Swordsman fish: varieties, selection, care, reproduction

Swordsman is one of the most unpretentious, and therefore the most popular aquarium fish. At the same time, the fish are bright and beautiful, so they can safely be considered one of the first options for a person who is just starting his journey in aquarium. Naturally, the beginner does not yet have sufficient experience in breeding, and by virtue of this, he might inadvertently make a mistake, because of which failure can be expected. To prevent this from happening, consider what kind of pets these are and how to behave properly with them.

Outwardly, the swordfish fish very much resembles another popular aquarium inhabitant - pecilia, and it should not be surprising that they are not only related by external similarities - in terms of biological classification, both species belong to the pecilia family. The homeland of the swordsmen should be considered Central America and the southern part of Mexico, in whose waters this beauty lives.

By the way in the wild, such a fish looks a little different than in an aquarium - it differs in a characteristic green colorwhile aquarists are accustomed to having red tones. This appearance was brought to her by breeders, who once noticed that the closely related swordsman and Pecilia cross well, giving offspring of a curious appearance. Thanks to such experiments, today there are many types of aquarium swordsmen.

A unique feature of this species, which further attracts aquarists, is that, if necessary, the fish can change sex - at least from female to male.This is very useful for the population, because in a limited space, for example, in the same aquarium, the entire population can consist exclusively of females, at first glance, such a community has no future.

Evolution provided an interesting way out of a difficult situation - some females in such conditions turn into males and are able to give offspring together with their girlfriends. True, such a pair also gives birth to only females, but nothing prevents the fish from doing the same trick from generation to generation.

Unlike many other aquarium fish, domestic Swordfish on average turn out to be slightly smaller than those found in the wild. Females are somewhat larger, their length is about 13 cm, but the male has a more modest size and rarely grows 10 cm.

You can distinguish between the two sexes by the most obvious sign, which gave the fish a name - the male on the tail has a characteristic narrow and long process, the so-called sword. Changing the sex, the female grows such a sword, and some species bred by breeding can even have several swords at once. In the natural environment, the swordsman is a gray-olive fish, whose body is decorated with longitudinal stripes of a slightly reddish hue, although in males they are more pronounced, they are still representatives of both sexes.

As it was said, a modern aquarium swordsman does not correspond too much to his wild relatives - it is almost always the fruit of complex breeding work. Green fish with a grayish tint is no longer very popular today - it has been replaced by varieties that differ in coloring, body shape and so on. Consider what these cute pets are.

• Green Swordsman quite close to the original, but his tint is not gray, but brown, and the stripes on the body are not so much red as light. A characteristic feature is the colored edging along the sword in males.

• Lemon Variety It is considered an albino, but at the same time it is not white - it is inherent in a bright yellow color with an admixture of green. Breeding such fish at home is almost impossible, since such a mutation is rarely transmitted from parents to children.

• Bulgarian white similar to the above subspecies, only its albinism is more pronounced - it is a completely white fish. As in the case of the lemon counterpart, breeding such a handsome man is very difficult for the owner.

• Red Swordsman - One of the most common options for such living creatures, because it is beautiful and perfectly divorced. This is one of the most recognizable breeds, although it is it that has many genes not only from the original swordsman, but also from Pecilia.

• Black swordsman it is not so widespread, but it is also a descendant of Pecilia - not red anymore, but more rare black. The blackness of the pet is not impenetrable - there is a blue or green tint in it.

• Chintz subspecies, also known as tricolor, could be considered an albino, since white is the predominant color of its body. Nevertheless, it is decorated with a pattern of spots of black and red colors, which makes it remarkable.

• Rainbow variety even among experienced aquarists, not everyone saw it, since it is not sold everywhere. The fish is characterized by a characteristic color overflow of scales.

• Yellow swordsman often called mountain. It is characterized by a delicate yellow color, which is still not completely monotonous: on the sides it is decorated with pale stripes in the form of zigzags and spots of the same color.

• Tiger species is in demand among breeders for the simple reason that it hurts much less often than many of its "colleagues." Her body is red, but her sword is black, and black specks are scattered all over the body, reminiscent of the colors of a land predator.

The joint content of representatives of different subspecies of the swordsmen is not forbidden - they coexist peacefully with each other and can intersect, giving offspring a completely unexpected appearance.

Most beginner aquarists, having heard that the swordsmen are among the least fanciful aquarium fish and come in a wide variety of colors, immediately decide to purchase these very pets in different variations. Their logic is simple - representatives of this species get along well with each other, caring for them all is the same, and even the offspring can have an unusual and original appearance.

This logic is not entirely correct, because in the aquarium there is a general rule according to which complex hybrid subspecies are more difficult to contain than those that are close to natural. Fish breeders rarely pay attention to traits such as health or fitness for difficult living conditions, so hybrid fish are beautiful in appearance, but weak and defenseless. In this context, it is worth starting with the green, red and tiger swordsmen, who are really quite stable, and it will be possible to switch to colored breeds later.

Another important point is the selection of the population by gender. Some newcomers are so shocked by the information about the possibility of settling creatures that can change sex at home that they purposefully acquire same-sex fish. It is important to take into account at least the factor that only females can become males, but not vice versa, which means that a population consisting of males alone has no chance of procreation.

In addition, the mechanism of sex change is a reserve plan of nature for unforeseen situations, and it just allows the species not to die, but this does not mean that it is equivalent to full sexual reproduction.

An important advantage of swordsmen over other aquarium fish, which attract the same newcomers, is the simplicity of distinguishing aquarium inhabitants by gender. Even without an alternative individual for comparison, you are very likely to be able to identify the gender of each individual fish.

• Sword. By this trait, even a child identifies the male - the caudal fin of the male in the lower (abdominal) part has a characteristic elongation that greatly exceeds the length of the rest of the fin. This is the sword that gave the name to the whole species, but traditionally only men carry weapons.
• Caudal fin. If we are not talking about a complex hybrid subspecies, and the presence of a sword for some reason is in doubt, pay attention to the fin as a whole. In the male, the main energy is spent on growing a long and bright sword, so the rest of the fin looks modest - it is not distinguished by its special length or high density. His girlfriend’s tail is lush and thick.
• Dorsal. In the male, this organ also has an elongated shape - its length is sufficient so that, with a fast forward movement, the fin bends towards the back of the body. The female dorsal fin is wider, but noticeably shorter - there is nothing special to bend there.
• Sizes. Due to the fact that breeding work and close aquarium conditions make their own adjustments, this trait should be guided only if you have a population of fish born in one batch. The male is always about a quarter shorter than his girlfriend, unless the lady belongs to the variety that is basically small. In this case, the limit size for the female is 13 cm in length, and for the male - 10 cm, so that any individual longer than 10 cm can automatically be ranked as a weaker sex.

Sword-bearers are beautiful not only with their appearance, but also with the fact that it is absolutely easy to take care of them - this is a surprisingly unpretentious look. If you still do not neglect the few requirements that this pet nevertheless makes, you can safely expect that he will please you for a long time - these fish live in the aquarium for 5-6 years. To make you understand how easy care is for such animals, pay attention to the following optimal conditions of detention:

• Ideally, the water temperature should be + 24-26 degrees, but the fish will not die, even if it drops to +15 degrees; experimenting in this way is not worth it, but in emergency conditions the population is still unlikely to die;
• swordsmen do not need a careful selection of water for hardness - they are completely illegible in this regard; any liquid with indicators from 8 to 25 dH will suit them;
• with acidity a little more difficult, but also slightly - 7-9 pH will do.

You can feed pets almost anything from the arsenal of the nearest pet store, so the owner can freely choose, focusing on finances or the features of the assortment of the nearest point of sale. Dried daphnia and bloodworms, dry flakes and brine shrimp, even special granules - All this is good as food. What is particularly pleasing to aquarists is the ability of fish to search for food on their own inside the aquarium - this is possible if you take care of planting live plants and planted small snails in a pond. At this pasture, pets can hold out for a week or even two, while you went on vacation or a business trip.

Water change, according to the recommendations of specialists, is carried out once a week, and immediately in a significant amount - by a third. In addition, the swordsmen need oxygen, which is sorely lacking in the summertime - this requires the owner to keep the aerator and cooling system turned on around the clock. Armed with swords, males like to drive around the aquarium, so they often jump out of it. This, of course, is fraught with the death of the fish, so the artificial pond is usually covered.

Equipping an aquarium is also easy - it’s good as a bottom any standard soil of average fraction. At the same time, a soil substrate is necessary, since it is extremely desirable to plant live plants - in the wild, fish eat them, and they will become your amortization in case you have to leave, but there is no one to leave animals.

In addition, the swordsmen love to hide in the thicket, so this will add to their comfort. The volume of the vessel greatly depends on how many fish you have and what size they are. In general, you should be guided by the fact that a large female, whose sizes reach 10-12 cm, will require one 10-15 liters for herself, while for a single individual, it is worth counting on the maximum capacity indicator.

For those who are not yet in the know, we will highlight another important feature of the swordsmen - this fish does not spawn, as it is viviparous. If you want to get offspring at home, and, in general, organize the right, healthy population, you should select it so that there are 3-4 females per male. At the same time, many experts advise to use at least three males in a population of five individuals — they do not drive girlfriends, since in principle they tend to choose only one, the largest and strongest.

Swordsmen do not need any additional stimulation in order to give offspring, but a person can create conditions in which the fish feels as comfortable as possible and can fully devote themselves to issues of fulfilling instincts. So, it is advisable to keep the water temperature at + 26-27 degrees, nitrates and ammonia should be as low as possible (often clean the aquarium and replace the water), and the recommended acidity is 6.8-7.8 pH.

A fertilized female, having become pregnant, bears offspring for approximately 30-40 days. The condition of the fish, which is likely to become pregnant, should be observed. Obvious signs of an interesting position are a noticeable weight gain and the appearance of a characteristic dark spot near the anus - this is seen through the skin of the fry. The last sign is a signal that the potential mother should be put in a separate tank, since adult sword-bearers are not very moral and enjoy their own children with pleasure.

A small aquarium or any vessel resembling it, whose capacity is 15-20 liters. It is important to adequately equip such a reservoir: at least there seaweed, because in them the mother prefers to give birth, and the children will have a place to hide if she is hungry. However, one should not rely on the amazing protective power of the thickets, so it is advisable for the owner to monitor the condition of the young mother - as soon as she completely gets rid of the cubs in her body, she can be caught and sent back to the general aquarium.

It is difficult to predict the number of babies that will be born at one time - there can be 15 or 150. The number of litter is influenced by numerous factors, including the size of the mother, her age, and the “correctness” of the conditions created by the person.

Young people do not need care from their parents, but they are distinguished by increased activity and will never refuse to eat. There are quite a few feed options for them, but here the choice is still not so big - most often they are fed with something like nauplii artemia, egg yolks or grated cereal. As an alternative, fiber flakes or spirulina will also work, but these are additions to the above, and not a full replacement.

Babies have no place in a common aquarium until they grow up enough to guarantee that their older brothers cannot physically eat them. At the same time, the development of young animals occurs unevenly - the stronger and more agile have time to collect more food, so they grow faster, and someone gets a chance to fully grow only after the leaders leave.

Breeding swordsmen at home, as we see, does not present any particular difficulty, and the population can increase rapidly. For a small home aquarium, simply unable to accommodate a large population, a demographic boom is undesirable, because the males of this species are usually very active and will not voluntarily give up the basic instinct. For this reason males and females are often advised to keep separate - This is practically the only method of controlling the population.

A novice aquarist must also know that the female, even after one mating episode, is able to please her owner with several litters at once. This is because female individuals of this species are able to retain milk for several months, while one pregnancy lasts no more than one and a half.Having given birth to the next batch of fry, the female is able to become pregnant again without contact with representatives of the opposite sex, so that separate keeping in conditions of even long separation is still not always effective.

In most sources, the swordsman is described as a relatively peaceful fish, but there are certain nuances. Thus, experts note that with a relatively small number of females, males do not get along in one aquarium - a stronger male drives the weaker, not seeing another way to divide the territory.

Professionals note that the rivalry between males is not so pronounced, even if there are more males per se, regardless of the number of females: these fish cannot build a complex hierarchy, they only can clearly understand who the leader is and who is the subordinate. Most other aquarium fish species can be hooked with swordsmen. - there are neons, and guppies, and mollies, and even catfish with scalars and gouras.

Potential enemies of the swordsmen are large and very aggressive fish, which usually do not live in beginner aquariums, but are still actively bred by experienced aquarists. All of these cancers, astronotuses, cichlazomas, and so on, have a pretty violent disposition to bully their neighbors. Even without eating a neighbor, they can severely pat him. The swordsmen themselves rarely lift up representatives of other species, but there are still exceptions, namely:

• veiled goldfish are of unhealthy interest for them - a swordsman can bite into the fluttering of other people's fins;
• in a too close aquarium, this fish can attack its neighbors, believing that they got too close to it;
• some old males are able to show unreasonable aggression against someone else's address.

See the next video for more about the features of the swordsmen.