Marigold swordtail?

My Marigold is about 1.75 to 2 inches long with tail included. I've had him for a few months now and the only negative comment I have to make about my boy is his tail: or near lack thereof.



He's an adult (not fully grown yet i dont think) Marigold swordtail but his sword, at max, is about 5 millimeters long. For about a month after I got him I had him in a ten gl tank with two other marigold females and he quickly got down to 'business' so im assuming he's healthy. (Hes now in a 25 gl with the two females and another male) His tail HAS shown some growth since his purchase but its still absolutely puny. Any possible reasons?



Ps. The other male Marigolds tail is about two millimeters larger but he's a bit larger too.



Peeksures:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b125/a...

My boy in the front, the other male in the back.^^



http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b125/a...

My boy. ^^



http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b125/a...
Marigold swordtail?
OK...lets clear the air. There are several species of fish known as swordtails. Xiphophorus helleri is only one of them. Some species have longer swords than others and to add to the confusion, some helleri have much longer swords than others. Want to make it more fun? there appear to be several sub species of X. Helleri and there is some thought that some of the various swordtail species can interbreed. Let's make in worse. In tight confinement you can have arrhenoid males. That is females that appear to be young males. Those never get quite all of the male traits. This is more common than people think with commercially produced swordtails.



Now, males get 4" standard length. That is tip of the nose to the tip of the fleshy part of the tail. NOT including any lart of the tale fin. In highly developed males the sword can be as much as 2.5" on it's own.



Also, some sword tails are bred for color and some for finnage and some for both. Often to get really good color you have to give a bit on finnage and visa-versa until the strain is very stable. That is the case with swordtails right now because the commercial breeders don't take enough care to fix traits.



So where does that leave you? Marigolds usually have shorter swords than say green or red swordtails. On top of that he MIGHT be a she in drag, in which case "he" will never have a long sword. You mentioned that he got down to business, but did you get babies from that or was it just all show? That will answer the sex question.



And... swordtails can live quite a few years. The older they get the longer the sword unless something has damaged it. Your fish appears to be rather young to me.



Either way, nice looking fish.



Best of luck sorting all this out lol.
Reply:He'll max out around 3 inched. Its just genetics, each swordtail has a different tail. Some males have no sword tail. It has nothing to do with breeding or health. I've got a male with a 1.5 inch sword, biggest I've ever seen, and another with a normal half inch sword.



edit-- :) they are very healthy looking, I love the dark stones with the bright fish. Very nice clear pictures too.
Reply:because they are not all identical copies. Humans, dogs, fish..they all have slightly diffrent features. Some people are tall and some are short.



The other male might also be nipping at his sword. You should have 3 females to each male to prevent fighting and territory desputes. Plants will help too. preferably live, but plastic are fine.
Reply:Oh! www.freewebs.com/ben-leong would help you!
Reply:well maybe he was attacked or he has a birth defect........ if he is doing ine and is living like all the other fishies then there is nothing wrong with him and he just has a small fin... kind of like nemo in the movie finding nemo.... he has a small fin but nothing is wrong with him
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