Guppy Fry Survival Help

[owen.h.lewis]

Hi All,
I am relatively new to the whole "fish keeping" hobby and would like some help with regards to my preganant guppies.

Before you answer my question, i will fill you in on the setup i have.

My tank holds 126 litres, it has an inbuilt filter, along with an additional airpump/filter so there is plenty of filtration.

The tank also has a side mounted heater, and various plants and ornaments.

In the tank is the following:

4 x female guppies
2 x male guppies
4 x tiger barbs
2 x golden tiger barbs
1 x catfish (long skinny yellow and grey type)
2 x spotted catfish
1 x small clown loach
1 x angel fish
2 x golden plattys
1 x speckled platty (hawaiian?)
4 x neon tetra's

I know you're all probably thinking it's a crowded tank, however the fish seem to be fine, i do regular water changes (every 2 weeks), filtration is good and there is enough plants/water pump to provide enough oxygen.

My questions have to do with the 4 x female guppies, which all look pregnant.

They are quite large, but have been this way for approx 5 - 6 weeks. This morning i noticed one singular fry in amongst some plants at the top of the tank.

I would like to know of ways in which i could help the survival rate, without the use of a breeders tank or trap.

Also could the Guppies be having babies bit by bit because sometimes i see a white line comming from their behinds.

I am not to phased either way as to if they survive but would liek to know how to maximise their chances, so that i could possibly sell to a pet store. Is there any way they will survive in a community tank or is it most likely they will all get eaten?

I appreciate all your feedback.

Cheers, Owen

 

[MewMew42]

hey there =]

With regards to saving the fry with the use of a trap etc is lots of floating plants, i put mine by the side of the filter and the heater as thats where mine tended to gather

both of my births happened in my community tank with 12 guppy fry and 15+ swordatil fry which isnt bad =]

but to stop them getting eaten after youve found them it is best to buy a breeding trap and put them in there for safe keeping or they will probably get eaten!

 

[OldMan47]

If you actually want to save fry, a dense cover like a clump of java mos will help a lot. The fry will do their best to hide there where the tiger barbs and other predators can't get. This is a small clump in my guppy tank that is allowing lots of guppy fry to survive. I do not have predators like tiger barbs, angels or platies in that tank.

This is a small clump of stem plants in one of my endler tanks but almost no predators in that tank. Endlers are not big fry predators.

 

[GSD]

I have raised fry to adulthood with the use of plants and nothing else.
My tank has alot of slate caves and plenty of dense plant cover. Java moss is brilliant for fry to hide in, as oldman47 previously mentioned, and plenty of this will give the fry somewhere to hide from other fish until old enough.

 

[helterskelter]

4 x tiger barbs
2 x golden tiger barbs
1 x small clown loach
1 x angel fish
4 x neon tetra's

The fish listed above are great baby eaters and tiger barbs have a nasty habit of attacking guppies and shredding their fin's.
Even with loads of cover almost all would be picked off with out the use of a breeding trap.

I know you're all probably thinking it's a crowded tank, however the fish seem to be fine, i do regular water changes (every 2 weeks), filtration is good and there is enough plants/water pump to provide enough oxygen.

Thats ok while everything working but if u have a power cut then they could suffer with out the extra filtration.

My questions have to do with the 4 x female guppies, which all look pregnant.

They are quite large, but have been this way for approx 5 - 6 weeks. This morning i noticed one singular fry in amongst some plants at the top of the tank.

I would like to know of ways in which i could help the survival rate, without the use of a breeders tank or trap.

With out removing the fish listed above their is little else you could to other then stuff the tank with plants to the larger fish cant physically get down to the bottom.

Also could the Guppies be having babies bit by bit because sometimes i see a white line comming from their behinds.

Nope that's just their poo

Guppies do not have after birth or umbilical cords the fry get all their nuteration from the egg alone.

I am not to phased either way as to if they survive but would liek to know how to maximise their chances, so that i could possibly sell to a pet store. Is there any way they will survive in a community tank or is it most likely they will all get eaten?

I appreciate all your feedback.

Cheers, Owen

Think you get my thinking by now as the tank is you have very little chance of rearing much with the fish u have, unless your willing to rearrange then your only be lucky to raise 1-2 fry a month.

Also as a side note clown loach are a social fish and much prefer and are happier to live in groups of at least 3 fish.