Looking For Some Advice

[craftyfishlady]

Hi all, new to the forum today and looking for some information / advice on our guppies & mollies.

We've suspected that 2 of our 3 mollies are pregnant and have been for a while however we now suspect that one of the 2 guppies we bought and were told are male is not the case!

Over the weekend we found 3 fry in the tank, one has been eaten by the japanese fighter and I have now bought a hatchery for the fry and put the suspected pregnant guppy & one of the mollies in however I am unsure how long I can keep them in there (mothers more than the fry) and also how pregnant they are! Not even sure what breed the fry are TBH!!

The guppy is mush rounder than the other one we have and is mainly floundering round the bottom of the tank (pre hatchery) Looking at images via google has helped but not confirmed. I can't see the *grey spot* people say to look for as it is silver and dark blue - the dark blue starts where the spot would show on a lighter coloured fish.

If I can capture a few snaps would anyone mind advising us please? When we ventured into the world of a small tank this was not planned and I'd just like to do the best by them all round.

Over all in our tank we have 1 japanese fighter, 3 mollies (1 black and 2 dalmatian), 2 guppies and a bottom feeder for the life of us we have no idea the breed name! The kids just call it Sucky the sucker fish!!!

Thanks in advance for any assistance anyone can offer!

Kirsty
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[fluttermoth]

If you can post pics, we can certainly help; you'll need to upload them to a hosting site, like Flickr or Photobucket, then paste the IMG code into your post.

How big is your tank, and how long has it been set up?

 

[craftyfishlady]

I have a photobucket acct so will use that

I'm not sure how big the tank is in every honesty - measures 16 inches wide x 12 inches tall and 10 inches deep. I was given it about 6 months ago with 1 cat fish in it - sadly we lost said fish and have started from scratch with the above listed fish

Off to locate the camera - I can't promise amazing pics but I'll have a go!

Thanks!

Kirsty
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[Scales9]

First of all congratulations on the fry... Pictures would be very helpful , not that I am an expert on this but there are some very brilliant people on here that can help. In the mean time start reading the pinned threads at the top of this section if you haven't already I found them very helpful. It is not a good idea to leave the expectant mummy's in the breeding net for very long they can become very stressed. The fry need to be fed 3-5 times a day just feed them ground up flakes . Hope this helps a little.

 

[craftyfishlady]

Heres the pics, all clickable thumbnails I hope!


The tank in it's entirety


Japanese fighter


?? Pregnant Guppy ?? She? sits on the bottom like this a lot in the hatchery or when loose in the tank - coming up to feed well and does flit about a fair bit too.


?? Pregnant Molly ??


The Other Guppy


1 of the Fry - unsure of breed?


The other suspected female / pregnant molly ??


The other fry - again unsure of breed??


Bottom feeder hiding - no idea what breed this is or even gender! Known as Sucky lol!


Possible male molly??


Another shot of the *free* molly


Complete hatchery

All advice appreciated and welcomed!

Kirsty
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[fluttermoth]

Ok...

The guppy is definitely pregnant, and close to dropping fry; it's common for heavily pregnant females to hang around near the bottom.

The molly will be pregnant (you can assume that all female livebearers are pregnant all the time), but she's not very close; at least two, or even three, weeks away,

The first fry is probably a molly, the second probably a guppy. I would let the mothers back into the main tank, and put any fry into the trap. Those traps are really too small for adult fish.

'Sucky' is most likely a bristlenose, but it could be one of the other plec species (you mean species, btw, not breed ), it's hard to tell from that pic.

 

[Akasha72]

I was about to say the guppy is a male but after reading fluttermoths reply I'm unsure. It does look pregnant and very close to dropping but it's a very elaborate female - generally the females are quite plain and don't have fancy tails.

I'd agree that the first fry looks like a molly and the second does look more like a guppy fry.

As for sexing I've written it down so I'll just copy from my scribbled note!!

pic 3 is a male

pic 4 is possible pregnant female

pic 5 is also male

pic 7 is female

pic 10 is a black male molly


Hope that helps you a little. Sexing of livebearers is quite easy. You need to look at the anal fin. If it is pointed it's male if it is triangular it's a female.


Don't fret too much about the fry, with both male and female's in there you'll have a drop of fry fairly regular - about every 6 weeks or so (could be a short as every four though)

Before too long you'll be like me and begging them to just stop!!!

Now you've found this forum you'll be a fishy expert in no time. Good luck with it

Akasha

 

[craftyfishlady]

Thank you so much!!

I have released the molly back into the tank and taken the divider out so the guppy has more room. I'll monitor it for another day or so I think just in case!

I have read that Guppys can change sex ?? Mixed reports some saying yes others no - is there any posibility of this??

If *Sucky* ventures out I will attempt a better photo, he/she is very content hidden up behind the heater! Didn't realise fish were referred to as species as opposed to breeds thanks for that - learning loads already! Who knew I'd determine so much about out little tank on 24-48 hours!

Kirsty
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[fluttermoth]

No, guppies can't change sex. What can happen is the less dominant males don't mature for a long time, and so look like females. Also, very old females can take on male characteristics, but they wouldn't be viable males.

I think everyone here learns a lot; it's brilliant, isn't it?!

 

[craftyfishlady]

It really is fab! I only started with a small tank with a view to it being simple and pretty in the corner of the lounge as I've always found watching friends fish tanks theraputic LOL! Little did I know it would become such a fascination for us all! My 3 young kids are absolutely besotted with the set up - even more so now we have the fry (another new word! They've been called baby fish all weekend LOL!) in the tank too!

Venturing into a bigger tank - collecting a 115 litre tank next sunday from a friend complete with stand, filter heater and so on! Looking forward to a colourful collection gathering in that tank too I fancy having some angel fish I think! I'm a bit of a magpie - I like the shiny brioght coloured fish lol!

Kirsty
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[craftyfishlady]

while I think - another quick Q if I may.....

Approx how many fry (trusting they don't get eaten etc) can either the mollys or guppys have per birthing session??

TIA!

Kirsty
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[Akasha72]

while I think - another quick Q if I may.....

Approx how many fry (trusting they don't get eaten etc) can either the mollys or guppys have per birthing session??

TIA!

Kirsty
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Well they're not called millions fish for nothing. Check out my "I think my female guppy is sick" thread ...

 

[Cazgar]

I think the 'pregnant' guppy is a male & not a very well one from the looks of it.
Females don't have that kind of colouring.
Can you possibly get a better picture?

 

[fluttermoth]

On a second, closer look, I think you might be right, Cazgar

It's been a long time since I had guppies

 

[craftyfishlady]

Will attempt a few more pics of the blue guppy in a mo!

Kirsty
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