swordtail (pregnant or sick)

Question
QUESTION: Hi, is it possible to have both freshwater and saltwater fish in the same aquarium. I have only 2 catfish in my aquarium and was planning on adding some saltwater fish soon. I have all the essential items for the saltwater aquarium. So please let me know if that will be okay. Thanks

ANSWER: Dear Hamza,
I'm sorry but that just can't work out. It's impossible to have saltwater fish and freshwater together. Neither one would thrive and they will certainly die.
Freshwater fish cannot cope with sea-water and saltwater fish absolutely cannot cope with freshwater.

If you'd like to have saltwater fish PLEASE do so in a seperate designated aquarium. You can even do a saltwater setup in a 10gallon. Larger tanks are always better. Plenty of research beforehand is vital!~

Best of luck!
Karen~

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

QUESTION: Hi, I have a female swordtail that I think is pregnant or is sick. It has had a black spot on her stomach for about a couple weeks, but for the last couple hours it has just been putting its head down in the gravel. I put it in the breeder net and its still doing that- putting its head down in the net and then sometimes swims around in it. So please any help would be appreciated.

Answer
Hello Hamza!
It's very likely your Swordtail is pregnant. She may be putting her head down to try to hide or she may just not feel good. Give her some thick plants to hide in (either live or plastic) and make sure she isn't being chased or nipped by other fish, especially male swordtails.

Really the best place for her to drop her fry is in a seperate well-planted aquarium with an established sponge filter. A 10-gallon works well. She can be placed there as soon as her belly starts to get big. This "Nursery tank" gives her generally stress-free conditions, a guaranteed quiet place to deliver fry, and the fry themselves aren't going to be bothered by other fish and they can hide from the mother in the thick plants.

But if you absolutely can't do this option. Plant the main aquarium well with either lots of live or plastic plants to give fry a place to hide. And make sure the female swordtail has a good place to hide. A dark cave is best. As a precaution, do a water change of about 1/3-1/2 just to make sure there isn't a water quality problem causing her to act strange. You can also repeat these water changes over a few days and see if she improves.

Best of luck with the swordtail, hope you get fry soon!
Karen~