Beginner Guppy Breeder Questions

[Lyra0727]

Hi I got 4 females and 1 male guppy for my tank 2 weeks ago hoping to breed them and Ive checked the forum explaining the preganacy stages but mine is confuseing.. she has a belly like stage 5 but a completely clear gravid spot. Is it possible for her to not be pregnant and maybe just eating to much?

This is a fuzzy picture but you can actually see the size of her belly.

Also I dont really want to use thoes traps Ive been reading about so I made an area for the fry to go and hide but not sure if its a big enough area..

It is in fact possible for her to have been pregnant when I bought her since the fish store actually had a baby fry in their tank when i got them (they gave the fry to me for free shes big enough to be with the adults too and just starting to get color!)but i've not sure if she was since her belly just got this big recently..

 

[Katieasaur]

she is most likely pregnant but due to her 'blonde' coloring her gravid spot is not visible
this often happens with lighter colored guppies

 

[Lyra0727]

she is most likely pregnant but due to her 'blonde' coloring her gravid spot is not visible
this often happens with lighter colored guppies

That makes thing very fustraiting.. Is there any other way to tell when she'll give birth?

 

[Katieasaur]

She will has a tube near her anal area that will be far more present.
Your best bet would be to put her in a breeding area (whatever you will be using)when she becomes very box shaped when you look at her from the front. She will look very squarish and that is usually the best sign as to when she will be dropping her fry.

 

[Lyra0727]

She will has a tube near her anal area that will be far more present.
Your best bet would be to put her in a breeding area (whatever you will be using)when she becomes very box shaped when you look at her from the front. She will look very squarish and that is usually the best sign as to when she will be dropping her fry.

Ok I'll be looking for that. I have a lot of plants in the tank on one side for the fry instead of using a trap. I'm just concerned that they wont get to it in time or they wont notice it until its to late.. But I read on a different forum that having the light on the side where the plants are draws their attention so they will go.. But I cant do that unless I know when shes going to give birth.

 

[Katieasaur]

what other fish and how many do you have in your tank?

 

[Lyra0727]

what other fish and how many do you have in your tank?

I only have the guppys in there. Theres 4 females and 1 male total plus one fry I cant tell the gender of yet

 

[Katieasaur]

Don't be surprised if fry get eaten, guppies love to munch on their babies.

 

[Lyra0727]

Don't be surprised if fry get eaten, guppies love to munch on their babies.

This fry is big enough she wont get eaten. Shes way to big to get in their mouth and just starting to show color! But still growing so Im not sure which gender she is. As for when I'm breeding thats what all the plants I got are suppose to help for.. The guppies I have dont go around it much and I feed them on the oppisite side so I figured the newborn fry would be safe once they got there. I just have to make sure they get there hmmmm..

 

[sausagewinkle]

I have 2 female guppies the same colour, (yellow and orange im guessing from your picture)they show their gravid spot no bother when they are pregnant.
Like previously said, look out for the white tube. alow I have not had much luck with this, i had my female in a breeder when she looked ready, had to release her and then she had her fry typical.
good luck
i guess its all about timing and getting to know your guppies

 

[Lyra0727]

I have 2 female guppies the same colour, (yellow and orange im guessing from your picture)they show their gravid spot no bother when they are pregnant.
Like previously said, look out for the white tube. alow I have not had much luck with this, i had my female in a breeder when she looked ready, had to release her and then she had her fry typical.
good luck
i guess its all about timing and getting to know your guppies

I just read that a few minutes ago that when the females stops eating that means its getting really close to time to giving birth! If thats true it will be very easy to see because I always watch them eat. Although its funny right now.. My female is eating like a pig and acting like a drama queen wanting all the attention haha..

As soon as she sees the camera she rushes to the front of the tank, and she'll swim in front of any one that trys to come close. Sorry about your guppy tricking you, were some of the fry still able to survive without getting gobbled up by the older guppies?

 

[fluttermoth]

Lyra; it would be better if you can get taller plants. That thicket you have looks perfect, but guppy fry do tend to hang out right at the water surface so you really need the plants to be at the top.

I personally think you're quite right not to use a breeding trap; they're very stressful for the fish (sausagewinkle; guppy females can hold on and not give birth sometimes if they don't feel happy; that could be why yours didn't give birth until you let her out). You will get babies eventually; just give it time

 

[This Old Spouse]

And you'll probably have LOTS of babies, so if a few get munched I'd say it's all good. I've got more than I need right now. The last batch that dropped I just let them hang out with everybody else in the tank, and nearly all of them survived. They're born cagey, I think.

 

[Lyra0727]

Ok I'll get taller plants when I go to the store (hopefully tomorrow) Is it true that if you feed the guppies really well they wont try to eat the fry? I always split a small chick of bloodworms with them and my gold fish in a different tank every day and I give them maybe a pinch of tetra sinking pellets crunched up (for the older fry that I have since she cant always eat the bloodworms). Plus once I see that I have new born fry I will be feeding them brine shrimp.

I actually had a 2.5 gallon tank that I was going to set up to move the female guppy in when it was time to give birth that way she would feel more comfortable than in a small breeder trap. But after I got it set up my cat learned how to remove the top. Next thing I knew he had his paw moving back and forth in the tank haha. So I decided to stick with keeping the fry with the adults

 

[This Old Spouse]

Those darn cats!

I try to feed the mother guppy right as or just after she gives birth because they're really hungry at that time and those babies are right in front of her, so *munch* is usually what happens if I DON'T feed then. But if you have plenty of cover for the fry and feed mom right away they should survive well. I've just felt that it's more stressful to keep moving them from place to place than to keep them all together.

I HAVE moved my females and males to separate tanks, however. Just too many babies ....