# I have new baby Montezuma swords.



## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

I purchased a pair of Montezuma swords a couple months ago. After a few weeks I noticed she looked pregnant but as she hid constantly inside a piece of U shaped driftwood I put in the 120 gallon tank, I couldn't tell what
was going on.

I slowly added some more plants and moss and got a couple more girls for the male to play with...then I purchased another pair at Hamilton Auction, younger male, later found out that they are actually siblings . and noticed she was coming out more often swimming with the other 3 gals.

So a few days ago we noticed we had some baby swords hiding in the floating plants, they are growing like weeds right now. They yesterday my Hubby says, we've got more babies and these ones are tiny, that female must have had more babies. 

So it seems I have a nice collection going of baby Monties now. 

Also my Marigold Sword had babies too and I have some really unique looking little orange swordtails with black tails and black lipstick mouths...they are just too cute!


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

update:

I also now have baby cherry barbs (longfin) found a bunch of them in the floating plants on Friday...going to be quite a mix of fish in this 120 gallon.


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

pics please


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

OH yeah, sure...think I could capture these little babies on camera....

I will try, but with my skills I doubt that. They hide in the floating plants and when I get near the tank they scoot up into the plants till I go away...smart cookies 

Maybe when I feed them in the am, might be able to grab something then...they don't look like much right now, just silver colored.


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

OK they are not the greatest shots, and hard to catch one of these little guys, but I did manage a few. Sorry couldn't clean the glass because I would have scared them away from the front. 

here's a baby cherry barb








my dominant male Monty showing off his stuff. he is actually about 5 inch long from nose to tip of sword.








baby monty, just silver right now.


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

Nice! I love that male.


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

Yeah isn't he something!! I am going to hopefully show him in the fall 

This picture really doesn't do him justice, he's a lovely silver blue with iridescent greenish color along the body and that sword is unbelievable.

The other male is not as nice as this boy, and he's always got that top fin up like a sail showing off to the girls.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Pretty boy, pretty babies. sigh.. maybe one day I'll have some babies to show off, of something.


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## nighttigerz (Jun 23, 2012)

how big are they now


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

They are about 1 inch in length and blue/gray in color. I just had some more born a few days ago


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## nighttigerz (Jun 23, 2012)

good to hear that more swordtail frys  how much do you have now


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

If I can count them before they dart away (fast little guys) I think about 15 of the bigger ones, then about another 12 or so of what I believe is cherry barbs (longfins) and now probably another 10 newborns that I can see (swords)

I have another female monty just ready to bust that has been swimming close to the floating plant surface area, so I think she'll be ready to pop them out soon too.

At the same time my Rosy Barbs (2 pairs) are having a whale of a time spinning around at the bottom of the tank amongst the plants (this is the dominant orangey/red male) he's funny to want, does somersaults in front of the 2 gals (I think this is some kind of mating ritual)

My male Monty (who I named " Monty " after my old cat) is always lording himself over the other younger brother....his dorsal fin looks like a sail constantly...have to say he's just breathtaking


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## nighttigerz (Jun 23, 2012)

Wow, so much action going on in the tank, you're gonna have so much cherry barbs and monty swordtails lol. Your male monty is reallllly nice, I'm getting swordtails soon just regular red ones can't wait! C:


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Sigh. Of all the fishes I used to keep back in my school days, the swords and the pair of angels were my faves, closely followed by one lone kuhli, poor guy, he never had a pal of his own species, didn't know he needed them. I had green swords, one male that was just lovely, shaded from black to emerald and glittered like gems. I had red swords too. Also a few platies that cross bred with them.. my bad, didn't know they were so closely related. Got blue/black spotted hybrids that looked mostly like platies from one female's brood, those that lived anyway.

If I ever have the space for a tank, it would be nice to have swords again, some of the newer variants are quite lovely and so BIG, & Angels too. Mine were a mated pair of silvers, very, very large, I wish I'd known how to stop the eggs becoming fungused back then, but none ever hatched. 

But I have acquired a great fondness for nano fishes, which do not get on so well with Angels.. patience, I must acquire patience. Hope to see pics of the sword babies when they get a bit bigger !

Just got a few new nanos.. Gold Ring danio, sp. tinwini. Very small, pretty markings. I hope they live and give me fry, they're not common and they are pretty. Seem to spend much time near the tank bottom, unexpected in the type.. but interesting.


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

The babies just keep on coming....going to have to sell off a few I think 

So far it looks like I have 4 stages of youngsters now.
1st ones are about 1 inch grey/blue color.

2nd ones are about 1/2 inch and I think these are the cherry barbs, don't see any color right now, but they look different from the swords and can only be the cherries as I had NO other fish in the tank with the swords when these were born.

3rd set is def swords, but might be from a pineapple female x ? they are about 1/2 inch too. I had moved her into the big tank when I sold off the Kohaku swords, and she was already pregnant.

4th set is the new borns which are def monty swords...grey with a black band across the tail section, like big Daddy!

The other babies are Wagtail Goldens, deep orange/not red, with black sword, black on tails. 
here's some pics of what these look like...I currently have 5 babies, happily living in my planted tank with my Silver/Black male Betta!


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

All the pretty fishies..and just not enough ROOM!


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

Hey Karen Im thinking of bringing some of the babies to the BBQ for sale.
Don't want to overstock my tanks....just getting some Electric Blue Rams and longfin German Blue Rams coming this weekend.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Tell me about it.. I really don't have room for anything new other than shrimp.. unless I set up another tank, which I reluctant to do until I reach some sort of accommodation with the landlord.. sigh..
Rams.. mmm.. they're so pretty !


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

Wow got more new babies born again. 

The last ones were orange/black wagtails (guess one of the females got hit from my big wagtail male before I transferred her into the big tank)

Going to have to sell off a few of these youngsters so as not to overload the tank (125 gallon 48 x 24 x 24)


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## GAT (Oct 8, 2011)

I finally found some platy babies in my tank. They usually get eaten but 11 of them hid in the floating plants. What kind of babies should expect if the mother is a sunset platy and the father is a red wag platy. Would that be mixture of both?


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

I've found about 90 baby platies in my tank... I wish they'd get eaten lol.


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