What are swordtails? As mentioned above, flag and forked (lyrebird). The color is varied: red-black, yellow, black, tricolor - this is the result of the selection work of aquarists. I would like to talk separately about several especially popular species.

Red and white swordsman

This beautiful fish has long gained popularity among aquarists. Like ordinary swordsmen, she is unpretentious in care and maintenance. How she looks like? The head, part of the back and abdomen are painted white. Two stripes run along the body, red and white, respectively. Starting from the anal and dorsal fins, the color becomes red. It seems that the artist decided to draw a white fish, but about the middle of her body changed his mind and picked up a brush with red paint. Without any smooth transitions, the white color is cut off, replaced by red.

Another handsome man

The next work of breeders is red and black swordtails. And their color is very interesting. There are representatives whose body is completely red, and the fins and tail are pure black. There are "half" fish. That is, their head and part of the abdomen are red, and the other part of the abdomen, sides and tail are black.

And the most beautiful representatives are those with a black stripe, as it were, inserted into the main color. If you look at the fish from the side, then the strip starts from the eyes of the fish and runs along the body, gradually expanding towards the tail.

Rarity

It's about a black swordsman with red fins. He is not a frequent visitor to aquariums. The fish is very beautiful. The main background is red. A black color is "imposed" on it, starting from the head. Red comes out from under the black. The tail and fins are only red.

What kind of chintz swordtail is he?

What does a red calico swordtail look like? It has an unusual coloration. Imagine a red and white member of a species whose head and back down to the tail are completely red, and the underside of the body is white. And on this background black spots are scattered. They can be compared to shiny varnish. When nails are covered with it, it seems that sparkles are scattered over the main color of the nail plate. This is the color of the swordsman. Primary colors "shine through" under the black scattering.

Let's talk about lyretail fish

What about the red forked swordsman? It got its name from its tail. The upper and lower rays are elongated and resemble a lyre or a fork. Therefore, they call the red swordsman forked or lyre-tailed. The differences are not limited to the tail. All fins of the forked swordtail are long. And this makes it difficult to reproduce naturally. The sperm is viable, but the homopodium is too long. Therefore, such beauties are hardlywill be able to reproduce on their own in the aquarium.

Interesting facts about swordsmen

Seemingly, ordinary aquarium fish. What can be interesting, what facts? They swim in an aquarium, that's their whole life. However, even in the history of aquarium fish you can find interesting facts:

• Natural color, usually green, all bright - the result of selection work.
• Only males have swords.
• If only females live in an aquarium, one of them is able to change sex. She grows a sword, no matter how strange it may sound. Such artificial males are able to fertilize females. The resulting offspring almost always consists of females.

Conclusion

The main purpose of the article is to tell readers about aquarium swordfish. How to keep them, what to feed them. What conditions are required for better maintenance and reproduction, what types of these fish can be found in aquariums. So, we can draw the following conclusions:

• Swordsmen are unpretentious and friendly.
• These aquarium inhabitants are omnivores.
• Aquarium of at least 50 liters is required for six fish.
• Required containment condition - the presence of a filter and a heater.
• Swordfish are viviparous fish.
• Before giving birth, the female is placed in a separate aquarium - spawning. Then it is desirable to return it to the general. The fry remain in the spawning area.
• There are many colors, the most popular being red swordtails.
• The average lifespan of these fish fluctuatesthree to six years.