The Swordsman. Fish for beginners aquarists

This view can not be confused with any other. Swordfish is a small fish with an elongated lower part of the tail resembling a sword. Actually, the name came from here. The natural, wild color of the fish is gray-green with a reflection. Through the entire body (not excluding the head and tail) stretched a longitudinal strip of red. If you look closely, you can see the longitudinal parallel stripes of the same color, and on the dorsal fin - small specks. The back is greenish, the abdomen somewhat lighter and more silvery. A sword, like a real knight, is "golden": this part of the fin stands out more vividly: it is yellow.

Today, the swordbelt is a fish with more diverse colors. Breeders were able to go far from the usual standard color, removing red, black, striped-red-black (brindle), black and white, black-red-white, spotty, mottled. Bright colors both in males and females. In addition, today, though rarely, you can meet the sword bearers with two "swords" and even with a veil tail.

Dimorphism of the sexes is expressed very strongly: the xiphoid process has only males. In addition, only males have a long and narrow anal fin.

Sword-bearer is a special fish. If the sex of most aquarium fish is laid already during fertilization, then the sword is formed during growth and directly depends on the conditions in which the fry grow. If the temperature is maintained at 30 ° C, 90% of the fry will have a male gender, and at 18 ° C this percentage will be in favor of the females. An active reaction of water is also important: if pH = 6.2 (acidic medium), males prevail, and at pH = 7.8 females will increase.

The optimum temperature (24 ° C) and neutral pH will give approximately the same number of males and females.

But that's not all. Sex change is possible even in adult individuals. In females already producing offspring, all the signs of the male can appear, which can become a healthy producer, fertilizing the females.

In small aquariums, these fish rarely exceed 6 cm, but in aquariums with large volumes, some individuals reach 12 cm.

Aquarium fish sword-bearer is unpretentious and is accessible even to beginning aquarists. It does not require large volumes of aquarium (enough two to three liters per individual, or 20 individuals per 100 liters). Small swans are very beautiful in flocks (group content).

Swordfish - the fish is mobile and quite shy. Sometimes, frightened, jumps out of the water and can be on the floor. Therefore, it is better to cover the aquarium with cover slip.

Before settling swordsmen in a new aquarium, you must always withstand water two or three days. If the water is chlorinated, the fish will quickly die. In the future, the water in the aquarium should be replaced: part of the old water is taken away and the same part of the clean (water already fixed) is added.

The active reaction (pH) of water, its rigidity and temperature have no special significance. Beneficial effect of adding salt to the water: one teaspoon will be enough for 10-12 liters of water. Salt should be previously diluted and added to the aquarium as a solution. This procedure can not be carried out if there are fish and algae in the aquarium. Substitute water, too, it is desirable to add salt.

Swordfish - omnivorous fish. Feeding is suitable for live food (daphnia, cyclops, tubule, bloodworm, enchitreous, artemia salina), vegetable (duckweed, dandelion leaves, vegetable salad, white cabbage, spinach, pinnacle). In grated form it is possible to feed flakes of oats, dry daphnids and cyclops, crumbs of bread (only white).

Fish viviparous (the female gives birth to ready-made fry, able to feed independently). Quite peaceful (although sometimes it's not unreasonable to find out the relationship and show who is the owner in the aquarium). Not bad get along with guppies, mollies, pecilia, barbs and other fish with similar conditions of detention.