Pregnant guppies and breeding boxes questions

[atarah]

Hi! I am new to the forum and fairly new to the hobby.

I have separated one of my female guppies in a breeder box because she looks boxier than yesterday and I think she might be close to giving birth. This is the first time I separate one. I got my guppies (1 male and 5 females) two weeks ago and one already gave birth in the tank. I am unsure of how many fry there are but I've counted at least 5 that are still alive and thriving after a week, however this time i'd rather have them watched in a box.

My question is: is she indeed about to give birth? and how long can she stay in the box? she doesn't look particularly happy and i don't want to stress her unnecessarily.

Thanks

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

I personally wouldn't bother with the box, it just stresses out the fish and she could potentially hold on to the fry for as long as it takes until she feels safe enough to drop them. As long as you have plenty of cover and places for fry to hide they'll be fine in the main tank. The fittest fry will survive and that's what you want

 

[Colin_T]

Put the female back in the tank and wait for the babies to appear in the tank. Then use a cup to scoop the fry out and put them in the breeding trap so they don't get eaten. If the adults are well fed, they are less likely to eat the babies.

 

[seangee]

Nice looking tank. The plants will give the fry hiding places. I agree with the others, put her back in the tank. You are soon going to have more guppies than you know what to do with.

 

[atarah]

That is such a good advice actually, that the fittest ones will survive! I know guppies are prone to genetic issues because of inbreeding. I put her back in the water yesterday and she is still pregnant. The previous batch of fries are still there and bigger and dodging the adults like crazy! I did put a DIY spawn mop in there too, to give them more options to hide. But I really appreciated the advice of you all

I'm attaching a pic of a couple of the fries from the first batch and my spawn mop

 

[atarah]

Nice looking tank. The plants will give the fry hiding places. I agree with the others, put her back in the tank. You are soon going to have more guppies than you know what to do with.

Just a good excuse to buy a new tank D (my husband is gonna divorce me I swear X''D)

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Just a good excuse to buy a new tank D (my husband is gonna divorce me I swear X''D)

Mine hasn't yet but I only have one tank now....there's lots empty in the garage but they don't count