I have a few guppies raised from fry in a 10 gallon - one male and three female. Wondering if these females are pregnant or if I am overfeeding - they are about 3 1/2 months old and just keep getting bigger but no fry. Do they look pregnant or overfed? Can the gravid spot get stretched out if they're overweight, or only during pregnancy? They like to pick off the blackworms that live in the substrate so I worry about bloating. I'm very new to guppies and want to make sure they are healthy. Thanks!
Guppies pregnant or overfed?
- Thread starter drossean
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If they’re 3 and a half months old then it’s probably pregnancy. Guppies can become sexually mature at 3 months, but people tend to wait a bit longer before breeding them, until the guppies are about 1 inch long.
Guppies give birth every month, so expect a fry drop in a couple weeks. Since the ladies are so young you probably won’t get that many, and you should prep a second tank for them if you don’t have one already. Guppies are known to occasionally eat their offspring.
It’s best to leave the lady in her tank (and net out the fry afterwards) or move her to a birthing tank at least a week before her drop date so that she isn’t stressed and either holds or aborts the fry and then remove her when she gets some of her energy back. DO NOT USE A MESH BREEDING/FRY NET IN THE MAIN TANK TO SEPARATE THEM. NEVER WORKS AND MIGHT STRESS YOUR LADY TO DEATH.
A female guppy can give birth 8 times from a single mating so even if you separate the genders you may be in for a ride lololol
Guppies give birth every month, so expect a fry drop in a couple weeks. Since the ladies are so young you probably won’t get that many, and you should prep a second tank for them if you don’t have one already. Guppies are known to occasionally eat their offspring.
It’s best to leave the lady in her tank (and net out the fry afterwards) or move her to a birthing tank at least a week before her drop date so that she isn’t stressed and either holds or aborts the fry and then remove her when she gets some of her energy back. DO NOT USE A MESH BREEDING/FRY NET IN THE MAIN TANK TO SEPARATE THEM. NEVER WORKS AND MIGHT STRESS YOUR LADY TO DEATH.
A female guppy can give birth 8 times from a single mating so even if you separate the genders you may be in for a ride lololol
Thank you so much! The male is about an inch long and the females are much larger - just under 2 inches. I'll keep my eye out for babies! I've got a 5 gallon I can move them to when they're born.
These were totally accidental, I bought a couple female guppies from LSF and within 2 days they had 6 babies between the two of them and then died. All the babies lived and I gave 2 males to LSF about a month ago but the third male has a prolapse and I didn't think he'd make it, so I kept him back to let him live out whatever time he had left. But he's more active now than the females, zipping around and chasing the girls all day. I didn't think I'd have to worry about him actually getting them lol
These were totally accidental, I bought a couple female guppies from LSF and within 2 days they had 6 babies between the two of them and then died. All the babies lived and I gave 2 males to LSF about a month ago but the third male has a prolapse and I didn't think he'd make it, so I kept him back to let him live out whatever time he had left. But he's more active now than the females, zipping around and chasing the girls all day. I didn't think I'd have to worry about him actually getting them lol
Ohhhhh, the stress of the move probably did it. I’m kinda shocked they gave birth at all.
Guppy prolapses have a habit of being sucked back in LOL. Granted, it usually pops back out eventually, but that time between little man’s rearing to go. Usually when the guppy goes rail thin with/without a popped organ you know they’re reaching the finish line.
Prolapses are caused mainly by inbreeding and stress. If you keep breeding new generations of guppies, you’ll see less and less prolapses
I think I’m on my 5th generation and they hardly pop organs anymore.
Male guppies sexually mature faster than ladies, so yeah they’re probably preggers.
Guppy prolapses have a habit of being sucked back in LOL. Granted, it usually pops back out eventually, but that time between little man’s rearing to go. Usually when the guppy goes rail thin with/without a popped organ you know they’re reaching the finish line.
Prolapses are caused mainly by inbreeding and stress. If you keep breeding new generations of guppies, you’ll see less and less prolapses
I think I’m on my 5th generation and they hardly pop organs anymore.
Male guppies sexually mature faster than ladies, so yeah they’re probably preggers.
OK, good to know. I was worried it was my water but parameters had been stable for over a year and all all the babies survived so it probably was stress! Maybe I'll just keep the females in there to give birth to avoid stressing them and try to catch the babies after. I have a ton of plants and guppy grass and water lettuce so they might be hard to find!
Thanks for letting me know about the prolapse. I felt so bad, and after reading online considered clove for him but decided to just wait until he started downhill, but he just kept growing and seems happy for now. He still poops OK so everything's working at least!
Thanks for letting me know about the prolapse. I felt so bad, and after reading online considered clove for him but decided to just wait until he started downhill, but he just kept growing and seems happy for now. He still poops OK so everything's working at least!
That’s a good plan! Netting the babies out just takes a bit of patience, but isn’t usually too bad unless you have a lot of big decorations. But even then, just net them out as you see them, no need to take apart the tank, they naturally try to hide. If the fish are well fed, like yours, theyll be less likely to be looking for a fresh snack.
if you ever find yourself in a situation where you *have* to move a super pregnant lady, catch her in a cup or Tupperware. Don’t let her touch air. It’s *slightly* less stressful. But definitely try to avoid moving her at all.
Good luck! Hope you have lovely babies!
if you ever find yourself in a situation where you *have* to move a super pregnant lady, catch her in a cup or Tupperware. Don’t let her touch air. It’s *slightly* less stressful. But definitely try to avoid moving her at all.
Good luck! Hope you have lovely babies!
Those females look pregnant but not all at the same stage.
To be honest, female guppies are sexually mature already earlier.
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