Breeding Guppies

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Hi All.

I've decided to start breeding fish so i've decided to get some guppies (I know these are easy to breed, but i wanted to start with the easiest, so if i make any mistakes it won't be so painstaking, maybe look into angels or cichlids in the future).

I've just bought 2 females and 1 male, in a 2.5ft 100 litre tank. It's tank mates are 2 zebra danios, 1 german blue ram, 3 skunk loaches. Obviously my tank stats are ok, i'm also trying to makie it a planted tank so i've a few plants, i big rock, and co2 being pumped.

Is there any good advice anyone can give me, e.g foods to help, temp, etc.

Will they literally breed soon.

sambangert

 

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I've just noticed that my 2 female guppies, have black spots around there belly area, are they already pregnant

 

[Flagfin]

hya - nice one when I first started breeding I fish I started with guppies as well. Even though they're relatively easy it's still a really rewarding thing to do. If she has black spots (gravid spots) at the back of the belly towards the tail then she is probably pregnant. They usually appear not long before they're ready to drop. I always think mine develop a 'chin' not long before because they get so fat. I also noticed they would get quite territorial and sit in a certain place in the plants. If you leave them to it they will usually breed happily. I used to keep my community tank very well planted so the fry have somewhere to hide if I miss them. Now I have a guppy only tank (still very well planted) and I don't separate the babies, just rely on the fact there are enough plants for them to hide in. If you're going to separate the babies (probably recommended) using a breeding trap you can easily syphon out any uneaten food. Crush flake up as small as possible and feed about four times per day. I used to syhpon the uneaten food and poo out of the trap twice per day.

I never noticed a preference in temp (kept between 24- 26) and the fry seem to thrive on finely crushed flake. Hope that helps

 

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Thanks. The 2 females i've got do have black gravid like spots but they are no way fat in any way!!!

also, my filter is quite powerful for my tank, even with the setting on it's lowest, it pumps the water out quite fast. will this affect the guppies in anyway.

Thanks

 

[Flagfin]

Hya - I have two reasonably powerful filters in my guppy tank. (mainly becuase with the babies it's over stocked) The one that the tank came with (Rekord 120) and a hang on internal. They're powerful enough that you can see the adult and half grown fish really swimming into the current (they seem to love it). I have never seen the small fry get sucked up into them. I reckon that if you have enough plants the current is diffused enough that they can find sheltered pockets to hide in. Even small (estimate 1 week old) fry seem to be able to cope with the full current - just. (wish I could say the same about the water change syphon hose....where's that net!). Young pregnant females may not have many babies in their first couple of broods (I have had broods as small as 5, therefore not too fat). Some of my young females weren't that fat when they had their first babies but usually you notice at least some increase in belly size. I have also noticed that some females seem to go fat very suddenly then give birth quickly. As they get older the broods will usually get bigger then you wonder how the fish stay off the bottom of the tank!

 

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I'll have to keep an eye on them, they are only yong so they may have small broods. Cheers for the advice, much appreciated.

 

[Flagfin]

No worries - keep us updated with how you get on.

 

[jennakid]

hey ,
i had 2 female guppies.
as soon as i bought some male guppies.
the females were pregnant the next day!
congrats,
ox

 

[Thomas 2507]

The best advice that I can give is to move the guppies to a densely planted tank when they are very fat so that lots of the babies survive. Otherwise you'll be lucky to find two.

 

[Duck and Dive]

Don't always go by the gravid spot it can be misleading as with some guppies it can vary especially albinos. It can also vary in the lighting conditions because it can look very dark if you turn the light on in the morning.

I mostly go by the size of the belly. When it starts to squares of and looks huge then you are about have some fry!

 

[lilfishie]

also i have found nearly all the guppies i have owned, pregnant or not to have gravid spots, so i go by there size