Livebearers: Breeding and rearing guide.

[Ian H]

a breeding net is a good idea if you want them all to live anyways since any fish in the tank will eat the babies (including the parents!)

 

[tiger695]

Hi Everyone,

I am totally new at having fish and I feel like an idiot. From reading this I believe my three female fish are pregnant, but I am not sure. I have a female mickey, a female golden platty and a silver guppy. I think there spots are dark, but I am not really clear on where to look. I was hoping to post some pics and see if anyone can confirm and possibly tell me how far along, but I am not sure how to do that yet. I think the silver guppy is going to be having her fry very soon, she is barely swimming around and staying at the bottom in the plants. My question is the males will not leave her alone and are constantly chasing her, is this bad for her? My kids really want me to try and save the babies, can anyone give me a heads up on what the best thing to do is?

Thank you so much,
Confused

 

[Wetpet91]

Can anyone help, My guppy has just given birth to 12 fry they all look healthy but she gave birth to two fry that are acutaly joined 2getha and have been for allmost two hours now. I don't think they will make it but has anyone else experienced this and if so can you tell me what is happening and why it is?

Thanks

 

[Wetpet91]

Hi, I now have another problem i spotted last night that one of my fry had no lips, I have heard of this before and i ask (only experts here as I would like to save all my fry if possible) wether i would need to cull this fry should it affect the other fry. I do intend to sell the fry to my local store but i may keep the liplless fry should it survive. If I do not cull this fry will it affect my other fry and also if i culled it would it affect the fish that ate it?

Thanks very much and also thank you for the guide

 

[Fish_Lover0117]

I have a female Swordtail,and I think shes pregnant.I was wondering,do males ver fight any other fish when the females are pregnant?Because when I noticed the female looked bigger,I also noticed that my male swordtail was getting aggresive.I'm not sure whether he's territorial or what.Please help me!

 

[jodyluvs2stamp]

HELP!!! I think my balloon mollie has a baby stuck. She has only given birth to 7 (6 made it and 1 was born deformed). Her belly is still HUGE and she has like a bubble sticking out of her, kinda like a baby belly, but I am not sure what it is. I am worried she is going to die. She is eating and swimming; but this has not changed in 2 days. I called the store and they said there was nothing I could do. Any suggestions from anyone who has witnessed this? TIAJodyThe bubble sticking out of her is clear, like I could pop it.. but I won't of course. I would say it is sticking out of her 1/8 of an inch.Jody

 

[Hook. Line & Sinker]

2) Supplement your livebearers diet with vegetables which form an integral part of a livebearers diet in the wild I would reccomend blanched zucchini (courgette) or cucumber, flakes are only so good and try to add to the meaty part of your livebearers diet with blood worms or adult brine shrimp.

I never knew you could feed them vegetables, how do to do that?? Just drop a peice of cucumber in??

 

[Dan81192]

Just read all of this and its very good, it has taught me alot and now i just need my Male platy to enjoy sexy time with the girls


Dan

 

[lynnk]

My daughter has guppies and swordtails. We had our first batch of swordtail babies in early Oct. (3 babies all doing really well), followed by 2 sets of guppy babies in early Nov (7-9 lived each time, doing well). We recently gave 3 guppy babies to a friend and they died after 4 days. We filled 2/3 of their tank with our tank water to try to make this as stress free as possible. After reading this, I'm wondering if we gave them away too soon We need to give some away at some point, as both the swordtail and guppy are looking quite pregnant again. We're new at this, and are fascinated by it and want to treat the fish well....give them good homes etc. Thanks! Lynn (& Alea)

 

[mattbond]

is there any particular rule or guide to colour when you cross breed different colour morphs in platies?

i have 3 female sunsets, and 1 red tailed neon blue male (platies)

what colour should i expect from the fry?

 

[v0rt3x1721]

Hi blub, it will certainly lower them! you may want to get a net breeder, or alternatively if you have lots of java moss or similar dense plants then you may get a few who survive? Or if you're really quick with the net and catch them. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[fluffycabbage]

Great post - just a couple of Qs before a few of my platys drop! Do i take the mother out after finishing giving birth? Does the net stay in the tank for all of the 3-4 months? What if i have other pregnant platys (which i do) - can i release the fry into the main tank and put the new fry and mum in the net? Or is it best just to get another tank and have it as a nursery?

 

[OldMan47]

A year old subject resurrection. Several of the posters have not been on here for some time now.
If you decide to use a net, the fry will need to live in it until they are big enough not to be eaten by the adults in the tank. I find it far easier to preserve fry in a separate tank. You do not want or need to leave any female with the fry beyond the time it takes the female to drop her fry. The female in that case becomes a predator and should be removed from the net as soon as she is done.

 

[guppy!]

could i just give a tip? not saying you are wrong at all William. its just that my female sail fin molly gave birth a few days ago with never a gravid spot.

 

[fish48]

the gravid spot is an indication that a female is due to give birth however it is not all ways accurate most Livebearers show a gravid spot and many will not show any sign of a gravid spot