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| FAQs on Guppy Reproduction, Breeding 2
Related Articles: Guppies,
Poeciliids: Guppies, Platies, Swordtails, Mollies
by Neale Monks, Livebearing Fishes
by Bob Fenner,
Related FAQs: Guppy
Reproduction 1, Guppies 1,
Guppies 2,
Guppy Identification,
Guppy Behavior,
Guppy Compatibility,
Guppy Selection,
Guppy Systems,
Guppy Feeding, Guppy Disease,
Livebearers, Platies,
Swordtails, Mollies,
Hey Baby! It takes two (guppies) to tango.
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Poecilia reticulata (health; repro) 11/05/08
Hi
I have two pregnant female guppies, one of which perplexes me, the other of
which I need some advice. As to the confusing one, she is about 2 cm thick in
her pregnancy- I hope this paints a picture, I just don't know how else to
describe it, but her gravid spot is still pinkish. I have the temperature around
75 degrees, so I wonder is this has anything to do with her slow development?
Then the other female has a very dark gravid spot, and she looks like she wants
to be left alone, but the males keep bugging her (I have 5 females and 3 males).
Should I put her in the breeder net to see how she does there? Also, if I should
put her in the breeder net, should I be worried about her bullying the fry that
are already in there? They are already about a cm long, so I know she can't eat
them anymore.
Thanks,
Nate
<Nate, not every swollen Guppy is necessarily pregnant, and in some cases
internal parasites, bacterial infections, or organ failure can all cause
swelling. It's important to note that the gravid spot isn't a "thing" that
happens when the fish is pregnant: it happens because the internal organs (which
are dark) are pressed against the wall of the abdomen. In other words, both
pregnancy and dropsy can cause a gravid spot to appear. So above all else I'd be
checking to see if other issues could be at work. Review water quality and
chemistry, for example. Do also review diet; Guppies are mostly herbivores in
the wild, and unfortunately in aquaria some hobbyists forget this and give them
regular flake food. What Guppies (and most other livebearers) need is an
algae-based flake staple augmented with high fiber foods such as live daphnia
now and again. Constipation can easily occur otherwise, and needless to say this
can cause dropsy-like symptoms. At 1 cm in length the juvenile Guppies should be
safe with adult Guppies. I'm not a big fan of breeding nets for most
livebearers, but female Guppies at least may be confined in them for short
periods without
undue problems. Cheers, Neale.>
Poecilia
(reproduction) 10/16/08
My guppy pregnant guppy looks close to giving birth and I read that a higher
water temperature could speed up the maturation of the babies inside her. The
only problem is that I don't have an extra heater (I found a 2 gallon tank to
put her in.) Is there anything that I can do to help raise the temp a little
<Nope. That's the job of the hearer. A two-gallon tank isn't viable for keeping
Guppies, so wasting time, money trying to "fix" this situation is completely
pointless. The female Guppy will likely eat any babies that emerge, and besides,
water quality and stress will be working against you. Do understand female
Guppies view anything small and wriggly at the surface as food, whether mosquito
larvae or baby fish. In the wild, baby Guppies immediately swim into floating
plants and shallow water where bigger fish cannot go. If you want to "rescue"
the baby Guppies you have to understand this, and not work against it, because
you'll fail. As I say repeatedly on WWM, keep Guppies in a 20+ gallon tank,
stock with lots of floating plants (Elodea, Hornwort, Indian Fern), and then
remove baby Guppies to a breeding net or 8-10 gallon tank with a heater and
sponge filter as you find them. That's how this job has been done, is done, and
always will be done. Cheers, Neale.
Some Pregnancy Problems, guppy
10/14/08
Good Evening,
<Good morning,>
I have a female guppy that I got two weeks ago.. She was large then, but she has
almost doubled in size since and her gravid patch is now a deep maroon color.
She started to become sluggish, her anal fin kept moving a lot, she stayed in
one spot at the top of the tank, so I thought that she was about to give birth
and put her in the net breeder.
<Hmm... while I agree she's close to delivering her young, I'm dead against
breeding nets for confining females in most instances. They do tend to stress
the fish, worst case causing miscarriages, and I don't know any experienced
fishkeepers who use them in this way. It's much better to stock the tank with
floating plants (*anyone* can keep Indian Fern alive, for example) and let her
hide there. Better yet, the baby fish hide among the leaves so you can scoop
them out and *then* put them in a breeding net. If the female is in the breeding
trap, there's nothing to stop her snapping at the baby fish she's just given
birth to.>
When She got there, she displayed the same behavior for the first day, and
stopped eating, I thought nothing of it, as I know this to be an additional sign
that the pregnancy is nearing its end.
<Stress...>
The next day, she still had not given birth, and had begun to dart around inside
of the net. I took her out for fear of stressing her too much and she seemed to
calm down.
<Good call.>
Then, she started moving about at a normal rate, as though she wasn't pregnant
at all. It has now been two days since I took her out and she has resumed
eating. I was wondering if you had any explanation as to why she looked like she
was about to give birth, and then resumed behaving normally. Do you have any
advice as to when she will give birth or what I should do in the mean time?
<There's nothing much to do. Your job is keep her healthy and well fed. She will
deliver the babies as and when. Put floating plants in the tank and let Nature
run its course. Check the plants in the morning, and with luck you'll see some
baby fish! Simple as that.>
Thanks,
Nathan
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Guppy Pregnancy Questions
10/14/08
Hi, I have emailed you yesterday because I have a pregnant guppy who I think
is coming very close to birth. I did as one of your staff told me to and took
her out of the breeder net that I had her in. <Indeed.> Then, she
started
to move around and explore a little. Now, she seems to be trying to avoid the
male and the other female a lot (I have two females, and two males), <With
livebearers, you should have (at least) TWICE as many females as males.
Otherwise the males harass the females.> but she can't get away from them. I
was wondering what you think that I should do about them bugging her because I
think she might be getting stressed out? <Yes, she will be stressed. Stress
can lead to miscarriages. Add more females of the species to "dilute" male
aggression. Stock the tank with floating plants (Indian Fern is ideal) so
females (and fry) can hide. No magic solutions beyond these, I'm afraid. Much
written about Guppies here at WWM; start here:-
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/guppies.htm Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Pregnancy Questions
10/14/08
Hi again, I know about how I am supposed to have two females for every one
male, but so far, that has not been a problem because one of the males that I
have doesn't bother the females (I don't know why, but he just leaves them
alone) do you think that I still need to get some more females? <Yes. Cheers,
Neale.>
Guppy fry question
-08/27/08
Hello WWM Crew,
First of all, let me say that this is the most amazing, informative site!
<Thanks for the kind words.>
Two questions for you:
I have a 5 gallon tank which is well planted, I keep the water perfect with bi
weekly water changes and I feed them good quality food.
<Bit small for Guppies, to be honest...>
My fish seem very healthy and hearty! In this tank are 2 males and I think 5
females. I say this because two of the females along with one of the males came
from a batch of fry that we had in March foam a mother guppy who died after
giving birth. One is obviously a male but the other two I can't seem to tell
their gender. They have gray bodies with a short ,but iridescent tail and I
can't figure out if their back lower fins are pointed or rounded. They do hold
them up against their bodies, which are slender like most males are. They are
about 5 months now... shouldn't I be able to tell by now?
<Male Guppies will be sexually mature within 3 months. Sexing Guppies should be
fairly easy; if the anal fin isn't a simple triangle, it's a male! Males also
tend to be smaller and less deep bodied, and should have brighter colours,
particularly on the unpaired fins. Breeders take this approach: if they can't
confirm its a female, they remove it from the tank of "virgin" female Guppies
and eliminate it from any breeding programmes.>
My other question is another one of my females had a batch of 41 fry on the 27th
of July which makes them about 4 weeks old now. They are in a separate tank
without any other fish and seem to be thriving just beautifully. I noticed this
morning before feeding them that the females bellies were very rounded as if
they had just eaten... I also noticed about 7 much smaller fry in the tank... am
I crazy to think that these are new fry??
<Well, if there are baby fish there, and just the one female, then yes, they're
hers! Guppies tend to produce batches of fry every 4-6 weeks, but this will vary
depending on things like diet and water temperature.>
Please let me know. Oh, just to let you know, this same mother just birthed
another 40-something fry on Saturday.....Holy-Moly....
<At some point you will need to restrict the numbers of fry; rearing huge
numbers isn't practical unless you have a lot of ~10 gallon tanks to keep them
in and to separate off males from females. Pet shops want quality, true-breed
rather than mongrel Guppies or deformed fancies, so you also need to be sensible
about selecting good specimens of a single variety. The mantra for any fish
breeder is that it isn't quantity but quality you're after.>
Thanks for your time,
Yvonne
<Cheers, Neale.>
guppy not having babies – 07/14/08
i got a guppy and she has had babies before but i am never awake to catch
the babies they are usually all gone so i bought a trap put the preg guppy in it
to get babies i put her in when she looked really fat and the gravix spot was
dark black and its been 3 days and has not had babies what could cause this?.
<Likely she's eaten them. The "gravid spot" isn't a terribly reliable indicator
so don't get too hung up on it. The best way to ensure good broods of livebearer
fry is to fill the tank with floating plants, such as Hornwort or Elodea. Every
morning, look for fry, and remove them to your breeding tank. With most
livebearers, batches of fry are delivered 4-6 weeks after insemination.>
another thing is i read that some fish breed during the rainy season so they
might have babies if u simulate rain or change the temperature is this true?
<Not for Guppies, no.>
also is there a sign when she will have her babies like will she swim at the
bottem of the trap or some thing plz help me thanks
<Not this easy, I'm afraid. There's an art to breeding all fish, even Guppies,
that comes with experience. And please, hit the Shift key periodically next time
and try and put capital letters in places where most of us expect them. Call me
an old fuddy-duddy, but when I see people who don't use capital letters, I
assume that they're either five years old or else had a bad experience with a
personal pronoun at some dive bar in Vegas. Basic grammar is in fact the only
thing we ask from people who send in questions, right on the page where you
found our e-mail address. Cheers, Neale.>
re: guppy not having babies
i have her in a trap that the babies slide throught a v ans its been three
days what should do it looks like she is going to explode and she is still
eating. and i do not have a tank to put her in due to the fact i cannot buy
plants
<Please check your grammar and spelling before submitting questions to WWM. See
here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/question_page.htm
You won't just be helping us to help you, you'll also be making it possible for
us to share this discussion with others around the world, which is the whole
point of the site.
Cheers, Neale.>
Questions!! Guppy repro., ant control
6/3/08
Hey!!
<... okay>
I have a couple of questions for you. First of all, my friend is having trouble
with breeding the guppies that I gave her. With my guppies, I've noticed that
right before they give birth, they form point at the anal fin.
<Mmm, I usually go with the darkening of the area of the vent (from the young's
eyes), a lightening of color at the vent itself>
She thought she saw a point forming so she put her guppy in her breeding trap.
After 5 minutes, the point went down and the guppy did not give birth. She has
released the guppy into her tank again and now it looks more like it's pregnant.
Is the reason for this to happen because she
stressed the guppy out?????
<Likely so... not good to move livebearers so close to parturition>
Also, I e-mailed you guys a couple weeks earlier about my tank being infested
with ants. I can't find the way that they are entering in. Every time i suck
them up with the vacuum, they come back within a hour. Any other advice?
<Boric acid granules around the outside of the tank, and Silicone lube on cords,
airlines will form an impenetrable barrier>
Oh....I almost forgot. My dad bought those plastic ant traps to put up but we
don't know where to put them.
<Mmm, if they're just sticky types most anywhere... if pesticide-laden not
anywhere near the tank... for fear of poisoning.>
Thanks!!!
-Sarah
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>
Guppies, Reproduction 5/6/08
How fast do they reproduce and are they livebearers
<All your answers can be found here in an excellent article by our very own
Neale Monks.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/guppies.htm >
<Chris>
Guppies/Breeding 3/31/08
I am new to this website and I love it.
<Thank you.>
This morning my momma guppy gave birth this morning to 20 or 21 beautiful
healthy babies and one miscarriage. How do I know when to take her out of the
tank and when she is done. She hasn't eaten any yet but she has tried. The
little guppy babies are actually amazing swimmers and quite fast as well.
<You can take mother out now. Generally, all fry are released within a few
hours.
You may be interested in reading here.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/guppies.htm
James (Salty Dog)>
guppies... Lucy,
you got some 'splaining to do! 3/30/08
Hello , I was wondering if you can help im new to the aquarium business and
I have had a tank set up for 10 days and went and got some guppies yesterday ,I
bought 2 females and 6 males
<Disaster waiting to happen... always keep more females than males, or just
males by themselves. When too many males to the females, the females get
harassed constantly, effectively being gang raped every single day! Not nice. If
there are twice as many females than males, then the females get some respite.
Hiding places will help, and certainly you shouldn't keep males and females
together in tanks smaller than 20 gallons.>
and by the evening I could see that one of the females abdomen was huge and had
a very dark spot at the bottom ,which I thought doesn't take a genius to know
that she was having babies but I thought maybe it was too quick the way her
abdomen swelled ,when I checked this am the abdomen has gone down and the dark
spot isn't as prominent, I've been looking in the tank for any babies but I cant
see any, but I can see hidden at the bottom back of a artificial plant a thick
cotton wooly type mass attached ?
<Don't really understand what you're saying here. Lack of grammar isn't helping.
Anyway, when pregnant, yes, females will swell up somewhat. Often (but certainly
not always) a dark patch around the anal fin becomes apparent. Gestation lasts
about 6 weeks, plus or minus a bit depending on environmental conditions.
Guppies don't lay eggs, and if you're seeing anything "fluffy" in an aquarium,
that's likely fungus. This means you have poor water conditions, likely from
overfeeding, overstocking, or under-filtration.>
I am confused as to whether this could be anything a nest ? or is it likely that
the babies have been eaten ? ,I have little neon tetras ,zebra & leopard
Danios
Pakistani loach, and a Cory catfish in the tank also .many thanks look forward
to hearing from you Rhiannon
<Cheers, Neale.>
Pregnant guppy not swimming,
not much needed data... 3/14/08
Hi,
<Betsy>
We have a guppy who is very pregnant. Yesterday she started laying on the side
of the breeder tank. She is still breathing and will swim every now and then.
Does this mean she is in labor or is she sick?
<Perhaps a bit of both... but... not good behavior>
Hope you can help with our questions! Thanks
Betsy
<I would NOT move this fish (too easy to damage), but would take great care in
feeding very little, and would add a bit of "floating grass"... See WWM, search
tool, with the term... Myriophyllum, Ceratophyllum, Anacharis/Elodea/Egeria...
Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/guppyreprofaqs.htm
and the above linked files for more background. Bob Fenner>
Guppy fry – 03/10/08
hi,
I have looked all over for information on the growth rates of guppy fry and when
they will begin to show colour and I have found conflicting answers. I have read
one article that said they will show colour at 60 days and others that have said
6 months! mine are about 3 months old and seem to have stopped growing
completely and only show a tiny hint of colour. the two guppy mothers were a
yellow guppy (silver body and a yellow tail) and a tequila sunrise guppy, which
both mated with a dark blue and orange male. I was wondering how long it usually
takes to show colour on their tales (they all appear to be females but I've also
read that males can look like females until they are full grown)? I was also
wondering how old they should be before selling them because I definitely don't
have room for them all.
thank you!
Michelle
<Hello Michelle. Females Guppies take around 3 months to reach sexual maturity,
males a little less. You should be able to sex males after about two months, but
this varies depending on how fast they are growing, and this depends how much
they are eating and how warm they are being kept. Shops are not interested in
Guppies until they are at least 3 months old, and likely larger, because they
have to be big enough *not* to be eaten by other fish. Stores aren't generally
wild about mongrel Guppies either, which is why breeders always keep one strain
to a tank. I'm a big fan of mongrel Guppies though -- they have been
scientifically proven to be hardier and more adaptable for a start -- but I may
as well be honest and tell you that you may have problems getting rid of your
stock. Finally, please remember we usually only answer messages written
properly, i.e., with capital letters where they should be. I was feeling kind
this morning, but next time please show us at least some respect by making the
huge effort of holding down the shift key when starting new sentences. Cheers,
Neale.>
Pregnant obsessed male, Guppy
12/30/07
I have a male guppy that has picked up a very odd habit. Out of all six
females he is currently with, he obsesses over a single pregnant one.
<Hmm... not really odd. She's presumably bigger than the others, but whatever,
male Guppies harass female Guppies. In the wild the males get eaten by predators
very quickly, so the females get a break. But in the aquarium... we recommend
providing lots of floating plants and swimming space to keep things as tolerable
as possible.>
Three of the females I bought from a breeder are virgin, never been pregnant
before girls, but he has absolutely no interest in any of them, even though they
actively seek him out. The one he constantly chases after and tries to breed
with, is the largest and very pregnant, one there.
<Annoying perhaps, but happens.>
He's stressing the poor girl out pretty badly and I'd hate to see her
miscarriage my line of green cobra fry. I want to move her badly, but the only
other tank currently in working condition is my fry grow up tank with is
populated by about 20, 3 day old fry.
<Why not move the male to another tank, or even confine it to a SPACIOUS
breeding net (not a small breeding box.>
The third tank of mine, my supposed emergency tank, got knocked out of
commission thanks to an overzealous cat 2 days ago.
<Oh.>
Is there anything I could possibly do in the community tank to make him give her
a break?
<Not really. Bigger tank, more females, more plants... all these things would
help. But as fond of Guppies as I am, they aren't very smart, and nothing you
can do will re-educate him!>
Or does this particular male have a preggo obsession?
<Looks like it, yes. Cheers, Neale.>
Weird guppy breeding mystery
11/26/07
Hey,
<What?>
I just got home yesterday from WVA and my older brother took care of the fish.
Well, when I got home, I checked my pregnant guppy. Her belly was gigantic but
her black dot wasn't completely black yet.
<The "Gravid Spot" is a very unreliable indicator of pregnancy. It's a clue, but
not the clincher.>
So I decided to wait a couple of days till I would put her in my breeder. I
found out today that her belly shrunk in size and her black dot was pink again.
I didn't find any babies.
<She probably ate them. Breeders really don't work all that well. Next time
stock the main tank with floating plants like Hornwort. Each morning, check for
babies. They'll hide there away from the other fish. Collect the babies, and
move to a trap or another tank.>
-Help!! I'm confused!?!?
-Sarah
<Hope this helps, Neale.>
Sexing Guppies
10/2/07
Hi,
How long does it take to tell the gender of baby guppies.
<Guppies are quite easy to sex (as well as fast growing) and it should be clear
within the first month. Certainly by the end of the second month you should have
the boys and girls separated if you intend to keep the females as "virgins" for
a proper breeding program. Cheers, Neale>
Guppies, repro., Myxosoma
– 10/28/07
hi, i just emails you about the different color swordtails. this time i have
a different question about fancy guppies.
<OK.>
one of my mollies died from whirling disease so i got a male and a female fancy
guppies.
<Never heard of "whirling disease". Check water quality and water chemistry.
Livebearers need HARD and ALKALINE water to do well. Mollies (arguably) need
slightly brackish conditions; they are certainly easier to keep in brackish
water. So adding around 3-9 grammes of marine salt mix per litre helps them
enormously. Other livebearers are fine with this amount of salt, but most other
tropical freshwater fish are not. This is why I don't recommend Mollies for
beginners or for community tanks.>
the pet store also gave me a baby because all the others were eaten. my female
guppies is pregnant but the male is chasing away all the males in the tank
(actually all the males and a tetra that i cant tell) but he is also what seems
to be him trying to impregnate all the females. is it possible to have a guppies
mate with a tetra, molly, swordtail, or platy.
<Obviously there are two things going on here. Yes, male Guppies are
promiscuous, and will try to mate with every female Guppy in the tank, and often
with other small livebearers of similar type. But Guppies are also territorial;
the males try to dominate a patch of water, and will drive away any potential
rivals. In small aquaria this often manifests itself as aggression towards the
other fish in the tank.>
please help me. he seems to be very territorial with the males too.
<Not much I can say except this is normal for Guppies. This is the importance of
researching fish beforehand, so you know the potential problems. Throwing a
bunch of species together and hoping for the best isn't wise. Your local pet
store doubtless sells cats, dogs, mice and rabbits. But put them all together in
one cage and there'd be carnage! Just so with fish: just because your pet store
sells a variety of fish, doesn't mean they will all get along together. Cheers,
Neale>
<<Hi Neale. Though there are several causative mechanisms for the descriptor
"Whirling disease", one in fisheries is prominent: Look for the term/organism
Myxosoma cerebralis... Cheers, BobF>>
Re: Myxosoma – 10/28/07
Cool! Learned something new today. But be that as it may, I can't see
anything relating Myxosoma to Poecilia (Mollienesia) spp. Presumably more likely
to be "the Shimmies" in Poecilia (Mollienesia) spp., and that definitely is
brought on by improper water chemistry, poor water quality. As ever, please
edit, fix my replies as you see fit.
Cheers, Neale
<I do agree with your assessment. BobF>
Pregnant Guppy 10/20/07
Hello,
I love your website and have found it very helpful.
<That's good!>
I am fairly new to the whole guppy fish thing and am experiencing my first
pregnant fish. I currently have a 30 gallon community tank and my newest
additions where 3 female guppies (unfortunately one recently pasted away) My
biggest female guppy is pregnant, or appears to be so, she has the swollen belly
with now a square-ish body and the black spot right behind her abdomen.
<That's the so-called gravid spot.>
When I purchased her, she was already pregnant, but it was hard to tell if she
was pregnant or just fat.
<If she's been with males, she's pregnant.>
The reason I say this is because she is silver, but she has a black tail and
orange fin. The black starts mid-abdomen.
<Don't get too hung up on the gravid spot. It isn't very reliable, and its
visibility depends on the size of the fish and it's colouration.>
I recently noticed that she was watching herself on the side of the tank as she
was swimming, she wasn't eating when I fed the other fish. So I put the breeding
box in the tank, and place her in it, turned the overhead light off and let the
fish be. I do have a black light behind the tank so I could
still see her. A few hours after I put her in the box I noticed that she started
shacking and appeared to be pushing.
<Not a big fan of breeding traps. The problem is they often stress the females,
leading to miscarriages. Guppies are usually fine, but Mollies, Swordtails and
Halfbeaks go nuts.>
I left her alone, this morning when I woke up, I checked on her and there where
no babies, but she was all silver now. The color had completely faded from her
tail and fin.
<Hmm... I'd personally take her out the trap. The mother's health comes first.
Eventually the babies will come out, and if you have some floating plants (even
pondweed, like Elodea) then some babies will survive hidden there long enough
for you to gather them up each day and put into the breeding trap (or breeding
tank).>
After I put my son on the school bus and got ready for work, I checked on her
before I left for work and she was starting to get some of the color back. Am I
wrong in thinking she was in labor and should I let her out of the breeding box
and is the color changes normal?
<Fish change colour for a variety of reasons, but stress is one of them.>
Thanks
Katie
<Hope this helps, Neale>
Pregnant Guppy Died 9/11/07
Hi there
I not too sure if you could help me out here, I have had a few pregnant guppies
over the last 12 months and we have only managed to save a few of the fry (not
been able to get the time right for putting them in the breeding net). But this
week the latest pregnant guppy died - she got a lot larger than the others did
and started swimming at a funny angle with the head pointing upwards (I have
been told that this could be sign she is about to have to her babies) so I put
her in the breeding net.
About a hour later I went to check on her and she was still enormous, would not
eat her food and just sitting on the bottom of the net. I honestly thought that
she was on her way but about another hour later I went to check on her and she
was on her side dead and there were loads of red lines on her tummy. We checked
out water and it was fine so we ask our local fish store to check it and they
said it was fine but could not give us any advice on what had happened with her,
if you don't mind I would really like some advice as we still have another
pregnant guppy and I DON'T want to lose her as well?
Thanks in advance
Mandy
<Hello Mandy. From your description, it's almost certain that the embryos in her
uterus died and began decomposing, and fungal and bacterial infections set in,
eventually killing the fish. Why this happens I cannot say, but genetics may be
a factor, as are likely diet and water quality. Putting aside genetics, which
you can really only fix by selecting stock more carefully, look at diet and
water chemistry. Guppies need green foods. Lots of people forget this, and just
give 'em plain old flake. That's not good enough. At the very least, they should
be given algae-based flake INSTEAD of tropical fish flake. There are lots of
brands, sold as Spirulina flake or livebearer flake. Guppies will also take a
variety of green foods from the kitchen: squished tinned peas, sliced cucumber,
spinach, Sushi Nori, and so on. Next up, water. Fancy guppies are just not
hardy, and people are often surprised when they die when kept in "ordinary"
aquaria. Wild guppies are practically indestructible, it is true, but not
fancies. So you need to keep a close eye on the water quality and chemistry.
Zero ammonia and nitrite, obviously, are important. But large, regular water
changes are non-negotiable too. 50% a week would be a good starting point.
Guppies absolutely must have hard, alkaline water. A pH around 7.5-8 plus
hardness of 15 degrees dH upwards are required. Some people like to add a little
salt to the water in guppy tanks. This won't do any harm (guppies can live in
seawater!) and marine salt mix at least will help raise the hardness and pH if
you live in a soft water area. Salt also has a mild therapeutic effect on
livebearers particularly, reducing their sensitivity to nitrate. On the plus
side, what you describe isn't "a disease" and won't be caught by the other
guppies. All I can suggest is you optimise conditions for the remaining fish as
far as possible. Avoid using breeding traps -- they stress the females. Instead,
use the traps to isolate baby guppies once you've found them. Filling the tank
with floating plants (hornwort is ideal) is the best approach. This gives the
babies someplace to hide. You can then remove them every day as you find them,
and put them in the trap. Don't "trap" baby guppies for more than a couple of
weeks, and remove them to their own aquarium as soon as possible. That's the
only way to rear substantial numbers of healthy, full-sized fish. Cheers, Neale>
Re: Pregnant Guppy Died
9/11/07
Thanks very much for the quick reply: the water quality is fine the LFS
checked it also for me no ammonia, nitrite or nitrate I checked the hardness
using strips I it says GH 120 mg/L and KH40 mg/L but I have no idea what that
means though - I feed the fish Tetra Pro colour once daily one day a week they
get live blood worm and a couple of times a week I put in a couple of Algae
wafers and then about once a fortnight I put in a few fresh peas which they
really seem to like. I do have a lot of plants in my tank but I don't what any
of them are called so I am going to go to the fish store and see if they have
any of that hornwort and whilst I am there I will look for some livebearer food
- however would this cause problems for the Rams?
I do only do a 15% water change every week so I guess I will need to do more in
future then however I do add salt at every water change as I have been told that
fish really do need it
Regards
Mandy
<Greetings. Your water is not ideal for guppies. Assuming that the general
hardness is quoted in mg/l of calcium oxide (10 mg/l CaO = 1 degree dH) then
your hardness is borderline between slightly soft and moderately hard. One
degree of carbonate hardness = ~18 mg/l calcium carbonate so you have about 2.5
degrees on the KH scale, which is a very low level of carbonate hardness. You
need to kick these up a bit for long-term success with livebearers. I'd suggest
adding crushed coral to a box or canister filter, but any aquarium book will
reveal some of the other options available. Moving onto diet. Colour-enhancing
food is fine as a treat, but that's not what these fish need. They are
algae-eaters and insect-eaters, and you need to respect that. Make NOT LESS than
50% of their meals algae-based flake food. Spirulina flake is ideal. This is
really non-negotiable with livebearers. Colour-enhancing food doesn't really
have much of an effect on their colours, and frankly a healthy diet will bring
out the best colours too. Just as with people, beauty comes from the inside.
Your cichlids will happily eat algae-based food, and in fact most cichlids are
at least in part herbivorous and the change will do them good. Hornwort
(Ceratophyllum spp.) is easy and cheap to obtain. It's sometimes sold as pond
plant. Yes, you need more water changes. You are correct about salt, most fish
don't need it. But in some (few) cases, salt can be helpful. If you live in a
soft water area (as you seem to) adding marine salt mix to the guppy aquarium
helps. Never, EVER use domestically softened water in an aquarium, by the way.
One last thing: rams and guppies are completely and utterly incompatible. For
one fish to stay healthy, the other must be exposed to the wrong conditions.
Rams need warm (28-30 degrees C) water with very low hardness (< 6 degrees GH, <
5 degrees KH) water with a high level of acidity (pH 5-6). Guppies want moderate
temperatures (24-26 C), hard water (15+ degrees dH, 10+ degrees KH) with an
alkaline pH (7.5-8.5). Guppies have a high tolerance of salt (up to seawater
salinity) while rams have virtually none at all. There is no way, in the long
term, to keep these fish healthy in the same aquarium. Zip. Zero. Nada. Nix.
When kept too cold, rams become prone to Hexamita, hole-in-the-head, and other
diseases. When kept in acidic water, guppies are prone to finrot and fungus. And
I could go on. Please, take some time to read about the requirements of what
different fish need to coexist together in the same tank. Just as penguins and
elephants have different needs, so too do different species of fish. Cheers,
Neale.>
Re: Pregnant Guppy Died
9/12/07
Thanks again - I had no idea about this difference and the man at the pet
shop knew what fish we had - will really have to make a decision now - thanks
again
Regards
Mandy
<Indeed all fish have particular needs. Establish what water chemistry you have
"out of the tap", and then choose fish to suit that. Any aquarium book will list
hardness and pH requirements. When you choose fish that *like* your water to
begin with, everything about the hobby becomes an order of magnitude easier.
Cheers, Neale>
Dead pregnant guppy
8/16/07
Hi,
<Hello.>
I had a pregnant fancy guppy who was in fine health. I put a new male fancy
guppy in the tank with her 2 weeks ago, he was quite active and a bit aggressive
which is why I chose him, as my previous male guppy had been picked on by my
tetras. (I have 3 balloon mollies, 2 painted tetras, 1 pleco, and these 2
guppies).
<Surely the better solution would have been to remove the tetras? Painted tetras
are, I believe, albino Gymnocorymbus ternetzi that have been injected (into the
muscles) with with fluorescent dyes. Do you realise that this is done without
anaesthesia and large numbers of them die in the process? It also weakens their
immune system. It's possibly one of the nastiest and more venal aspects of the
fishkeeping hobby, and if I could, I'd run up to the guys who do it and inject
their muscles with massive amounts of fluorescent dye and see if they liked it!
Please please please do not support this evil trade, and do not buy painted
fish. In addition, Gymnocorymbus ternetzi are notorious fin-nippers. A guppy is
a swimming buffet as far as they are concerned.>
The male had always 'bothered' the female and constantly swims by her side
(maybe trying to mate??). She has given birth before (by mating with my previous
male) and been fine afterwards.
<Yes, he's partly trying to mate, but he's also "guarding" the female to prevent
another male from mating with her. This way, he monopolizes what, in his mind at
least, is a limited resource: fertile females. Now, guppies should ALWAYS be
kept either as single sex groups or in mixed sex groups where the females
OUTNUMBER the males by at least 2 to 1. No-one listens when experienced
fishkeepers tell them this, because they think it's cute to have a boy and a
girl, and the boys are prettier anyway. And then, they end up with stressed or
dead female guppies.>
I did a 30% water change 36 hours ago and they all were acting fine. She may
have had a slight decrease in appetite, not too sure. I did not see any signs of
health problems with her. She was a big slower due to her swollen belly. In any
case, I came home today to find, sadly, my pregnant female guppy dead with her
tail and fins bitten off.
<Well, the Gymnocorymbus ternetzi may well have eaten her fins, and the Plec
will eat a dead fish given the chance.>
I was expecting her to give birth within a week or so. (I'm so sad she died!).
<Yes, I understand, and I'm sorry for your loss.>
1) Is it possible the male killed her?? If so, how can I prevent this in the
future? I'd prefer not to get him more females as I am afraid of overloading the
tank.
<Yes, the male could well have stressed her. In a small tank (anything less than
20 gallons in this case) the female would have had no place to hide. He would
stress her by chasing, and also preventing her from feeding properly. While male
guppies generally don't kill the females outright, what they do is make it more
difficult for the female guppies to stay healthy.>
2)The male guppy is now swimming alongside the mollies and bothering them... Is
he trying to mate? Does he need a female guppy's company?
<Yes, he's treating the mollies as if they were guppies. Mollies and guppies are
members of the same genus, Poecilia, and will even (occasionally) hybridise.
Both guppies and mollies should be kept in groups. They aren't schooling fish as
such, but they are sociable.>
I'm very upset about her death, and would really like to prevent it from
happening again. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
<My advice is that you go buy or borrow a book about Livebearing fishes. Or at
the very least read some of the articles here at WWM (see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwlivestkindex.htm )
on the subject. Lots of people get even the basics wrong. These fish need hard,
alkaline water. Some (mollies for example) need brackish water to do reliably
well. All are more or less herbivorous, so at least half the diet should be
green foods, not standard flake. Get these things wrong, and livebearers won't
do well. Simple as that. Cheers, Neale>
Re: dead pregnant guppy
8/16/07
Update:
I decided to try and dissect the female to see if I would see any eggs/embryos
in her, and when I dissected near what I thought was her gravid spot I did not
find anything (however, it was a messy, not too accurate dissection... I don't
usually keep a mini dissecting kit around =)) Anyways, I found some pale
yellowish gel-like liquid, and other organs/intestines... nothing resembling
offspring, although I'm not too familiar with fish anatomy. Is it possible she
wasn't pregnant? I noticed her 'gravid spot' getting larger and darker in the
past couple of weeks, and she definitely looked more swollen this past week. I
did not see what she looked like the last time she was pregnant, so this was my
first time observing what I thought was a pregnant female.
<Interesting. To be fair though, after a couple of hours in a tropical aquarium,
decay of the insides of a fish is significant, and you won't see all that much.
So it's difficult to explain things from your observation. Female guppies when
kept with male guppies are almost always pregnant, but at the early stages of
gestation the fry are very small and difficult to see.>
Also, could the water change have been too stressful for her? I had my hand in
the tank to move around some of the plants/decorations and fix the filter
orientation. It took about a half an hour.
<Water changes, done properly, aren't a problem. Even a 100% water change is
fine. What matters is that the pH and hardness of the new water and the old
water are very similar, and the temperature difference is small (a sudden drop
in temperature by a degree or two is harmless, and even therapeutic, prompting
many species to spawn).>
Thanks again for your help!
<Good luck, Neale>
I need some answers... Guppy repro. 8/12/07
First of all - I am really new at having livebearing fish. I have a 10
gallon tank with 2 Mickey mouse platys, one yellow molly and 3 guppies - 1 male
and 2 females. One of my guppies, became pregnant, I don't know if by MY male or
one at the pet store, but that doesn't really matter I guess. Anyway, I ordered
a brand new 5 gallon fish tank off of eBay, because they had a pretty purple
one, and I wanted it... I was going to use it for the fry when she had them. But
I misjudged how far along she was and it hasn't arrived yet. So the other day, I
was getting sick of waiting for it and knew she was going to pop any day, and I
went out and got a breeder tank with a nursery in the bottom. The minute I got
home, I cleaned it and put it in the tank with the pregnant female inside.
Within 10 minutes, there were 4 fry in the bottom.
<What timing!>
The next morning I woke up, and there were still only 4 in there, so thinking
she was done giving birth, I released her back into the tank with the others.
The fry are doing well, but the mother still looks VERY pregnant, and her gravid
spot is still very black. What does this mean? And what should I do??
<Very likely this female will have more young... I would place her back in the
breeder tank... and feed frequently, small amounts, add a sprig of real or
artificial "grass" (like Myriophyllum, Parrot Feather...) to discount
cannibalism... and enjoy! Bob Fenner>
Baby Guppies - 08/11/07
My guppy just had her babies last night and this being the first time having
any kind of baby fish, I am very excited! I read somewhere that feeding them
cooked egg yolk is good for the babies when you have nothing else, is that true?
<Mmm, can be... better for most folks, times to simply grind up fine some flake
or pelleted foods... feed frequently, but small amounts... a few times daily>
Because they seem to love it and are very happy. There are 4 of them but since I
wasn't watching her have babies I don't know how many she ate. The most
important question I have is out of the 4 of them, 3 are happily swimming around
and are healthy, but the 4th one is curled up in a ball and is swimming in
circles kind of fast, so it shows he has just as much energy as the other 3. I
want to know if that's something he/she will grow out of it and develop
normally. It's kind of sad to watch. Thanks!! ^_^
<I do hope your little fish rallies... Nothing to do here but hope really. Bob
Fenner>
Guppies,
repro. 8/6/07
< Hi Linda, Twothless here with you>
My granddaughter was given three male guppies and two female
guppies in a jar, can you believe that?
<Certainly. You can win a Goldfish in a bag at Fairs/Carnivals.
It's sad that these poor animals are subjected to torture due to
ignorance. But, I digress.>
Well, I bought her a ten gallon tank with filtering system,
gravel, plants, sea shells, a castle. I wanted the best for
these little guys. I got up last week and saw something in the
water and realized someone had babies, lot and lots of babies,
I'm counting 20+. So, not knowing anything at all about these
guys I found your site and read several hours, great site by the
way, and found that I needed to get the babies safe, so I bought
another 10 gallon aquarium and moved the adults to the new one.
The babies are growing, eating and are playful little guys, they
are doing great. My question is, hmm, well, the three male
guppies will not quite chasing this one large female, it seemed
cruel to me that they just won't let her alone, so I have taken
a small minnow bucket my husband had in his work shop and he cut
the top off and I sank it in the aquarium so that she has her
own little house to live in. It gives her half the tank and what
I feel like is some much needed rest and privacy. The males
can't get to her, ha ha. I am not going to put yet another
aquarium and I would like to know if I should give up a couple
of the males, which I would hate to do, they are real beauties,
or in time will the leave the female alone? I can't put her back
in with the babies yet, they are only a week old. I just feel
like its cruel for her to be chased by the males all the time.
They didn't bother her before, why won't they leave her alone
now? What would you do?
<Good question! I would utilize a breeding net/frame for the
babies. They hang on the tank and the holes are too small for
babies to fit through. The mother should be fine back in the
main area with the males. However, the ratio needs to be at
least 3 females to every male so that no one female gets too
stressed. So, raise a couple female fry to add to the main
population to keep a good ratio. Put the rest of the fry, and
all ensuing batches, into jars and give them away to children...
Hahaha, I'm kidding! The fry will either need to be given to a
local pet shop or some other scenario will need to be worked
out. I keep guppies in my turtle pond but I let nature run it's
course. Guppy breeding is pretty well known and they are well
adept at controlling their own populations through many
contrivances. Good luck with your new Guppies!>
Platies and
guppies? Crosses 8/4/07
Hey there WWM crew,
I couldn't find an answer to this question on the site nor
anywhere else in my books or other online sources, so maybe you
can still help me out. The other day I saw my female guppy
mating with my male platy, and a female platy trying to mate
with just about everyone and anyone. Is this normal first of
all?
<Mmm, yes... Poeciliids are wanton this way>
And secondly is it possible that my female guppy may get
pregnant with a half platy half guppy group of fry? Thank for
your continuous help!
Sincerely,
Erica
<And yes, can occur... Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/livebrrreprofaqs.htm
and some of the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Best Tank to move fry to
7/29/07
Hi Jamie! Twothless here.>
Hello! My name is Jamie and I am very glad to have found your site. We started
our hobby with my son who saved up his money to buy a 48 gallon bowfront tank.
He purchased (among others) two green cobra female guppies and one black-tailed
red male guppy. As can be expected, we have had a guppy fry explosion. =) In
order to better (and more safely) house the babies, we purchased a cycled
ten-gallon tank locally, and added the fry - The 15 or so one-week-old babies
that had survived "Natural Selection" - to the ten-gallon tank. It's now about
five weeks later, and we have the original 15 six-week-olds, about 7
three-week-olds and probably thirty to forty (they are hard to count!) or so
two-week-old groups of fry. The last batch we moved the second female into the
ten-gallon to deliver, so they all survived delivery. I purchased a second tank
- 29 gallon cycled tank from a private party with the notion of trading the fish
that came with it and moving some of the babies into that tank... however, we've since grown attached to the fish that came with that
tank... apparently, this is how the "addiction" begins!
After that lengthy introduction, my question regards the now six-week old
babies. We have a LFS we plan to bring them to, but at their age they'd be sold
as feeders, so we'd like to grow them larger first. I would like to separate the
females from the males and move them to another tank (since the two original
girls should have another batch in a week or two. We are doing partial water
changes two or three times a week right now on the baby tank. The fry are fed
often and I think the six-week olds should just about be old enough to cut back
a bit. Plus -- the thought of 15 breeding guppies (although most of them seem to
be boys at least that we can tell) is a scary thought! Would either of our tanks
be a good location or should I be looking for another tank? We do plan to bring
the male guppy to the LFS (My husband is friends with the owner) to give the
girls a break (and us!) after the next six months. Although, that plan may
change if we find a green cobra male locally.
48 gallon --- Semi-planted, lots of hiding spots - friendly tank. The Columbians
and the Blue Powder Gourami can get a little grumpy around feeding time, but
otherwise they all get along well)
Currently houses the following:
12 Neon Tetras
2 Cardinal Tetras
2 White Cloud Minnows
2 Glo-Light Tetras
2 Columbian Tetras
1 Long-finned Zebra Danio
2 Kuhli Loaches
1 Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami
1 Flame Dwarf Gourami
2 Ghost Shrimp
2 Green Cobra Female Guppies
1 Half-Black Red-Tailed Male Guppy (Will be brought to LFS)
1 Common Pleco (about 5" -- Purchased before we knew how big they get -- we will
have to make a decision about him soon)
29 Gallon - Semi-Planted with Driftwood - This was bought as an established
tank. The fish all get along with each other, although the larger SAE will chase
the smaller one occasionally. The Clown Loaches are pretty inseparable)
Currently Houses the following:
2 Otos
2 Large Siamese Algae Eaters (one 5"-6"; one is 3-4")
2 Clown Loaches (One 5" or so the other is 3 or 4")
1 Boesemanni Rainbow Fish (About 3"-4")
Any thoughts that you have on this would be very appreciated. There is another
20 gallon tank that I am looking at locally (is there a twelve-step program??)
for a good price... but of course, it comes with a Black Tip shark <Bala
Shark?>(which we would absolutely trade in -- we don't have any aggressive
fish), a Kuhli Loach, (we would keep! We love these little guys!) an algae eater
(hopefully not another one that gets big), Skirted Tetra, and a couple of others
that she can't identify.
< Well, you certainly ARE pushing the limits of stocking densities there. But,
if your a nitrAte testing water change freak like I am, then all is well...
Well, if you're asking which tank I think the fry would be better off maturing
in, I would say the larger of the tanks. It seems to have an environment
conducive to the guppies growth and reproduction anyway. So, why change what
seems to be working, right? Your only problem now is how are you going to keep
the young males from flying in under the radar and sowing his seed. -Twothless>
Thanks very much for your time!
Jamie
<No worries! Good luck with your fry and... ahem.... addiction. -Paul
Birthing without a mate?
Guppies 7/28/07
My daughter's guppy gave birth to 4 live guppies on May 20. We purchased her
pregnant from a pet store. She was removed from the babies immediately and has
been alone since. On July 24 we found 3 new babies in the tank with the mother!
There has not been any other fish with her since the birth and I am trying to
figure out how this happened? Is this common and is she done? Yikes!
<Greetings. Yes, this is normal. Guppies practise something called
"superfetation" which means that they can divide up the fertilized eggs into
several different batches of embryos. Each batch develops at a different rate,
allowing the female to give birth to a succession of broods following a single
mating.. Their close relatives the dwarf mosquitofish can actually stretch this
out to no fewer than 6 broods from a single mating! Anyway, welcome to the
wonderful world of livebearers! Cheers, Neale.>
Is my guppy pregnant? 7/16/07
Hello,
I have recently purchased two Blue Neon Guppies. One male and one female. I was
told that the female is pregnant and should drop fairly soon. But It has been a
week now and she hasn't seem to have gotten any bigger or smaller. Is there any
other way to tell besides the gravid spot whether she is in fact pregnant?
<Mmm, not practically, no>
I cannot seem to get a clear picture as of yet but I will try extremely hard to
do so. All I can say is she is much bigger then the male but not as bloated as
some of the pictures you have on you web site of pregnant guppies. I am really
interested to know if you have any other information for me. Thank you for your
time
Stephanie Hall
<Patience my friend... all in good time. Livebearers don't "like" being moved...
give her time here. Bob Fenner>
Small guppies
pls help – 07/03/07
Hi
<,>
my problem is i
<I>
had brought a mix of average size guppies about 1 year ago, but when
they had babies they came out very small and have stayed like it... They
have now having babies of their own, and id like to know if the babies
will be normal size or really small, and as to why they are so small...
<Mmm, could be either... perhaps the smallness of the F1 generation was
due to mainly environmental factors, nutrition...>
Will having average size babies be a problem for the female guppies?
<Mmm, no, not likely... will/would just have fewer>
My fish tank is quite large and all tests are fine.. Am at a loss please
help..
In reading some of what other people asking u
<you>
about how to tell preg guppies i took a close picture of a light large
preg guppy, which clearly shows her babies i hope this might help other
guppy keepers.. Thanks pls respond soon
dawn
<Thank you for your image... Will indeed help others. Please run your
correspondence through a grammar, spell checker before sending. Bob
Fenner> |
|
 |
Guppy fry and Sailfin catfish (L83)
6/12/07
Hi,
<Ave!>
I have several aquariums with fancy guppies fry. I keep 1 sailfin catfish
(L83) in every tank and they do a great work.
<Very good.>
However - I have 2 questions:
1. How much salt can be added to the aquarium while the sailfin is there?
what about Epsom salt? (due to guppies with constipation).
<I'd personally not use Epsom salts here but instead simply feed the right
diet. Guppies shouldn't get constipated because they are so easy to feed on
the right foods. Stop using generic fish flake if that's what you're using.
Instead, use livebearer flake, Sushi Nori, thin slices of cucumber, tinned
peas, etc. The good thing is any leftovers will be scarfed up by the
catfish. Only add small amounts of animal protein, ideally "high fibre"
things like brine shrimp and daphnia. The problem with Epsom salts is used
routinely they can interfere with the normal digestive processes of the
fish. Think of Epsom salts as the equivalent of laxatives in humans. Used to
treat an acute case of constipation makes sense, but if the person is
regularly constipated, then laxatives aren't the solution, a change of diet
is.>
2. Can it be that the sailfin will eat live guppy fry? I'm also certain that
I've seen one do it yesterday, while it was looking for the algae wafer. It
was moved to another tank.
<Potentially I suppose it's possible but hardly likely. Under normal
circumstances the guppy fry should be at the top of the tank and swimming
too quickly to be eaten by this catfish. Possibly your catfish will eat a
sick (or stupid) guppy, but hey, that's Nature taking care of culling the
poor quality stock!>
Thanks,
Shay.
<Cheers, Neale
Re: Guppy fry and Sailfin catfish (L83)
6/12/07
Thanks for the answer.
<No problems.>
About the feeding:
I mainly feed the fry with live or frozen baby brine shrimp, Kenfish.com
kens premium growth meal (size 00 and later 01), Hikari Tropical Fancy guppy
and Hikari Tropical first bites.
<All fine foods, but the accent with these foods is on protein rather than
vegetables. There's no escaping the fact guppies are partly herbivorous, and
they need some algae in their diet. Just the same as with humans: give us a
high-protein diet and we may put on weight quickly, but our health isn't
otherwise very good.>
I use automatic feeders to feed all of the above 5 times a day, and give the
baby brine shrimp twice a day after the dry food.
<OK, but do try and focus on the veggies.>
It might be that the constipation isn’t really constipation. Occasionally a
fish will have a swollen up belly, becomes grey, doesn’t eat (even live
brine shrimp), stays at the bottom and dies after several days. Growth rate
is good, and water is kept at 25-28c, changed every 2-3 days 50%. What could
be the cause to that?
<There's always a certain number of baby fish that don't survive. The
reasons are various. Diet is one factor. Genes are another. Water
chemistry/quality a third and fourth. At the end of the day you can't really
expect every single baby fish to make it. You seem to be doing all the right
things, so I wouldn't worry too much. Optimise water chemistry and quality.
For guppies, a fairly high pH and hardness level is needed.>
Thanks again,
Shay.
<Cheers, Neale>
Guppies, repro. - 05/01/07
Hello. My name is Sharon Goglin and I'm 11 years old. I bought a
female guppy and a male guppy.
<Hello, and welcome to the hobby.>
I can't tell if my female is done having babies but she still looks
pregnant. She only had 2 the first time but I can't find the gravid spot
because the female has a clear body and you can see through her. I don't
know if it's the inside of her, or the gravid spot. I don't think I'm
over feeding them. Because I feed them right when I wake up and when I
go to bed. If it will help, I can send a picture of her.
<Females guppies are almost always pregnant when kept with males. The
gravid spot isn't easy to see sometimes, so don't put too
much significance into it. The number of baby guppies varies. But your
biggest problem is that adult guppies will eat the babies if they catch
them. Always put lots of floating plants in the aquarium so the babies
have someplace to hide. Look for them each day, and when you find some,
scoop them out and put them in another aquarium or into a breeding trap
instead the main aquarium.>
PS - Also one of the baby guppies back is shaped in a weird way. It's
head is normal, but the tail slants diagonally upward. How can I fix
this?
<Yes, it is very common for guppies to have deformities at birth.
Breeders usually kill these babies or feed them to larger fish. They
can't be "fixed" In nature, fish produce lots of babies, and let Natural
Selection eliminate any that "don't make the grade".
Thanks, Sharon
<Cheers, Neale>
Superfetation 3/30/07
My son bought a female guppy nearly two months ago, and within the first week
she had 8 babies. She has been kept in a tank by herself for the time since, and
yet she just had three more babies tonight. As they are live bearers, I am not
sure what is going on, and I came across the term superfetation, and wanted to
know exactly what all this meant? Will we have any more babies to deal with?
<Mmm, plainly put, this is the capacity to store viable sperm in (this case
female guppies') reproductive tract. A useful strategy for when it "takes two to
tango" and there are no males about. You may indeed have more young from this
"lone" female. Bob Fenner>
Have a stocking question, platy repro. 3/16/07
Good evening,
I find your website most helpful, although overwhelming at times as I am a
beginner at all of this.
<"A few steps... at a time...">
We have a 10 gal. tank for our 7 year old that we established in
October. Heated, has filter and currently has 2 male guppies and one male platy
and one female platy who has gifted us with 13 fry over the past 4 weeks (we got
her the beginning of January already pregnant~surprise! we thought she was a
male). The male platy is not doing so well and is behaving much like the
previous 2 male platys did before their demises in December and January. We
plan on giving the fry to our local Preschool's tank when they are big
enough. The guppies are pretty aggressive so I know we need to get another
female or two in there to help with that
<A good idea>
but are afraid another female platy will come into our home already
pregnant. Is there another breed we can bring in to balance the female/male
ratio to minimize aggression but also prevent us from being a nursery?
<Mmm, not really... all potentially interbreed...>
Of course this is assuming that the male platy doesn't make it. I know the
female can store sperm for 6 months so we are prepared to "parent" until she is
done, but would prefer not to become full-time breeders.
Thanks for a great website!
Bridget
<Am curious, wanting to help with the anomalous losses... If you'd like, please
write back re your system, water quality tests, maintenance routine matters,
behavioural notes. Bob Fenner>
Guppy Question, beh., repro. 1/19/07
Hi,
<<Hi, Goldie. Tom here.>>
I don't really have a problem, just more of a question.
<<We do that kind of thing, too. :) >>
I have two guppies, one male and one female. The female is pregnant. I've read a
lot about guppies, and I'm confused by the behavior of my fish. The male keeps
hiding and swimming away from the female. Also, the female is the one that keeps
attacking the male. Everything I've read says the males are the ones that like
to nip at other fish. I'm confused. I'm positive about the gender of my fish, so
I know I don't have them confused. I haven't seen anyone else write about this,
so I was concerned. Is this normal behavior?
<<This can be completely normal, though not typical, as you’ve already
determined for yourself. In larger groupings, this behavior might not be quite
as apparent but, in a one-on-one situation like you have, it’s pretty sure to
get your attention. I would normally suggest a ratio of one male to three-four
females to keep a male from stressing a lone female to death…sometimes
literally. In your case, you have an ‘alpha’ female in with a fairly timid male.
Might actually prove advantageous in your case but it’s not unknown for a
dominant female to pull a “reverse” and badger a male to death. Hopefully,
she’ll simply keep him “at bay” but keep an eye on them to make sure it doesn’t
get more out-of-hand than that.>>
Goldie
<<Tom>>
Re: Happy Guppies - how to keep males from harassing the females.
1/10/07
Thanks, Jorie, for the reply, it was very helpful.
<I'm glad - that's what I am here for!>
Here is more info on my situation.
<OK>
I also have three Swordtails (7 months) that I have raised from babies. The one
male is separated from sister females at this time and he is peaceful. If I put
him in with his sisters, would he behave as badly as the male guppies do with
their sisters?
<This is largely a matter of each fish's individual personality.>
Or do you think he can live a perfectly happy life without his own kind?
<Absolutely, yes he can. If you don't want to breed the Swordtails, I'd leave
well enough alone and keep him where he's at. No need to look for more problems,
right?!>
He is growing nicely where he is in the 35g.
<Sounds as though he's doing well there.>
My 20g tank is full and established with one large female guppy, 3 gouramis and
the 2 growing sister swordtails. It is a peaceful tank. My 35g is the one out
of balance with the annoying but beautiful 3 male guppies, 2 tired sister
guppies, and the one growing male Sword taking the rest of the brunt from the
male guppies. Any further suggestions with balancing my fish/tank setup?
<I think you can either move the two stressed female guppies into the 20; they
are small enough that they wouldn't significantly alter the bioload. You may
have to move the male sword, then, as well, if he is continued to be picked on
by the male guppy. Or, as you say below, you can add some more female guppies
to the 35 - you certainly have room for 4-6 so more. With livebearers, provided
that you have the room (and I think you do), a good male: female ratio is 1:3,
or even 1:4. Also, the gouramis should control the fry population, I would
think - have they not been eating the fry? That would/should solve the
overpopulation concern you cited in your earlier e-mail.>
I am thinking some more fish for the 35g to establish a better community so that
the male guppies can't annoy everyone all at once, and the fry population stays
in check, as you said.
<Sounds very reasonable. Just be sure to QT all new fish - I've learned this
one the hard way, trust me! Also, if you can add more plants/decor for the
females to find cover in, that may help also...>
I also thought about moving the fish I have around but can't figure anything
that would work any better and would be afraid of losing the fish from the
move. Any suggestions on new fish for the 35g that would work nicely to balance
things out?
<The additional female guppies should help the problem out quite a bit, if not
entirely...>
What would you do?
<Probably add some more female guppies to the 35, as discussed above. Also, add
some more decor and/or plants. I think this should do the trick!>
Thanks again, MDM
<You're welcome - good luck, and enjoy picking out the new girls!! Jorie>
Pregnant guppy harassed by pervs?? 1/2/07
Hi crew..
<Hey PanSy, JustinN with you today>
I've recently just gotten some guppies from an uncle, and they seem to be active
and eating well. It seems that I've got at least one pregnant female and I just
discovered that there are at least 2 others always following closely and even
nipping at her constantly (see photo.. sorry that was the best I could take
using my camera phone). Should I separate her from the rest?
Thanks...
Yours sincerely,
PanSy
<This is very typical behavior for guppies. They are typically kept in groups of
3-4 females per 1 male to break down this taunting and aggression. Hope this
helps you! -JustinN>
Fins of guppy fry 12/19/06
Hello there, I'm pretty new to fishkeeping and got an aquarium a few weeks
ago. I bought some guppies which in turn produced some young. Around three weeks
after their birth I noticed that most of these have almost nonexistent tails
which peter out into a sharp point without ever being broader than the tail bit
that has some skeleton in it.
<Ahh! "Throwbacks" of a sort likely here... more like their genetic
predecessors>
I also noticed that the ones that aren't any particular colour seem to suffer
less from this than the ones that have a dark, almost black back half of their
body.
<Interesting, eh?>
Some of the ones that have particular small tails are also missing the dorsal
fin or have very small ones. The tails don't look particularly ratty and are on
the whole quite symmetrical which lead me to believe that it mightn't be fin rot
but perhaps some genetic thing. Also the adults in the tank seem to be perfectly
fine. The affected young ones seem quite happy and are eating well The only
difference is that they have to move an awful lot to get from point A to B in
the tank. They are slightly smaller than the fish with normal tails perhaps due
to the extra energy they need for swimming?
<Perhaps>
I was wondering if they could be males whose fins still have to develop into
something fancy. Or perhaps they are genetically malformed ones?
<A distinct possibility>
Or after all some disease I haven't heard of. Have you got any ideas about what
might be going on? Thanks very much, cheers,
Silke.
<As you are finding... guppies don't generally breed very "true"... especially
of mixed parentage... Along with this notion is the fact that more first broods
have a higher percentage of such mixed young... And finally, don't be so sure
that these young won't develop better finnage with time... Enjoy the process and
thank you for sharing. Bob Fenner>
My guppies... repro. mostly - 12/04/06
<<Hello, Craig. Tom with you this afternoon.>>
I have just started out so this question might seem a bit strange as I do not
know a lot about aquariums but, I am learning.
<<Never ending, Craig. Not a day goes by that I don’t learn something new.>>
I have 160 liter tank. I have 3 male guppies and 6 female guppies. I was about
to clean out my tank the other day and noticed that my guppies had had babies.
To my surprise, I have now 15 fry. The problem is after I found all the fry I
noticed one of my female guppies was swimming vertically but was going strong.
She’s done this for about 5 days on and off, still eating and swimming about but
then she was lying at the bottom of the tank still breathing, just not moving.
Can you help me with this matter. It would be a great help.
<<Craig, your Guppy is what is known in the hobby as a “livebearer”. In short,
what this means is that the fry are born inside of her and she gives birth to
them “alive” as opposed to her laying eggs that are fertilized by a male and
later ‘hatch’. Sadly, the mother doesn’t always recover well from giving birth
this way. Not uncommon among these types of fish (Mollies, Swordtails, Platys
and Guppies being the most common) but sad nonetheless. I would guess that the
female you refer to is the ‘mom’ in this case and it’s doubtful that there’s
anything that you can do for her. What you can do, in the future (because with
Guppies, there will be future fry!), is to find a way to isolate the female
after she’s given birth. This will give her the time she needs to recover
without being bothered by the males and stressed. (Male Guppies don’t care about
her condition!) You also need to do some research so that you can tell when one,
or more, of the females is pregnant, i.e. the “gravid spot” (right behind her
belly), so you can deal with this situation when it comes up again. Lots of
information on our site and I urge you to do your ‘homework’.>>
Thanks,
Craig
<<Sorry that I couldn’t be more helpful here, Craig. Like it, or not, (and I
don’t, quite frankly) there are situations that come up that there’s little we
can do about. I’m afraid this is one of those. (P.S. Take some time with your
capitalization and punctuation when we hear back from you, which I hope we will.
Saves us a little time in editing for our readers from around the world.) Best
regards. Tom>>
Growth of Guppy Fry - 10/18/06
Hi...
<Hello there - Jorie here.>
When do the babies start to get there color, 'cause I've had my
guppies for about a month or so and they don't seem to be growing very fast?
<Livebearer can take 6-8 mos. to fully develop. Be aware that the fry are more
sensitive to poor water quality than their parents are, so for proper growth and
development, it is paramount to keep the water clean. Also, what type of food
are you feeding them? I use Hikari's First Bites for my baby mollies...seems to
provide them with all the nutrition they need. Jorie>
Guppies And Bettas - 10/14/06
Hi. I have had my betta [Sushi] for 2 or three months. I have recently moved
him into a 10 gallon tank. The tank has mirrored glass walls so when he sees his
reflection he gets bigger, I know why but is it healthy?
< After a while he should get used to it and settle down.>
And I have tried to turn on the filter but every time I do his fins get sucked
into it. I am scared that his fins will be damaged so I shut off the filter. Do
you recommend sponge filters?
< Look online or at you local fish store for a pre-filter sponge. They are
usually sold for power heads but many will fit some outside power filters too.
They clog pretty quickly so you will have to take them out and clean them
weekly. Sponge filters are great. they just don't look so good in a display
tank.>
In addition to this I just got three guppies, 2 females and one male and put
them in the tank with my betta. The females don't swim around much, they just
sit at the bottom. Is it because my betta is in there?
< Sitting on the bottom doesn't sound right, they may be ill.>
Also my female guppies are as big as the male, which is pretty small. All the
things I've read about female guppies say they should be bigger than the males.
And I want to breed my guppies but not sure how. I know if my female, if
pregnant, and has her fry in the tank the betta will eat them. I plan to take
out the betta if one of my females have fry, but will the male eat them.
Thanks for your time Shelby, age 12
< The females should be bigger than the males. Get the water temp. up to 80 F
and feed them high quality food and they will grow up in no time. They are
livebearers, so when a female is pregnant and ready to give birth she should be
removed to her own tank. In the tank you can get a livebearer trap from the LFS.
This will allow the fry to swim away from the female and hopefully not get
eaten. All the fish will eat guppy fry, so raise them until they are large
enough to go back in with the adults.-Chuck>
Female guppy, repro. issue - 09/14/06
I recently got my tank all set up again, I had mollies before
and had several batches of fry from them. I now have guppies. One of
my females was getting huge so I set her up in a breeder tank with
some floating plants in it to give the fry a place to hide.
<Good>
She had 7 fry two days ago, and I separated her out into a floating
breeder tank so that she wouldn't eat the babies. My question is, her
belly although a lot smaller than before is still very dark, and
looks how it did before having the other babies. She doesn't seem in
distress and is eating and swimming just fine. But is it possible
for guppies to have fry in batches over a few days?
<Possible, yes... but unusual for parturition to last this long>
I don't want to put her in with the rest until I'm sure she's done
cause as it is the other fish are trying to get the fry through the
netting.
I would greatly appreciate any help you can offer.
thank you
Laurie
<I would leave this female where she presently is. Bob Fenner>
Bully Guppies?
9/11/06
Hi.
<<Hi, Joanne. Tom>>
I hope you may be able to answer this question for me.
<<I'll give it my best, Joanne.>>
I have a 180 litre tank in which I currently have 11 neons and 18
assorted male guppies. The tank is heated, has an internal filter,
airstone and fluorescent lighting. My water quality is good and I
have had no problems.
<<11 Neon Tetras and 18 Guppies in the U.S. equivalent of a
48-gallon tank? Joanne, if I weren't happily married, I'd kiss you!
We spend so much time telling hobbyists to get larger tanks for
their pets that it's a breath of fresh air to have someone write in
that has provided room to spare for their "charges". Well done!>>
The fish shoal and seem happy, until now. Last night I realized I
was missing one of the fantail guppies. I have 6 of these. The fish
in question I had always classed as the alpha male as he had the
most beautiful tail!
<<"Alpha-ness" is more behavioral than physical but I understand
your thinking...>>
I eventually found him hiding and his tail was virtually gone.
<<Uh oh...>>
What remained was in tatters and he was obviously scared, seemed to
be shaking and he died minutes later.
<<Sorry to hear this, Joanne.>>
I haven't been able to find any info that says the other guppies
would fight without females present.
<<Not likely that you would, Joanne. In the world of Guppies, the
females do the 'selecting'. The "boys" will show off and try to
attract the attention of the females but an Alpha female is known to
kill a male, or males, that she deems unacceptable for breeding.>>
This only happened after I had added some more guppies 2 days
before.
<<It's possible/plausible that the males may have fought over the
"right" to breed, whether, or not, females were present. The new
additions may have triggered this response but, frankly, this is
speculation on my part.>>
Is it possible they did this?
<<Highly unlikely, though not impossible, that one, or more, of the
new Guppies did this. Typically, the "established" fish have, or
display, dominance over fish that are subsequently added to the
aquarium. (Timing can be very important when adding fish.)>>
If so, do you know why and, can I prevent this from happening again?
<<An educated (and I use the term loosely) guess is that the
established Guppies viewed the new fish as potential breeding
partners. The "subordinate" males went after the most likely
candidate (the He-Bull, in a manner of speaking) in order to
increase their standing with the "females". Since the "predominant"
male is most likely to be chosen to mate with a female, it makes
sense, from the fishes' points of view, to get rid of the biggest
competition. Whether, or not, utilizing a tank divider to keep the
new fish separated from the older ones is really academic. In a
sense, you'd be trying to cheat "Nature". (You might like to see a
Great White Shark live harmoniously with a seal but, it isn't going
to happen.) Bob would have a more eloquent explanation but the fact
is that, in some cases, Nature must run its course.>>
Thank you in advance
Joanne x
<<I hope I've been of some help, Joanne. Tom>>
Mmm, FW guppy damage 9/10/06
Hi.
<<Hi, Joanne. Tom>>
I hope you may be able to answer this question for me.
<<I'll give it my best, Joanne.>>
I have a 180 litre tank in which I currently have 11 neons and 18
assorted male guppies. The tank is heated, has an internal filter,
airstone and fluorescent lighting. My water quality is good and I
have had no problems.
<<11 Neon Tetras and 18 Guppies in the U.S. equivalent of a
48-gallon tank?
Joanne, if I weren't happily married, I'd kiss you! We spend so
much time telling hobbyists to get larger tanks for their pets that
it's a breath of fresh
air to have someone write in that has provided room to spare for
their "charges". Well done!>>
The fish shoal and seem happy, until now. Last night I realized I
was missing one of the fantail guppies. I have 6 of these. The fish
in question I had always classed as the alpha male as he had the
most beautiful tail!
<<"Alpha-ness" is more behavioral than physical but I
understand your thinking...>>
I eventually found him hiding and his tail was virtually gone.
<<Uh oh...>>
What remained was in tatters and he was obviously scared, seemed to
be shaking and he died minutes later.
<<Sorry to hear this, Joanne.>>
I haven't been able to find any info that says the other guppies
would fight without females present.
<<Not likely that you would, Joanne. In the world of Guppies,
the females do the 'selecting'. The "boys" will show off and try to
attract the attention
of the females but an Alpha female is known to kill a male, or
males, that she deems unacceptable for breeding.>>
This only happened after I had added some more guppies 2 days
before.
<<It's possible/plausible that the males may have fought over the
"right" to breed, whether, or not, females were present. The new
additions may have
triggered this response but, frankly, this is speculation on my
part.>>
Is it possible they did this?
<<Highly unlikely, though not impossible, that one, or more, of the
new Guppies did this. Typically, the "established" fish have,
or display, dominance
over fish that are subsequently added to the aquarium. (Timing can
be very important when adding fish.)>>
If so, do you know why and, can I prevent this from happening
again?
<<An educated (and I use the term loosely) guess is that the
established Guppies viewed the new fish as potential breeding
partners. The "subordinate"
males went after the most likely candidate (the He-Bull, in a
manner of speaking) in order to increase their standing with the
"females". Since the
"predominant" male is most likely to be chosen to mate with a
female, it makes sense, from the fishes' points of view, to get rid
of the biggest competition.
Whether, or not, utilizing a tank divider to keep the new fish
separated from the older ones is really academic. In a sense, you'd
be trying to cheat
"Nature". (You might like to see a Great White Shark live
harmoniously with a seal but, it isn't going to happen.) Bob would
have a more eloquent explanation but
the fact is that, in some cases, Nature must run its course.>>
Thank you in advance
Joanne x
Re: Mmm, FW guppy damage 9/10/06
Hi Tom,
<<Hi, Joanne.>>
Thanks for your reply. It was nice for someone to appreciate that I
was trying to keep my fish happy by having a large tank, rather than
people telling me I need more fish in there!
<<First, you're most welcome. As for your tank, you have plenty of
"fans" here at WWM! If more folks followed your lead our mail would
be cut by 30%, at least.>>
I wanted to update you, since the sad demise of my favourite guppy I
spent a lot of time sat in front of the tank watching their
behaviour, sad I know.
<<Not true! I can't pass either of mine without stopping to check
things out.>>
I did notice a newer addition behaving quite aggressively towards
some of the other guppies. After half an hour of tail nipping I
separated him for 10 minutes and then reintroduced him, mainly as he
didn't seem pleased and I felt bad about it!
<<Sure he wasn't pleased. You took away his "chew toys". Interesting
that one of the new additions appears to be the culprit. That
certainly wasn't my take on the situation, was it? Unusual, but I
should be used to fish doing things out of character by now. (I
believe they do it to embarrass me.) :)>>
He had calmed down and since then the guppies have resumed their
playful existence, much to the delight of my 9 month old daughter!
<<Excellent. Good move, by the way.>>
I must add also that I 'lost' 5 of the newly introduced guppies. I
had bought them from a store I had not been to before, nor will be
returning to as the assistant who netted the fish did not seem
concerned for their welfare and I wish I had walked away as instinct
told me to.
<<I think we've all had purchasing experiences like that. I
certainly have, regrettably.>>
I have never lost a fish before as I always take the
utmost care of
them and found it quite distressing.
My tank readings are optimal so I know it isn't a water quality
issue and can only assume that they came from a bad batch or were
stressed beyond recovery.
<<Considering what many fish go through before coming into our
hands, it seems nothing short of a miracle that more aren't lost.>>
I will wait a few weeks before adding any more and will stick to my
regular stockists in future.
<<A wise choice.>>
I also wanted to say that I have found this site invaluable, the
best by far on the net!
Thanks again
Joanne
<<Nice chatting again, Joanne, and thank you for your kind words.
Keep up the good work! Tom>>
Deformed Baby Guppy - 09/07/06
Hi,
<Hello>
Just wondering if it is common to have a baby guppy that has a
Siamese twin?
<Not sure I've heard of that, but I know guppies can be born deformed
with some frequency...don't know if it's the constant breeding that
causes it or what, but it can and does happen.>
Actually, I'm not sure that is what it is. But the guppy has a
smaller guppy growing from its underside and is 5 times smaller than
the other; it appears to still be alive. Will this fish live?
<I doubt it. In the fish breeding business, destroying "undesirable"
babies is referred to as "culling", and it is done fairly often,
from what I understand. In general, when euthanizing a fish, there
are a few acceptable, humane methods you can choose from - I
personally use and recommend using pure clove oil: put the affected
fish in its own container of tank water, then add a generous amount
of clove oil. The oil has anesthetic properties, and it basically
slows the fish's respiratory system down and "puts it to sleep"
peacefully. Make sure you've allowed the clove oil to work long
enough to do its job, then dispose of the fish. Other methods of
killing a fish humanely include smashing its head into a hard
surface, etc. I think you can see why I prefer the clove
oil. Freezing and flushing are definitely *not* acceptable methods,
as studies have shown that fish indeed feel pain.>
What should I do to take care of it?
<See above.>
Thanks
<Never an easy thing to do, but it is for the best. I assume,
however, that you have other guppy babies to enjoy and watch grow,
so please do this! Best regards, Jorie>
Guppy Fry 7/30/06
Hi!
<<Hello, Rachel. Tom>>
I have my first ever fry of guppies. My female turned out to be pregnant when I
got her.
<<Congratulations. What you experienced isn't, in the slightest way, unusual for
those who purchase Livebearers like Guppies, Mollies,
Swordtails and Platys.>>
I put her in her own tank once I figured out she was pregnant. A couple of weeks
later she had 18 babies. Unfortunately, she died the next day. I don't really
know why. Everything was fine with the water and I haven't lost any of the fry
(they are now 2 weeks old).
<<I'm sorry to hear that your female died. This, too, is not unusual, though.
Likely, this was her first birthing and appears, from what I know, to be the one
females will succumb to most often. Seems somewhat odd to us since females that
give birth multiple times have, typically, increasingly large numbers of fry
with each successive event.>>
Anyway, my question is when do I need to separate the males from the females?
I'm going to find them new homes as soon as I can, but I don't want anyone
getting surprise babies like I did. I am also not sure as to how old they have
to be before I can sex them.
<<Both of your questions really go hand-in-hand, Rachel. When the fry have
matured to the point that you can, in fact, tell a male from a female, you need
to separate these to avoid the "problem" you had. With the other three groups of
Livebearers I mentioned, sexual maturity, almost invariably, comes by the third
to fourth month of their lives. With Guppies, as you learned, this is not so
easy to "lock down". Some interesting studies have been accomplished in the wild
where natural predation occurs and it appears that sexual maturity can be, at
least loosely, linked to the species of predator that the Guppies must contend
with. Where Killifish are the primary predators, sexual maturity in Guppies
seems to be "accelerated" since the Killifish have a "taste" for the immature
fish ergo, a "breeding" Guppy would be less inviting. On the flip side of the
coin, in regions where Cichlids prey on, and have a preference for, mature
Guppies, sexual maturity/activity can take longer to develop. (Why rush the
chance to be "lunch"?) The difference in timing might be only a week or, two,
but that's a long time to a Guppy. All this being said, at about ten weeks, your
Guppies will, almost certainly, be sexually mature and active. While possible
that this might occur sooner, I don't see it to be as likely. Since it's the
female that does the selecting for mating, the chosen male must meet her
"standards" in coloration/development. Not much of a chance that this will occur
in only a matter of a few weeks.>>
I have read many pages on the internet and it seems they all have different
opinions about this.
<<No hard and fast rules on this one, Rachel, frustrating as it may seem.>>
Well, thank you very much for your time and help.
Rachel
<<I hope I have helped a little. Good luck. Tom>>
I've got a dwarf puffer that I've had in a guppy tank for some
time now. 7/13/06
<<Why in a guppy tank? Guppies eat so quickly compared to DP’s,
and DP’s are notoriously vicious for their size.>>
Yesterday, I walked past the tank, and I noticed that the dwarf
puffer had a fry coming out of its body. I quickly did a bit of
research, and I found that dwarf puffers lay eggs, not birth
live. Yet there are about 3 or 4 babies swimming around the tank,
each with barely-there puffer spots.
<<??? DP’s certainly do lay eggs. That’s quite confusing indeed!>>
My question: How is this possible? Could it be that it's not a
dwarf puffer, but a different type?
<<No.>>
I've owned many dwarf puffers over the past few years, and they
always look the same as the one I had. Is it possible that maybe a
guppy gave birth to fry, and this puffer ate a baby whole, and it
didn't break down in the puffer's body and he passed it as it was
when he ate it?
<<I’m not sure. I do know that live artemia have been expelled out
of some fishes’ digestive tracts, but I’ve never heard of this
happening with DP’s. What exactly does the fry look like?>>
I've never seen anything like this, nor have I heard of anything
like this happening, but none of my guppies have even looked
pregnant, much less given birth before.
Help!
<<I wish I had more information for you. Are you certain the fry
was coming from its body? Study it closely and make a definitive ID;
DP, guppy, or neither. Lisa>>
Guppies no longer breeding 6/15/06
I have a 30g guppy tank. I started w/ 5 guppies and they multiplied to
probably 70 or 80. I got a marine betta for my 160 reef tank, and started
feeding the babies to the betta. however, I still constantly had a large amount
of babies until recently. The guppy population has been reduced to about 20 now.
It doesn't seem like they're reproducing like they were.
In fact, it seems like they have stopped producing at all. Could it be a natural
reaction to me taking the fish out constantly?
<Interesting... but no>
Like, "Oh, they keep getting rid of us, let's not give them anything to take
out!"? or maybe they're all bred out and I need to introduce some new stock?
<This is a distinct possibility, yes>
They're basically mating with family members now. The males don't seem to chase
the females as much anymore. Are they all sexed out?
<Perhaps in a manner of speaking... too old>
Nothing in the tank has really changed, everything is how it should be. I've
tried raising the temp (81f) I've done a water change every week for a month. I
haven't tried
salt yet. I just discovered that here on your site, so I will. Other than that,
any suggestions? Thanks!!!
<I would investigate more frequent water changes, improved nutrition, and try
adding some new stock... Bob Fenner>
Lethargic Post-Pregnancy Guppy, Capitalization - 06/07/2006
Hello, my female guppy gave birth yesterday, I removed her from the tank,
but now she is floating/swimming upside down.
<Not a good sign....>
She is not dead, I still see her breathing. Seems to be tired and weak, and she
has a small blood spot on her head. I don' t know what to do. If you know of
anyway to help her please let me know.
<Without knowing anything about the system she's in (tank size, ammonia,
nitrite, nitrate, pH, temperature, tankmates....), there's not much I can
say. I can only suggest that you test ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate urgently,
and maintain ammonia and nitrite at ZERO, nitrate no higher than 20ppm. If
these levels are not right, do water changes to fix them. Remember to use a
chlorine/chloramine neutralizer and match the temperature and pH of the new
water to the temp and pH in the tank.>
Thanks
<Also, for any future emails, please remember to capitalize "I" and the
beginnings of sentences.... Our volunteers really don't have enough time to
correct these. Thanks! Wishing you well, -Sabrina>
Guppy Pregnancy, and He Loves Our Site! - 06/01/2006
Hi, first of all I love your website!
<Awesome!>
But I do have a couple of questions that I have been looking for. First, my
female guppy, Sunshine, has giving birth to at least 19 fry, I say at least
because that's how many I have caught & she had them sometime memorial day
weekend, and unfortunately I was not there, so I noticed them on Memorial
Day). A long time ago, sometime in April (April the 8th to be exact) I
purchased her from PetSmart and I purchased a male too, but then he
unfortunately died, and then about a month later I purchased another male and
female and the male disappeared and the female died later Memorial Day, so I
thought the first male got Sunshine Pregnant, but I don't know.
<I agree, either the first fellow or another that she was with prior to your
purchase.>
But she still looks as big as she was before my fry were born and her gravid
spot is starting to turn black, but for some reason it is a little orange, can
you help me?
<It is possible that she's not quite done having baby fish yet.>
The reason I think she still be pregnant is because the females can "store"
sperm.
<Indeed they can; however, they only have one "batch" of fry at a time, so it's
a little early yet for her to be on another "batch" of babies. Some
livebearers, like Heterandria formosa, will store sperm and will have fry in
varying stages of development pretty much all the time, and only give birth to
one or two at a time.>
Thanks for all your help, and I love your website.
<And we love our readers.>
One more question, is there a way I can join your website so I can ask you
questions there instead of email??
<We do have an interactive web forum (
http://www.wetwebfotos.com/talk ), but as far as the site is concerned, it
just works through email.>
But if that is not possible then e-mail is fine! I love your website!
<Heh! Thanks very much for your kind words.>
Thanks, Josh S.
<Wishing you well, -Sabrina>
Guppy Pregnancy, and He Loves Our Site! - II - 06/06/2006
Another question, The babies are in a smaller tank right now, the tank is
about as tall as a license plate (maybe an inch shorter), not including the
light, about as wide as two inches cut off from a license plate, but its in a
hexagon shape, sorry if so confusing. Are the babies all right in that? Probably
not, probably too small, but anyway I have to clean it out about every 3 to 4
days, because it doesn't have a filter, and I was thinking, is it going to kill
them?
<Ultimately, it may. They should be in a larger space with very, very clean
water.>
I might start putting the babies in the breeder net in the weekend, advice
please.
<I would load the main tank with plants (java moss works great) for the babies
to hide in and let them fend for themselves. Some of them will get eaten by the
adults, but some will survive, and they'll be stronger and healthier in a bigger
tank.>
Also when I look at the momma fish sometimes she looks orange, and then other
times she looks black, is there any thing to worry about?
<Probably not; this is probably just her coloring.>
Thanks for your help, -Josh
<Wishing you well, -Sabrina>
Guppy Pregnancy, and He Still Loves Our Site! - III - 06/06/2006
Also, I don't know if I asked you this in the last e-mail, but can I put the
baby guppies in the breeder trap?
<Not for long.>
For like a weekend,
<Maybe. Use the net-type, though.>
I think raising baby guppies in a breeder trap until there big enough is
cruel.
<Me too.>
Thanks Again, and I love your website! -Josh
<I'm glad we could help out, Josh! Wishing you well, -Sabrina>
Guppy that breeds like a bunny 5/31/06
My husband and I bought some fish for our tank 6 weeks ago and were
accidentally given a female guppy. I put her in my 10 gallon tank with 2 pygmy
catfish. Two weeks after we brought her home she gave birth to 9 fry.
Four weeks later we have 7 healthy fry. Tonight we came home and she had given
birth again to around 25 fry. How is she still getting pregnant?
<Mmm, can/do store sperm in their tracts...>
There are no other guppies in her tank besides the 4 week old fry. Are guppies
capable of breeding at 1 week of age?
<Mmm, nope>
If not, how did she get pregnant again, and how many times can we expect this to
happen? We do not have a net for the fry. We keep lots of plants in our tank and
two structures from them to hide in and it has seemed to work so far. Any
suggestions on what to do to stop it?
<Possibly let "nature take its course"... predation... to limit numbers>
We have a second 10 gallon tank with red phantoms and a 30 gallon talk with
ghost fish, knife fish, danios, tetras, angel fish and
another type. Thanks!
<Or... if not considered distasteful, feed some of the young to these other
fishes. Bob Fenner>
Weird fish chest-better grammar, etc. Guppy repro. 5/24/06
Dear WWM,
<Vincent>
I am a young beginner at fancy guppy breeding. My fancy guppy seems to be nice
and fat, and her gravid spot is huge! I really think she is pregnant, but I am
also a bit worried. I had her in a breeder's net for about a week, and then I
took her out again when she didn't drop. Soon after I put her in her old tank
with the other two, a male and a female, her chest started to drop down to make
her stomach a box shape. The next morning I saw her, and her chest was reddish
with a pink ball inside it. I could see it real well. Right under this ball, I
saw that her scales were sticking out.
Also, my other female has been with the male for weeks now but she doesn't seem
pregnant. What could that mean? I'm really worried about both of them.
Help!
Thanks.
-Brendan-
<Could indicate a few things... a "missing" by your of actual parturition
(birthing), with the young consumed by the adult fishes, or a "skipping" of the
process... perhaps resorption. I would not add chemicals here, but rather
continue your close observations of this fish's behavior. Bob Fenner>
Guppy Reproduction, Gender of Fry, Hybridizing With Mollies - 05/22/2006
Hi, I have a female guppy who about 8 weeks ago gave birth to her first ever
batch of fry. She gave birth in the main tank so sadly I only was able to save 7
of the fry. Then a few weeks later she was pregnant so I put her in a breeder.
She gave birth to 23 fry this time!!!! My concern is all 30 of the fry she has
given birth to are female. I've looked everywhere even Pet-Co and can't find an
answer. Can you help?
<Though it is possible that some water parameters (temperature, primarily) can
affect the gender of the fry, yours may just be too young yet to have developed
into males. All baby guppies look female for a while; the males will develop
stronger coloration and the gonopodium as they grow. Please read here for
more: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/guppyreprofaqs.htm
.>
P.S. on your site it said guppies and mollies can't have babies, that's a lie. I
had a male guppy and female molly mate and they had funny lookin' fry.
<Though highly uncommon, it may be possible that the two could hybridize. Fry
from such a pair will more than likely be sterile - just like crossing a horse
and a donkey gives you a sterile mule. Wishing you well, -Sabrina>
Bad female behavior
4/29/06
I have a question....Will pregnant females keep attacking the males guppies till
they finally kill them? I have a 10 gallon tank that did have 3 females and 1
male...Twice I have had to put another male in there because this 1 female keeps
killing them...What should I do?... Thanks
<<Seclude your Alpha female with a tank divider or move her to another tank.
This isn't an uncommon situation but I must say that I'm surprised that she's
this assertive/aggressive. Her behavior is unlikely to change, however. Tom>>
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