General Aquaria Discussion • Swordtail tank

[Marduk]

:lol: Do some research online and learn what you need for a successful molly setup.

How many times do we all have to say that he doesn't want mollies?

[Sick-Lid-4-Life]

Swordtail Mollies are what he's referring to...

[Marduk]

Swordtail Mollies are what he's referring to...

No he isn't... Swordtails and Mollies are two different fish, different species, and different genus's...

[Mr_Yellow_Shoes]

Yeah, I am talking about SWORDTAILS period, not mollies, not platies, SWORDTAILS, And by swordtail i mean the ones that the males have a "sword" on the bottom of there tails and the females do not, here is a picture in case you do not get it, http://aqualandpetsplus.com/livebe16.jpg

Sorry if Im coming on a rude, its just you don't get what I am saying, and thanks for Marduk for correcting that, I was actually starting to believe what he was saying that Mollies were Swordtail about them being the same fish

[blairo1]

This is like a badly written comedy sketch right here....

Mr Yellow Shoes, quite frankly I think you've been more than polite and I can only commend your patience. It's not easy being new, you don't know whether what you've been told (previously) is entirely accurate, you always second guess yourself and unfortunately there is a lot of conflicting information to add to the confusion. Stick with it bud, it's not rocket science but there is a lot to learn (depending on how far you want to go with your knowledge) so time and patience are key, as is the importance of question asking.

Sick-lid-4-life, if you really have such a problem with helping someone who is obviously new/confused then I have to ask why you even bother... He didn't ask for your help, you offered it and then start taking the piss when your short and blunt one liners don't answer any questions for him, for someone new to the scene and a specific species who is trying to find out information, you cannot expect them to know anything and everything and/or to be entirely confident in their knowledge. If they were they wouldn't be asking for help now would they....

You say "go do research", why don't you point out some useful sites for the OP to utilize then - or is he/she supposed to automatically know where to get accurate and detailed information, google is ok, but it's not very refined.

If you want to help, then help, if you don't have the patience and want to be intolerant and rude because someone is a little confused/new and that irritates you, then leave them to it, there are plenty of us here who are happy to offer help and guidance, no matter how "clueless" the OP may seem (don't worry OP this is a generic statement not directed at you.)

Mollies are of the genus Poecilia, Swordtails fall under Xiphophorus, as do Platys, although Platys originally fell under the genus, Platypoecilus.... End of.

...."Water under the bridge".

[Mr_Yellow_Shoes]

Thank you for the correction on that blario1, now as for the fish, will they eat live plants

[blairo1]

Well they'll only stay that way until another Ichthyologist comes along and decides to shuffle it all around again.... Keeps life interesting.

I don't believe swordtails do anything to the majority of plants, they may chow down on finer leaved plants - cabomba etc but not to any extent that I would get concerned - most of the swordtail keepers I know of like to have plants with them in the aquaria. These fish aren't really capable of inflicting that much damage...

[Malawidolphin]

I have kept swordtails years ago and I had a mis of males and female with no specific number and I can't recall any aggression issues. I don't think they eat plants but they will pick the small algae off of the plants. They are great at picking algae and small creepy crawlies off the glass and such. I have seen some real stunnig swordtails available now that I have never seen in the past.

[Mr_Yellow_Shoes]

Thanks! Will they do anything to african dwarf frogs, mystery snails or glass shrimp?

[Fogelhund]

They'll eat any juvenile glass(ghost) shrimp, but are likely to leave the adults alone. The others you've listed should be fine.

[Mr_Yellow_Shoes]

Ok, will the shrimp do anything to them? Just wondering, out of Snail and shrimp which will be better to clean up the uneaten food?

[blairo1]

I'd go with shrimp bud - they're efficient cleaners. I like amano shrimp personally - Cardinia japonica:

[Mr_Yellow_Shoes]

How big do those get?

[blairo1]

It varies bud, you get some real shrimp factories which are huge females whereas others of the same age are half the mass.... 1.5 inch average < 2 inch +/- IME and completely harmless when it comes to other fish and their fry - at least when dealing with Cichlids.

[Mr_Yellow_Shoes]

Sweet! Are those as commonly available as ghost shrimp