Swordtail, Help!

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
Well i am not very experience with livebeares or any fish for that matter. I am thinking that my two female swordtails are both pregnant but i am not sure how to get as many fry as i can before they are eaten. Do you just take all the bigger fish out then get the fry? im really not sure what to do. Any help will really help me .

ANSWER: Hi Jane,
You're swordtails are likely pregnant as you suspected. There are several methods towards saving the fry from being eaten. One of the most common methods is using a livebearer "breeding trap" as they are often called. There are usually two kinds, one is a box-shaped net of very fine netting with a plastic frame. And the other is a plastic box with a "V" shaped structure to form a kind of "chute" so the fry as they are born, fall down into this and into a protected area in the container so the female can't eat them.
These breeding traps are Ok, but sometimes they cause the mother fish to become very panicky. Every fish is different in how they react.

You can also either plant the aquarium heavily with plenty of thick plants as well as floating plants, which can provide many hiding places for the fry to escape and hide. This method can work but few fry will survive.
Or moving the female to her own seperate aquarium that is heavily planted a few weeks before she is ready to deliver fry is also a great method. Once she is done you can move her back to the main tank.

Here is a short simple article that may help:
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/Fishlore_Breeding_Livebearers.html

Breeding swordtails is very easy. I'm sure you'll get plenty of fry very soon! If you need anymore help, feel free to write...

Best wishes,
Karen~

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you just a couple more questions what if i dont have an extra tank or breeders net and i want as many fry as i can to survive what will work then sorry im in college and i really dont have a lot of extra money to spare
 thank you i really appriciate it

Answer
Hi Jane, You're welcome.
What you could try is like I mentioned before is putting a large amount of plants (either live or plastic) in thick clusters in the back and corners of the tank as well as some floating plants also. It is possible to have fry and the      larger fish living within the same aquarium. Livebearer "enthusiasts" sometimes do what's called "Colony tanks" which basically means a tank setup where all the fish live together and they all can be at very different stages of life from newborn fry to the mature fish. Raising swordtails this way is pretty simple. Just plant the tank well with thick plants at the bottom and floating plants at the surface. Rocks can also provide good refuge for the fry. Now keep in mind the first batch of fry may get eaten. And it's a good idea to take the fry out of the tank and let them gain some size in a small aquarium (maybe a 2-5 gallon) before re-introducing them back into the main tank. This way, the larger fish grow accostumed to the fry (and since they are too large to eat usually then the mature fish will live just peacefully with any new fry that are born without any protective measures on your part. I have had this happen with guppies and even mollies. But just be careful, it can be too much of a good thing and if you aren't careful you can have an overcrowded tank before you know it!

Some petstores are willing to take extra fish. Sometimes they even give you a little money for it. At least that's how it is around here. ;-)

I really hope this helps!
Best of luck!
Karen~