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Pest fish profiles
Xiphophorus helerii - Swordtail
Detailed
information
Synonyms
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Classification
Taxonomic description
Appearance and size
Diet
Habitat
Ecological tolerances
Ecological Impacts
Natural & introduced distribution
Reproduction
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Glossary
References
Contact details
Common names:
Swordtail, Green swordtail.
green to grey with red or brown lateral stripe and the male's sword
is yellow edged with black. Dark spots may also be present on the
sides and on the dorsal and caudal fins (Wischnath 1993; Tamaru et
al. 2001).
Synonyms:
Poecilia helleri (Heckel 1848)
Xiphophorus guentheri (Jordan and Evermann 1896)
Xiphophorus guntheri (Jordan and Evermann 1896)
Xiphophorus jalapae (Meek 1902)
Xiphophorus strigatus (Regan 1907)
Xiphophorus brevis (Regan 1907)
Xiphophorus rachovii (Regan 1911)
Xiphgophorus hellerii guentheri (Hubbs 1935)
Xiphophorus helleri helleri (Del Campo 1938)
Xiphophorus helleri strigatus (De Buen 1940)
Xiphophorus helleri brevis (Hubbs and Gordon 1943)
Diet:
Omnivorous, including silt/biofilm, plant material (filamentous and
unicell algae, small crustaceans (ostracods), aquatic insects
(dipteran and ephemopteran larvae) and annelids (Arthington
1989; McDowall 1990; Morgan et al. 2004). Swordtails are known
to be cannibalistic (Jones et al. 1998). Reported as a predator on
amphibian tadpoles (IUCN Conservation International and
NatureServe 2006).
Habitat:
In its natural range, occurs both in upland and coastal reaches of
rivers in streams. Lives mainly in rapidly flowing waters and prefers
warm, well-vegetated habitat, but also found in slow or still waters.
In disturbed urban creeks in Brisbane, a positive association was
found between exotic paragrass and occurrence of swordtails
(Arthington et al. 1983).
Classification:
Family Poeciliidae
Subfamily Poeciliinae
Supertribe Poeciliini
Tribe Poeciliini
Genus Xiphophorus
Species helleri
Ecological tolerances:
Swordtails can tolerate a moderately wide range of water quality
conditions, particularly dissolved oxygen (>2.0ppm) and
temperature (10-30°C). They can tolerate total ammonium to 1.0
ppm, a pH range of 7.0 to 8.1, but have limited salinity tolerance
(<3ppt) (Englund 2002).
Taxonomic description:
Dorsal spines 0-0; dorsal soft rays 11-14; anal spines 0; anal soft rays
8-10; 26-27 scales in lateral series.
Appearance & Size:
Deep-bodied (especially females) and laterally compressed.
Sexually dimorphic: the male has elongated rays at rear of dorsal
fin, the ventral margin of caudal fin extended to form a sword and
the anal fin modified to form a gonopodium. Females have a dark
brood patch on the abdomen which is largest prior to giving birth
to live young. Deep-bodied (especially females) and laterally
compressed. Sexually dimorphic: the male has elongated rays at
rear of dorsal fin, the ventral margin of caudal fin extended to form
a sword and the anal fin modified to form a gonopodium. Females
have a dark brood patch on the abdomen which is largest prior to
giving birth to live young. Males can be up to 14cm TL (excluding
sword) and females up to 16cm TL but typically smaller (males to
8cm and females to 12cm).
Ecological impacts:
Swordtails, notably the males, are aggressive to conspecifics and
other similar-sized or smaller species. An Australian study showed
swordtails, in combination with other poeciliids, displaced native
rainbowfishes and blue-eyes by fin-nipping (Warburton and
Madden 2003). Similar deleterious competitive interactions have
been reported for other countries following the species
introduction (Goren and Galil 2005; Froese and Pauly 2007).
Englund (1999, 2002) implicated swordtails and other introduced
poeciliids in the decline of native damselflies in Hawaii through
larval predation. IUCN Conservation International and
NatureServe (2006) listed introduced swordtails as a major threat
to an endangered amphibian, the Blue-sided treefrog, through
tadpole predation. Courtenay et al. (1988) also suggested that
aggression by introduced swordtails was responsible for the decline
of the Utah sucker, Catostomus ardens, in a thermal spring in
Wyoming, USA.
Colouration is highly variable which reflects the range of natural
populations in different habitats and, in its introduced range, the
recency of aquarium ancestry. Colour morphs include red, orange,
yellow and black forms. The ground colour of the wild form is olive
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Pest fish profiles
Xiphophorus helerii - Swordtail
World distribution:
Figure 1: World wide distribution of Oscar.
Native and introduced distribution:
Native to Central America: Mexico, Belize, Guatemale and
Honduras. Introduced into at least 33 countries and territories,
including Australia.
Japan
Madagascar
Martinique
Mauritius
Namibia
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
Puerto Rico
Reunion
Singapore
Slovakia
South Africa
Sri Lanka
USA (Arizona, California,
Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho,
Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma,
Texas, Wyoming)
Zambia
Table 1: Introduced range of the Oscar.
Country
Established?
Australia
Yes
Bahamas
Yes
Brazil
yes
Canada
?
China
?
Colombia
Yes
Costa Rica
yes
Czech Republic
Yes
Fijii
Yes
Guam
Yes
Hong Kong
Yes
Hungary
?
India
Yes
Indonesia
?
Israel
Yes
Jamaica
Yes
Yes
Yes
?
?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
?
From: Fuller et al. 1999; de Magalhaes et al. 2002; Goren and Galil
2005; IUCN Conservation International and NatureServe 2006;
Froese and Pauly 2007.
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Pest fish profiles
Xiphophorus helerii - Swordtail
Reproduction:
Swordtails are polygamous and do not form mating pairs. Females
are ovoviviparous with internal fertilisation and can produce 20-240
young per brood and can breed almost continuosly in tropical and
subtropical regions depending on temperature.
caudal fin sword (Johnson and Basolo 2003), male motor patterns
(Rosenthal et al. 1996) and chemical (pheromonal) cues (Fisher and
Rosenthal 2006). According to Basolo and Alcaraz (2003) the
evolution of elaborate male traits (e.g., sword) is a balance between
female selection (favouring larger swords) and natural selection
(increased male swimming costs and conspicuousness due to more
elaborate ornamentation).
Males establish long-term dominance hierarchies (Beaugrand et al.
1984, 1991& 1996; Franck and Ribowski 1993) and engage in
aggressive interactions with other males to establish and maintain
territories (Franck et al. 1998). Dominant males tend to be larger in
size, with larger swords, though interaction outcomes may also
depend on prior residency and dominance (Benson and Basolo
2006). Rosenthal et al. (1996) defined three general categories of
male courtship display:
(1) a full lateral display - the male orients perpendicular to the
female and swims back and forth, slightly shaking his body.
(2) a sigmoidal display - similar to (1) except the male rapidly curves
his body into an S-shape, with head tilted downward.
(3) a backward swim display - oriented toward the female.
Swordtails reach maturity at 25-30mm or at 10-12 weeks (Milton
and Arthington 1983; Dawes 1991). Females can store sperm in the
oviducts for fertilising mature eggs when needed, A single
copulation can provide viable sperm for up to 2 years and females
can produce 5 to 9 consecutive broods from a single mating event
(Axelrod and Wishnath 1991). In subtropical regions (Brisbane)
breeding is virtually continuous (11 months), with optimal
temperature for breeding 22-26°C and fry production ceasing
below 15°C or above 29°C. After a gestation period of 24-30 days,
females give birth to 20-240 young (Breder and Rosen 1966),
fecundity having a curvilinear relationship with size and age of the
female (Milton and Arthington 1983).
Females select mates on the basis of visual cues: melanophore
(dark/red) patterning (Franck et al. 2001, 2003) and size of male
Swordtails readily produce hybrids (Stevens 1981; Hamilton 1983)
with closely related species, including platys (X. variatus, X.
maculatus) where they both occur together (Fuller et al. 1999).
Glossary
Anal
Caudal
Conspecifics
Dimorphism
Dorsal
Fry
Gonopodium
Lateral
Melanophore
Omnivorous
(Fin) beneath the body, behind anal opening.
Towards the tail.
Members of the same species.
Sexual differences in size.
Situated near to or on the back.
Newly hatched or born fish.
Modified anal fin in male livebearers, used to deliver sperm into
females.
Situated at or extending to the side.
A cell containing black and brown pigments called melanin.
Eating both plant and animal matter.
Oviduct
Ovoviviparous
Polygamous
Sigmoidal
Ventral
The tube which carries eggs from the ovary to the outside of the
body.
Producing fully formed eggs that hatch inside the maternal
(mother's) body and are released later as live offspring. Embryos
provided with nutrition in the form of yolk; no placental
connection with mother.
Having more than one mate at a time.
S-shaped.
Towards the belly or underside of the body, the opposite of
dorsal.
References
Arthington A.H., 1989. Diet of Gambusia affinis holbrooki, Xiphophorus helleri, X. maculata and
Poecilia reticulata (Pices: Poeciliidae) in streams in southeastern Queensland, Australia.
Asian Fisheries Science 2: 193-212.
Benson K.E. and Basolo A.L., 2006. Male-male competition and the sword in male swordtails,
Xiphophorus hellerii. Animal Behaviour 71(1): 129-134.
Breder C.M. and Rosen D.E., 1966. Modes of reproduction of fishes. American Museum of
Natural History Press, New York.
Arthington A.H., Milton D.A. and McKay R.J., 1983. Effects of urban development and habitat
alterations on the distribution and abundance of native and exotic freshwater fish in the
Brisbane region. Australian Journal of Ecology. 8: 87-101.
Courtenay W.R. Jr., Robins C.R., Bailey R.M. and Deacon J.E., 1988. Records of exotic fishes
from Idaho and Wyoming. Great Basin Naturalist 47: 523-526.
Axelrod A.H.& Wischnath L., 1991. Swordtails and platies. T.H.F. Publications, Inc., Neptune
City, NJ, USA.
Dawes J.A., 1991. Livebearing Fishes. A Guide to Their Aquarium Care, Biology and
Classification. Blandford, London, England.
Basolo A.L. and Alcaraz G., 2003. The turn of the sword: length increases male swimming costs
in swordtails. Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences Series B 270(1524): 16311636.
Englund R.A. 1999. The impacts of introduced poeciliid fish and Odonata on the endemic
Megalagrion (Odonata) damselflies of Oahu Island, Hawaii. Journal of Insect Conservation
3:225-243.
Beaugrand J.P., Caron J. and Comeau L., 1984. Social organization of small heterosexual groups
of green swordtails (Xiphophorus hellerii, Pisces, Poeciliidae) under conditions of captivity.
Behaviour 91(1-3): 24-60.
Englund R.E., 2002. The loss of native biodiversity and continuing nonindigenous species
introductions in freshwater estuarine, and wetland communities of Pearl Harbour, Oahu,
Hawaiian Islands. Estuaries 25(3): 418-430.
Beaugrand J.P., Goulet C. and Pavette D., 1991. Outcome of dyadic conflict in male green
swordtail fish, Xiphophorus hellerii: effect of body size and prior dominance. Animal
Behaviour 41(3): 417-424.
Fisher H.S. and Rosenthal G.G., 2006. Female swordtail fish use chemical cues to select well-fed
mates. Animal Behaviour 72(3): 721-725.
Beaugrand J.P., Pavette D., and Goulet C., 1996. Conflict outcome in male green swordtail fish
dyads (Xiphophorus hellerii): interaction of body size, prior dominance/subordination
experience and prior residency. Behaviour 133(3-4): 303-319.
References
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Franck D. and Ribowski A., 1993. Dominance hierarchies of male green swordtails (Xiphophorus
hellerii) in nature. Journal of Fish Biology 43: 497-499.
Jones C.L.W., Kaiser H., Webb G.A. and Hecht T., 1998. Filial cannibalism in the swordtail
Xiphophorus helleri (Poeciliidae). Aquarium Sciences and Conservation 2(2): 79-88.
Franck D., Klamroth B., Taebel-Hellwig A. and Schartl M., 1998. Home ranges and satellite
tactics of male green swordtails (Xiphophorus helleri) in nature. Behavioural Processes
43(2): 115-123.
de Magalhaes A.L.B. , Amaral I.B., Ratton T.F. & de Brito M.F.G., 2002. Ornamental exotic
fishes in the Gloria Reservoir and Boa Vista Stream, Paraiba do Sul River Basin, State of
Minais Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Comunicacoes do Museu de Ciencias e Tecnologia da
PUCRS Serie Zoologia 15(2):265-278.
Franck D., Dikomey M. and Schartl M., 2001. Selection and the maintenance of a colour pattern
polymorphism in the green swordtail (Xiphophorus helleri). Behaviour 138(4): 467-486.
McDowall R.M., 1996. Family Poeciliidae. Livebearers. In: R. McDowall (ed): Freshwater
Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Reed Books, Chatswood, NSW, 116-122.
Franck D., Muller A. and Rogmann N., 2003. A colour and size dimorphism in the green
swordtail (population Jalapa): female mate choice, male-male competition, and male mating
strategies. Acta Ethologica 5: 75-79.
Milton D.A. and Arthington A.H., 1983. Reproductive biology of Gambusia affinis holbrooki
Baird and Girard, Xiphophorus helleri (Gunther) and X. maculatus (Heckel) (Pisces;
Poeciliidae) in Queensland, Australia. Journal of Fish Biology, 23 (1), 23-41.
Froese R. and Pauly D. (Eds.), 2007. FishBase [online] version (01/2007). Available from:
www.fishbase.org {Accessed April 2007}.
Morgan D.L., Gill H.S., Maddern M.G. and Beatty S.J., 2004. Distribution and impacts of
introduced freshwater fishes in Western Australia. New Zealand Journal of Marine and
Freshwater Research 38: 511-523.
Fuller P.L., Nico L.G. and Williams J.D., 1999. Nonindigenous Fishes Introduced into Inland
Waters of the United States. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 27. AFS, Bethesda,
Maryland, USA.
Rosenthal G.G., Evans C.S. and Miller W.I., 1996. Female preference for dynamic traits in the
green swordtail, Xiphophorus helleri. Animal Behaviour 51: 811-820.
Goren M. and Galil B.S., 2005. A review of changes in the fish assemblages of Levantine inland
and marine ecosystems following the introduction of non-native fishes. Journal of Applied
Ichthyology 21: 364-370.
Stevens S., 1983. Crossing swords? Tropical Fish Hobbyist 32(1): 54-57.
Tamaru C.S., Cole B., Bailey R., Brown C. and Ako H., 2001. A manual for the commercial
production of the swordtail, Xiphophorus hellerii. CTSA Publication No. 128. University of
Hawaii Sea Grant Extension Service, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Hamilton T.R., 1981. Courtship and hybridisation in platyfish and swordtails. Aquarist and
Pondkeeper 46(3): 60-61.
IUCN Conservation International and NatureServe, 2006. Global Amphibian Assessment.
Online: www.globalamphibians.org, {Accessed 23 May 2007}.
Warburton K. and Madden C., 2003. Behavioural responses of two native Australian fish species
(Melanotaenia duboulayi and Pseudomugil signifier) to introduced poeciliids (Gambusia
holbrooki and Xiphophorus hellerii) in controlled conditions. Proceedings of the Linnean
Society of New South Wales 124: 115-123.
Wischnath L., 1993. Atlas of Livebearers of the World. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City,
NJ, USA.
Johnson J.B. and Basolo A.L., 2003. Predator experience alters female mate choice in the green
swordtail. Behavioural Ecology 14(5): 619-625.
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Created by A. Webb, M. Maughan and M. Knott
© ACTFR, James Cook University, 2007
For further information please contact [email protected], tel: 07 4781 4262
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Other information sheets available:
Spotted tilapia – Tilapia mariae
Oscar – Astronotus ocellatus
Burton’s haplochromis – Haplochromis burtoni
Mosquitofish – Gambusia holbrooki
Guppy – Poecilia reticulates
Swordtail – Xiphophorus helleri
Platy – Xiphophorus maculates
Three-spotted gourami – Thrichogaster trichopterus
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