Remarks: Painted swordtails are beautiful variety of swordtail that sport a red or orange body with variable black spots and patches that make it look like it were splattered with black paint. This black color tends to be more concentrated toward the back end of the fish but sometimes you can get an individual that has a more scattered pattern placement. The result is that no two fish look the same adding a unique touch to an already unique fish. Swordtails are peaceful community fish that reproduce with ease. They are livebearers, meaning the females release live fry rather than laying eggs. It is recommended to keep more females than males, as males can easily harass females with relentless attempts to reproduce, leading to stress in the females. Dominant males will begin developing swords and a modified anal fin, called a gonopodium, around 1-1.5" in length. However, it is not uncommon for less dominant males to maintain the physical appearance of a female until much later in life (even as large as 4"!) Some have also reported the strange phenomenon of these fish occasionally changing gender with it typically occurring with older, large females becoming male with mixed results in regards to them remaining fertile.
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