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Fishes Catalogue - Splendid Swordtails (Family: Poeciliidae)Common Swordtail Xiphophorus helleri
Fishkeepers the world over, young and old, beginner and expert, will no doubt have a story to tell about one of the most admired aquarium fishes around today, the Swordtail. At some time in their hobby almost every fishkeeper has kept this beautiful little fish, although in some instances not so little. It is a fact however, that the majority of these swordtails will have been, and still are, cultivated varieties originating from the common swordtail, Xiphophorus helleri. Indeed, to arrive at the host of size and colour mor pH s as well as the various finnage forms we see today, the common swordtail has been hybridised with two frequently kept platy species, Xiphophorus variatus and Xiphophorus maculatus. Wild species of the common swordtail can be found throughout Mexico and are therefore capable of adjusting to a variety of conditions. This wasn't always the case though, originally they occurred endemically in waterways such as the Rio Nautla in Vercruz, Mexico, southward to Belize and Honduras, Central America, these waterways flow out onto the Atlantic side of Mexico into the Gulfs of Mexico and Honduras. As you might imagine these natural habitats consist of warm flowing streams and rivers, which no doubt cultivates plenty of plant cover, ideal for broods of fry to take shelter in. This is an indicator of the conditions that might be expected in the aquarium for our cultivated swordtails, all of which require the same conditions. Although common swordtails are capable of acclimatising themselves to various conditions, its best to maintain a stable environment with good filtration and regular partial water changes. For all species temperatures should be kept between 75º and 80ºF (24º-27ºC) with pH between 7.0-7.5 and moderately hard water about 8º to 12ºdH. If water quality is not maintained swordtails will very soon show signs of distress. If you notice your fish doing slow weaving motions, referred to as "shimmies" or "shimmying", or any other abnormal behaviour, it is an indication that there could be something wrong with the quality of your water, to address the problem initially, you should carry out a substantial water change and clean out your filters. If you haven't been checking levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate on a regular basis, this should also be done at this time to ensure none of them are present. Although some species of fish can tolerate varying amounts of nitrates, in the case of swordtails, levels must be kept to a minimum, otherwise they will suffer, as if affected by nitrite. Swordtails can be found in a great variety of colours as well as a number of fin forms. You've probably noticed yourself that red seems to be the most common of these colour mor pH s, however, swordtails can be had in green, yellow, gold, black, albino, and any colour of their combination. There is even a large selection of the red variety, such as brick red, blood red, red Mexican, and so on. Fin varieties to watch out for include forms such as Lyretails and Hi-fin, as well as a combination of those to form the Lyretail Hi-fin. To sum up, truly one of the most popular fishes in the world.
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