Koi Swordtail

[jessiepbg]

I was at Petco and saw these guys. I've considering setting up a 20 gallon tall (possibly 30 gallon) and moving my 3 cories, male betta, and 2 ghost shrimp to it once it cycled. I've been looking for a schooling fish that would do well with all these tank mates and be happy in a school of 3-4 in 20 gallons. My water runs pretty alkaline, usually around 8.2, but stays stable. It will be fairly heavily planted, so hopefully hiding spaces and ammonia shouldn't be much of a problem. I checked aqadvisor just as a general guide and it said 3 swordtails on top of my current load in a 20 gallon might be cutting it close. If it is, I'd be more than happy to track down a 30 gallon rather than the 20 and maybe add 2 more cories on top of the swordtail school. I know people have had luck keeping Bettas with platies, but I wasn't sure if the fact that they were swordtails would make a difference.

[Oldfishlady]

Swordtails are awesome livebearers-they are not schooling fish per se, however, they are social fish that do best in groups...the smallest tank I would use for a trio (1-male and 2 females) would be a 55g...since they can get 6 inches and reproduce fairly fast......

[jessiepbg]

Darn. I was told they only got up to 4. I might try a smaller variety then. These are one of the biggest kinds aren't they? Also, is the 2 females and 1 male the safest way to keep them or could I do 3 females? I don't really want to mess with fry unless you think my 2 bettas can eat all of them...

[Oldfishlady]

If you don't want fry I would get immature females and even then you can still end up with a male...some immature or submissive male will not show their sex until they are the only male in the tank and how the myth that they can change sex comes from......and too many males you can have fights and injuries

The fry are usually too big for Bettas sometimes-however, some bigger Betta can eat newborn to about 1 week old fry...it also depends on the swordtail type you get...some are bigger than others, but they generally mature into pretty big fish...I wouldn't count on the Bettas being population control...but some pet shops will take the fry for cichlid tanks...you usually will not get any money for them...sometimes store credit...all depends on the shop.....