FEW FACTS:
1. All fancy strains of swordtails (Xiphophorus hellerii) have mixed ancestries with Xiphophorus maculatus (moon platies) and/or Xiphophorus variatus (variatus platies).
2. The first Xiphophorus helleri showing an elongated dorsal appeared in the late 1950's in one of Mrs. Telma L. Simpson's fish tanks. This housewife turned fish breeder kept working with that single male until she fixed the trait. It is from her South Californian hatchery that it all started.
In the 1960's and 1970's, top breeders developed all kind of fancy strains of both swordtails and platies… up to today. The most famous (to named a few) are Dr. Joanne Norton, Fred Morita, Glenn Takeshita, Rosario Arijon, Darrell E. Mefford, Bobby Ellermann, and Dr. Roy Levine. To read more about the complete history of hifin swordtails, read Mr. Ellermann’s most excelent article:
http://selectaquatics.com/Website%20redone%20Front%20Page/HF_swordtail_article.htm
2. The first Xiphophorus helleri showing an elongated dorsal appeared in the late 1950's in one of Mrs. Telma L. Simpson's fish tanks. This housewife turned fish breeder kept working with that single male until she fixed the trait. It is from her South Californian hatchery that it all started.
In the 1960's and 1970's, top breeders developed all kind of fancy strains of both swordtails and platies… up to today. The most famous (to named a few) are Dr. Joanne Norton, Fred Morita, Glenn Takeshita, Rosario Arijon, Darrell E. Mefford, Bobby Ellermann, and Dr. Roy Levine. To read more about the complete history of hifin swordtails, read Mr. Ellermann’s most excelent article:
http://selectaquatics.com/Website%20redone%20Front%20Page/HF_swordtail_article.htm
Drawings from Joanne Norton, Ph.D.'s "Enjoy your Modern Swordtails And Platies" - Pet Library LTD.
3. Two low-fin swordtails (that is fish with regular dorsal fin) will NOT produce hifin offspring, even if they have hifin parentage in their blood line. If they were to, then one would have just duplicated Mrs. Simpson’s original hifin mutation. If not technically impossible, still highly improbable...
I have lately been made aware that Greg Sage of selectaquatics.com from Colorado has raised a strain of HIFIN Xiphophorus Mayae, so the gene mutation has once again naturally expressed itself.
http://selectaquatics.com/X._mayae_HF.htm
4. Two hifin swordtails will always produce a small percentage of low-fin offspring. As far I know, there is no homozigous hifin for the Xiphophorus genus. Also a cross between low-fin and hifin swordtails produces roughly 50% hifin offspring.
5. SAILFIN swordtails are nothing more than a 'descriptive label' for HIFIN swordtails possessing an elongated dorsal fin with more branched rays, hence producing a sailfin looking dorsal (both wider and longer). Think of them as 'la creme de la creme' in breeding hifin swordtails. Such specimens seem to posses a genetic modifier allowing their dorsal ray to branch out. At least it is my limited understanding of it.
6. How are "sailfin" swordtails produced? Simply by selective breeding, culling, and hard work. The genetics of hifin swordtail is complicated and yet not fully understood. It is clear that if a strain of sailfin swordtail is not drastically maintained, it quickly regresses to producing more basic hifin fish.
If one wishes to understand more about the genetics and science of hifin swordtails while viewing photos of splendid fish, then simply visit Dr. Levine’s website… everything you ever wanted to know and/or understand about hifin swordtails is there:
http://www.xhifin.org/
7. I am a member of the American Livebearer Association which is an organization worth belonging to if one is interested in livebearers in general. Most members are more into wild livebearers, but a few dedicated breeders of fancy Xiphophorus are still hanging around.
http://livebearers.org/
A FEW LINKS OF INTEREST:
- Dr. Roy Levine - http://www.xhifin.org/ - An authority in genetics of Xiphophorus fancy finage, and a true hobbyist at heart. His results and photos speak for themselves.
- A great hobbyist breeder; of fancy Xiphophorus: Ela from Poland: http://xiphophorus-ela.blogspot.com/
- German website dedicated to Fancy strains of Xiphophorus: http://www.platys.net/
- If you are interested in wild and/or fancy xiphophorus, feel free to join this specialized Facebook's page:International Xiphophorus Breeder
- French Livebearer Association: http://france.vivipare.free.fr
- German Livebearer Association: http://www.guppy-molly-xipho.de/
I rarely purchase fish, even less swordtails, yet I can safely recommend those two sources to anyone who is seeking for quality specimens, two commercial breeders who produce exceptional fish. If I had to get any livebearers, I would get them from those two hatcheries, period!
- http://selectaquatics.com/ - Greg Sage form Erie, Colorado - USA
- http://goliadfarms.com/ - Charles and Susan Clapsaddle from Goliad Texas - USA