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Hi guys,
I got my first swordtails last weekend. Didn't think there'd be aggression issues, but today I noticed two of them dead. Could the 1 surviving male have harassed both of the deceased enough to cause the deaths of one male and one female? Would a male even harass a female like that?

We now have just 2 females and the 1 male left.
Plenty of hiding spots in hardscaping, some fake and live plants.

^_^

Hi,
Yes, I've seen male Swordtails constantly arguing over
who is going to rule the roost. It's especially bad if
one is senior in the tank, In other words has been
there longer, thus, it's "his" tank and the other is
an interloper. With the females, its usually the male is
"ready" and the female is not and he will pursue her
ceaselessly picking at her. If there is no way for the
chased fish to escape, then death can be the result.

The general "rule" is one male for any number (3+)
of females. In other words, give him a harem.

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

It is entirely possible, they are bolshy little things, but within a week it is also possible that some disease they had at the shop has gotten its claws into them.

I found swords to be far more aggressive than platies or guppies. They seemed a lot more focussed.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Way back in the early days I had Swords and I had to get rid of them because they were just too aggressive.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

We're left now with the green and metallic black male and Miss. nemosword (don't usually name fish anymore but she's nemo, in a sword. albino and orange). Got to see them doing their little mating dance not too long ago and the female is starting to swell. We'll probably be looking to pick up a few more females either at the fish auction today, or from the shops later. They'll eventually all be going into the tank with the angels who should keep the population under control.

Between my dominant kribs suddenly turning greedy and wanting every cave nook and cranny for themselves (taking out my non dom pair), their offspring growing up and starting to become aggressive, and the swords our usually rather peaceful tank has suddenly become a bit on the aggressive side. Getting the other tanks set up and filters moved around today.

^_^