Swordfish - one of the most unpretentious species of fish. They are beautiful, good-natured, easy to breed - the most ideal option for beginner aquarists. Swordfish are a genus of ray-fin fish found in freshwater bodies of Mexico and Central America. There are several types of these unpretentious fish, their color varies from black or olive to bright red and lemon shade. In the article we will talk about them in detail.
Origin
In the wild, swordsmen live in the waters of Central America, Mexico and Honduras. Moreover, both in stagnant water bodies 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 are as close as possible to the natural shade. In wildlife, they can grow up to 20 centimeters. Aquarium red swordsmen 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 lush, resembles a fan. The tail can be forked or flag. The eyes are expressive enough for the fish. The mouth is small, slightly upturned. The lower fin is rounded. The males on the tail have an elongated pointed process, resembling a sword in shape. For which the red swordsmen, like the rest, got their name.
What you need for content
All aquarium fish swordsmen (red, lemon, etc.) are unpretentious and peaceful creatures. But males can sometimes be aggressive towards other males, not only of their kind, therefore, an aquarium for keeping these fish is required not small: 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.
Water is replaced in the aquarium once a week by 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 feed residues. This is done with the help of a siphon, which is sold in any pet store. Once every three months, the aquarium is completely cleaned. The tank is washed, the soil is removed and washed, 10% of the previous water remains. The rest of the volume is replaced by water that has been left standing for three days. Or you can use a special air conditioner to disinfect water.
What else is needed in the aquarium 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 on silicone Velcro or self-adhesive on glass.
At the bottom should be soil. He is chosen depending on personal preferences and financial capabilities. If you prefer pebbles, then you should buy a special base for planting plants, which is laid under the ground. It is a specially prepared soil for aquarium plants. The latter should be many, the Red Swordsmen are very fond of natural shelters.
Scenery - at the discretion of the owner. Mandatory aquarium lamps. The light should burn in the tank for 8-9 hours. At night, the lamps are turned off. The filter and heater are never turned off. It is advisable to close the aquarium completely, because the played fish can jump out of it.
Neighborhood
Who can be sat down with the red swordsmen? Any peaceful fish: guppies, neons, zebrafish, thorns, pecilia, mollies. The swordsmen are calm, but, as mentioned above, males can sometimes defend their territory if there is not enough space in the aquarium. Some aquarists contain this species along with scalars. This is possible if the aquarium is large.
How to feed
Are the red swordsmen fastidious (pictured) in their diet? No, as well as in the content. Fish are fed twice a day. You can feed with dry food in granules or cereals designed specifically for swordsmen. Or, as an option, universal flakes. Only they will have to grind in the fingers before giving the fish. What is the serving? No more than a pinch per feed. Aquarium inhabitants will not refuse from live or frozen food. Small bloodworms, tubule and daphnia perfectly diversify the diet of fish.
What to do if you need to leave for a couple of weeks? What to do with fish? If possible, leave the keys to relatives or neighbors to feed the swordsmen. If this is not possible, then special food for the holidays is sold. They are produced in the form of briquettes. One small briquette is designed for 2-3 weeks. Experienced aquarists say that red swordsmen can live up to 2 weeks without food, but it’s best not to experiment with pets. It is known for certain that fish of this species periodically pluck leaves from soft aquarium plants. This is an additional power source for them.
Breeding
Want to try yourself as a fish breeder? This is not difficult if you start with the swordsmen. The red swordsmen presented 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, the young ladies are more rounded, unlike flat gentlemen.
The pregnancy of the female lasts about 40 days. You can find out what she will give birth soon by the changed shape of the abdomen. It becomes square. Swordsmen give birth, this is not a typo in the text. These fish are viviparous. Fully formed and rather large fry appear in the light.
Before giving birth, the future mother is planted in a separate aquarium. The so-called spawning should be small - 25-30 liters. Mandatory presence of plants in which newborn fry of the red swordsman will hide. From whom should they hide? From his own mother, who is not averse to feasting on a small fry.
After the fish has given birth, it is returned to the general aquarium. Malkov is left in spawning and begin to feed. You can feed both industrial food for fry, and domestic. For example, they enjoy eating boiled, crushed yolk.
Health
Red swordsmen easily adapt to new conditions. They are practically not susceptible to disease, and this 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 to the old-timers with great care. Ideally, beginners should be quarantined for a week in a separate aquarium. But the ideal is often far away.
Therefore, brief recommendations for planting new fish are as follows:
- The fish is transported in a special package. They can be in it for 3-4 hours. If oxygen is pumped into a bag or an oxygen tablet is thrown into it, then the swordsmen will quietly live in it for a day.
- After the fish was brought home, the package is lowered into the aquarium in a closed form for 15-20 minutes. This is done so that the temperature of the water in the aquarium and the package becomes the same.
- After 20 minutes, the package is opened and half a glass of aquarium water is poured into it. Stand for 2-3 minutes and pour water with the fish into the aquarium.
- On the day of purchase, new pets are not fed.
Views
What are swordsmen? As mentioned above, flag and forked (lyrebird). The color is diverse: red-black, yellow, black, tri-color - this is the result of breeding work of aquarists. I would like to talk separately about several particularly 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 does she look? The head, part of the back and abdomen are painted white. Along the body are two strips, red and white, respectively. Starting from the anal and dorsal fins, the color turns red. It seems that the artist decided to draw a white fish, but around the middle of her body changed his mind and picked up a brush with red paint. Without any smooth transitions, the white color breaks off, it is replaced by red.
Another handsome
Another work of the breeders is the red and black swordsmen. Moreover, 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 if inserted into the main color. If you look at the fish from the side, the strip starts from the eyes of the fish and passes along the body, gradually expanding to the tail.
Rarity
It will be a black swordsman with red fins. He is not such a frequent visitor in aquariums. The fish is very beautiful. The main background is red. Black is “superimposed” on it, starting from the head. From under the black color appears red. The tail and fins are only red.
What is he - a calico swordsman?
What does a red chintz swordsman look like? He has an unusual color. Imagine a red-white representative of a species in which the head and back up to the tail are completely red and the lower body is white. And black spots are scattered around this background. They can be compared with shiny varnish. When they cover the nails, it seems that the main color of the nail plate spangles are scattered. This is the color of the swordsman. The primary colors “shine through” under the black placer.
Talk about lyrebird fish
What about the red forked swordsman? He got his name by the tail. The upper and lower rays are elongated and resemble a lyre or a fork. Therefore, they call the red swordsman forked or lyrebird. The differences are not limited to the tail. All fins of the forked swordsman are long. And this makes reproduction difficult in a natural way. Sperm is viable and homopodia is too long. Therefore, such handsome men can hardly reproduce on their own in an aquarium.
Interesting facts about swordsmen
It would seem ordinary aquarium fish. What could be interesting, what facts? Swim in the aquarium, that's their whole life. However, even in the history of aquarium fish, you can find interesting facts:
- Natural color, as a rule, green, all bright - the result of breeding work.
- Only males have a sword.
- If only females live in the aquarium, one of them can change the 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 the aquarium fish swordsmen. How to contain them, than to feed. 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 unpretentious and friendly.
- These aquarium inhabitants are omnivores.
- Six fish need an aquarium of at least 50 liters.
- A prerequisite for maintenance is the presence of a filter and a heater.
- Swordfish are viviparous fish.
- Before giving birth, the female is placed in a separate aquarium - a spawning ground. Then it is desirable to return it to the general. The fry remain in spawning.
- There are many colors, the most popular are the red swordsmen.
- The average life span of these fish ranges from three to six years.