Breeding Guppies

[C.low88]

I have a 29 gallon tank that I setup for guppies. I recently purchased some fish the other day (2 males 2 females) and I had a question regarding the fish. I am relatively accustomed to keeping livebearers as I’ve had swordtails and guppies in the past. I am well aware that unless I separate my guppies they will breed and my question is regarding female size regulations. The two females that I have are relatively small and I was wondering if I should be cautious about them breeding as they seem fairly small for breeding. I know that once they’ve reached sexual maturity that they are ready for breeding but I’m not opposed to separating the males to prevent this. I was also wondering how many guppies I can put in a 29 gal? Should I separate my guppies or am I being too cautious? I was considering buying some larger females when they are available or maybe buying only males.

 

[FishGuest5123]

If you are buying only males to make a male Only tank then that’s fine. If you are going to put male and females together then I would buy more females, not more males. Otherwise the males will stress the females out. Mother Nature usually takes care of things and when a female is of breeding age she is ready. She may have a small brood the first couple of times. I have males only in my tank.

 

[seangee]

If they are in the same tank the females are already "pregnant".

 

[Kings Park Mike aka KPM]

Hi C.low,
My first question is are you intending on breeding the guppies and if so what is your plan for raising the fry ? For a tank with males and females most would recommend a minimum of 2 females for every male. More females is better. The females will be stressed and battered if the ratio of females to males isn't made better. The males have much nicer looking fins and it's tempting to stock more of the better looking ones but it isn't fair to the fish. As an alternative you could consider an all male guppy tank. In a 29 gallon tank provided you have no other fish than guppies you can safely house 17-18 adult guppies. That is probably the max bioload you would want to impose on the filtration system and keep partial water changes down to a weekly 10-20 percent. Keep in mind the maximum number of guppies could be considerably less if you have a lot of ornaments, big rocks and/or large driftwood displacing the water volume. The tank size is a starting point, how much water is lost decorating it has to be taken into account.