Amazing Sword Bearers: Aquarium Fish for Beginners

Very popular among fans of aquarium fish sword-bearers, belonging to the family Pecileve. Especially these fish are suitable for beginners, only started to deal with this case.

For the most part, this is due to the fact that the swordsmen are rather unpretentious in their content, and the appearance is very interesting. They got their name due to the fact that in adult males the tail has an appendix in shape resembling a sword. In Russia, this species is known for only about a hundred years, after it was brought from Latin America. In nature, these fish have an inconspicuous green color, however, swordfish aquarium fishes have brightly diverse colors, as well as cross well with other species of their family. From their color they receive names, tiger, red, lemon, black and others.

These fish can peacefully get on with almost any neighbors in the aquarium, since they are of an extremely peaceful nature, except for fish with veil-shaped tails. Also males-swordsmen sometimes can conflict with each other, therefore the maintenance of a considerable quantity of them simultaneously is not recommended. However, two males per aquarium will be small, as there can be tough rivalry between them.

Under favorable conditions, this species of fish reproduces very well, and the swordfish can spawn every six weeks. In this case, the pregnant female before the appearance of fry is better to be in a separate container. A brood should be kept in another aquarium before it grows, otherwise the fry can become a food for large individuals.

To determine the sex of these fish does not make much effort. Young swordfish, aquarium fish, differ in anal fin, which in males are extended and pointed, and in females has a rounded shape. During puberty, the males grow an elongated lower part of the caudal fin, which acquires the shape of a sword.

It should be noted that the sword bearers, whose content, though not particularly troublesome, feel most comfortable in water, the temperature of which varies from 20 to 25 degrees. It is also recommended to change the water weekly at least a third of the volume. From above it is better to close the aquarium on most, since males can sometimes jump out of the water. The aquarium is recommended to be equipped with a water filter and aeration system. The capacity of the tank is also of great importance, since if there is enough space, this kind of fish can reach its maximum size, the males are about 10-12 cm, the females are 2 cm larger. The optimum option will be an aquarium from 25 liters of rectangular shape. It is better not to give preference to overextended forms.

Sword bearers like thick thickets, for which vallisneria, hornwort and other algae are suitable. In this case, it is necessary to leave a place for free swimming of fish. At the bottom is to put a few large stones. As a primer, it is good to use sand, as these fish will look spectacular enough against such a background.

It is necessary to say that swordfish (aquarium fish) are quite unpretentious in eating. They can be approached as dry, frozen or live food. Preference is given to the living motil, corpuscle, tubule. However, it is necessary to periodically include in the diet of plant foods, for example, riccia or filament. Sometimes it is possible to observe how the sword-bearers independently scrape the outgrowth of algae from the walls of the container into which they are placed.

Thus, with the right content, swordfish-aquarium fish will please their hosts with a pleasant appearance and unpretentiousness in the content for several years, since the average life expectancy of this species is three to five years.