Just let guppy fry be born in the same tank as the adults

[emeraldking]

With this video I just would like to show that people just shouldn't be panicking right away when they spot fry in the adult tank. For a lot of people think that they should separate the fry from the adults in order not to get eaten. But not all guppies will eat their fry. And it also depends on the individual guppy wether it will leave the fry alone or not. But in general, it's a matter of letting those adults get used to tiny tank mates. Once that happens, they will leave those fry alone. And fry will swim in the open. The problem with most people is that they just don't want to invest time to get to that point. So, panic all around...
I do this also with a lot of other livebearer species. They just leave those fry alone. But for sure, I also have certain species of which we need to separate fry from the adults. But when it comes to guppies, just let those fry stay in the same tank.

 

[Sgooosh]

With this video I just would like to show that people just shouldn't be panicking right away when they spot fry in the adult tank. For a lot of people think that they should separate the fry from the adults in order not to get eaten. But not all guppies will eat their fry. And it also depends on the individual guppy wether it will leave the fry alone or not. But in general, it's a matter of letting those adults get used to tiny tank mates. Once that happens, they will leave those fry alone. And fry will swim in the open. The problem with most people is that they just don't want to invest time to get to that point. So, panic all around...
I do this also with a lot of other livebearer species. They just leave those fry alone. But for sure, I also have certain species of which we need to separate fry from the adults. But when it comes to guppies, just let those fry stay in the same tank.

cute guppies!
I have many large fish in my tank but they are all very nice, and the fry survival rate is very high.
many of my largest fish (swordtails) grew up from miniscule fry, so they are used to the tiny frys.

 

[GaryE]

I always found the first few hours key. If the fry in a single species tank made it through that, they were good to grow. I would put golfball sized rocks on the bottom, and when the fry rolled out, they would head for them. Once they gained strength, they'd head up. It seemed that initial bit after they'd come out of the Mom was the danger zone.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. I keep quite a few Guppies and in those particular tanks, I float Anacharis, Hornwart or Dwarf Water Lettuce to provide hiding places for the fry. When they're born, the fry will swim to the surface for a breath of air and to hide. I also feed the fish more and more often. If the adults are well fed, they're not much interested in the fry.

10 Tanks (now 11)

 

[Sgooosh]

I always found the first few hours key. If the fry in a single species tank made it through that, they were good to grow. I would put golfball sized rocks on the bottom, and when the fry rolled out, they would head for them. Once they gained strength, they'd head up. It seemed that initial bit after they'd come out of the Mom was the danger zone.

mine is almost opposite! the mother fish gives birth to the fish at the top where the lush floaters are, and as they grow, they drop down to the bottom to hang out with the cories.
for swordtails, they always stayed at the bottom

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Any chance this could be a pinned thread, please?

I do have one query though - this is assuming the panicking person has a species only tank. When I've tried to help beginners who have their first fry and want to save all the babies, not wanting them to be eaten, they often share photos of a pretty bare tank, since it's also quite new, so just some substrate, decor and a couple of tiny swords struggling to establish themselves, type of thing. In those cases, I usually advise adding some dense floating stem plants like elodea and hortwort, for the fry to hide in and feel safe, if nothing else. And I agree, generally it's absolutely fine to leave them with the adults of the same species/other livebearers.

But what about the times when the person wants to save every single fry (because it's their first time having baby fish, and it's common for people to feel that way in their first few batches of fry), it's a pretty new bare tank with not a lot of hiding spaces, and it's a mixed community tank with fish that are much more likely to make that batch a snack, like angels?

I've usually advised still leaving the mother in the main tank to give birth, but to add a lot more live plants for fry to hide, then checking for fry every morning and night, then catching and moving the fry to a breeder box or similar to be raised until they're large enough not to be eaten, before moving them back to the main tank to have space to swim and grow stronger. Or, to set up a nursery/grow out tank for fry.

But I wonder whether you or anyone else would have different advice for a mixed community tank with fry eating fish?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Key factor: lots of hiding spots

 

[Sgooosh]

Any chance this could be a pinned thread, please?

I do have one query though - this is assuming the panicking person has a species only tank. When I've tried to help beginners who have their first fry and want to save all the babies, not wanting them to be eaten, they often share photos of a pretty bare tank, since it's also quite new, so just some substrate, decor and a couple of tiny swords struggling to establish themselves, type of thing. In those cases, I usually advise adding some dense floating stem plants like elodea and hortwort, for the fry to hide in and feel safe, if nothing else. And I agree, generally it's absolutely fine to leave them with the adults of the same species/other livebearers.

But what about the times when the person wants to save every single fry (because it's their first time having baby fish, and it's common for people to feel that way in their first few batches of fry), it's a pretty new bare tank with not a lot of hiding spaces, and it's a mixed community tank with fish that are much more likely to make that batch a snack, like angels?

I've usually advised still leaving the mother in the main tank to give birth, but to add a lot more live plants for fry to hide, then checking for fry every morning and night, then catching and moving the fry to a breeder box or similar to be raised until they're large enough not to be eaten, before moving them back to the main tank to have space to swim and grow stronger. Or, to set up a nursery/grow out tank for fry.

But I wonder whether you or anyone else would have different advice for a mixed community tank with fry eating fish?

Key factor: lots of hiding spots

yep, i have a mixed community with fish that are like 5x bigger than an adult guppy, but the tank is super lush