Pregnant guppy

[Stacebird]

Hi, my guppy is pregnant but looks massive can anyone tell me how soon till she gives birth, thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

She looks like she might be starting to square off; develop a distinct boxy shape to her belly. Once that happens, you can usually expect them to give birth within the next day or so.

I will point out that females can hold on to their fry and refuse to give birth if they feel stressed, which can often happen if the fish is in a breeding trap or box, as yours is, especially if there's no cover in there. She'd be better off left in the main tank, TBH.

 

[Stacebird]

Hi many thanks, I've actually swapped her with the 3 babies I have from my other female, so the babies are in the box and she is on her own in the tank, it's a small tank used solely for the fry, so she is on her own but not in the box, my other female was very small compared to this one, hence why I wanted advice, thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

Younger females don't get as big as older ones, so your other guppy could have been younger, or having less fry than this one.

I'm really glad you've got her in a tank on her own, with the fry in the box, that's by far the best way of doing things. Just remember to keep changing the water in there (even with mesh sides you don't get much flow, so the water in the box can become stale quite quickly) and let the fry out as soon as possible, as they can become stunted if they're in the box for too long x

 

[Stacebird]

She has literally in the last half hour started giving birth, counted 27 so far, her gravid spot is still viable but her shape has decreased alot, she is leaving her fry alone for now, they have plenty of moss to hide in so I'm just gonna leave her be and check on her every hour, not sure if she has finished as yet

 

[Stacebird]

Also the other fry are roughly 2wks old would they be OK mixing with the new fry?

 

[fluttermoth]

Two week old fry should be safe with newborns, unless they've grown unusually quickly!

On another note, I'd forget all about the so-called 'gravid spot' if I were you. Unless you're very familiar with fish anatomy, it's very easy to confuse part of the gut for a gravid spot. I never took any notice of it when I kept livebearers

 

[Stacebird]

Great I will mix them, the 2wk old are not that big, pretty sure they not big enough to eat them, thanks for all your help much appreciated

 

[fluttermoth]

You're very welcome