Above: This picture shows a very nice mature male Red Mickey Mouse Swordtail, gliding across a beautiful aquarium with live plants.

Showa is a name originally applied to Koi with certain colors and patterns.

To people with too much imagination these Swordtails resemble Showa Koi.

These Swordtails are a highly sought after variety, rarely seen in the hobby, and not available in most pet fish stores.

Comments: This is a Premium Pet Fish, and we never see Premium Swordtails like these in any of the live fish stores that we visit.

Premium Pet Fish are more energetic, hardier, and have brighter colors with a beautiful metallic sheen.

Click here to learn more about Premium Pet Fish.

Origin: Swordtails are one of the most colorful and most popular aquarium fish.

Their ancestors originally lived in southern Mexico and the east coast of Central America, but Swordtails are now found living in aquariums throughout most of the world.

There are many color varieties for sale in our store.

Maximum Size: In aquariums, Swordtails can grow to be about 5" long, including their tails.

Behaviors: Most Swordtails are very active swimmers, and chase each other, but are rarely too aggressive.

Female Swordtails release live baby fish about once a month when kept in good water and fed lots of premium food.

Compatibility: Some recommended tank mates include Corydoras Catfish, Danios, Barbs, Rainbowfish, Plecostomus Catfish, Mollies, Gouramis, and other medium sized fish.

Click here to read more about compatible groups of pet fish.

Temperature: Swordtails can live pretty well from about 72 to 86 degrees F., but they're probably most comfortable from about 78 to 82 degrees F.

Click here to learn about aquarium temperature, aquarium thermometers, and aquarium heaters.

Feeding: Premium Fish Food Flakes when small, and Premium Pellet Food when larger.

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Water Conditions: Swordtails seem to be tolerant of a wide range of water conditions.

Probably a pH of about 7 with moderate hardness is best.

Most water in the US seems to be OK, so it's probably best NOT to adjust the pH or the hardness of the water.

Here in our facilities the water is hard and the pH is usually about 7.8. We ship them in this water.

Click here for a lot more information about aquarium water conditions.

Aquarium Size: It's probably best to house these fish in at least a 30-gallon tank, but more is better.

Keep at most one Swordtail per gallon, when they're small. Larger Swordtails need up to 5-gallons per Swordtail.

Decor: Swordtails do not need gravel, and a layer of gravel more than 1/4" thick will usually fill with bits of uneaten food that will contaminate the water.

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Live Plants are beautiful, improve the water quality, and are enjoyed by Swordtails and baby Swordtails.

Water Sprite and Java Ferns are very good plants for Swordtails.

Non-toxic driftwood is also very good.

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Click here to shop in this store for live plants.

Aquarium Filter: Bio-Wheel Filters are highly recommended.

A Penguin 100B Filter in an aquarium with 10 to 20-gallons of water is ideal, and a Penguin 200B Filter is the right size for a 20 to 30-gallon aquarium.

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The addition of Lava Rocks will keep nitrates in the ideal range. Click here to learn more about using Lava Rocks in aquariums.

Life Span: Swordtails live for a few years.

In the meantime the next generation of Swordtails have usually been born.

Gender: It's easy to tell the males from the females even at a very young age.

Males develop long swords on the ends of their tails and females do not.

Females are slightly less colorful, plumper, and have a dark spot on the rear of their abdomens.

Breeding: You do not need a male! Even a very small young female is pregnant, and will release babies in a few months, provided the water is good, and she is fed plenty of premium fish food flakes.

A female Swordtail will release live babies and not lay eggs like many other fish species.

The babies start eating bits of food shortly after being released.

In her abdomen the female usually has many more fertile eggs, that will soon become live babies, and then be released about a month after the previous bunch was released.

This process can continue for about 5-months without a male anywhere in the aquarium.

Click here for a lot more about breeding various tropical fish in aquariums.

Popularity: For a long-long time Swordtails have been one of the most popular aquarium fish.

Names: The scientific names for Swordtails is Xiphophorus hellerii.

Variations: There are many-many color varieties that will interbreed to produce even more color varieties.

Click here for a lot more information about keeping and caring for Swordtails, including a picture gallery.

We hope you've enjoyed reading these comments.