Lotsa Babys

[Binge]

So we have about 12 fry that survived from the fist batch our guppys and mollys put out and the guppys both dropped again yesterday and today. and both mollies look like they have a day or so to go. I was hoping if I let them spawn in the main tank and just gave them lotsa spaces to hide nature would prevent over crowding. I am now thinking I may have been wrong lol. We have a 55 gallon and if you follow the 1 gallon per inch of fish ratio I still have plenty of space for now.

My concern is how long till the newborns are spawn capable?

 

[Althamon]

They won't be capable of breeding til about 3 months old as that is about average for the gonopodium to appear on the males and by then they are pretty much able to breed so as soon as you notice them I would separate them, until that point it is a guessing game.

 

[OldMan47]

You are correct Binge. As the population approaches overcrowding, less and less fry will survive. It is the way I run my guppy colony. I remove all adults every few months but never have a lack of adults to remove 3 months later. The crowding slows or stops when populations are about twice what I would willingly place in their tank.

 

[Binge]

cool ty. I figure I will donate any extras to a local petshop. there is a small mom and pop that may even give me credit on them .

 

[OldMan47]

Another easy place to move your fish out is at your local club auctions. I sell a several dozen fish each year that way. I never make any money on them because I always see something worth buying, but at least it holds my costs down a bit.

 

[Binge]

Yeah I recently found out about those in my area next one is in a couple months may try taking some there.

 

[OldMan47]

A good practice is to sell the mature adults and keep the fry and juveniles. It keeps your breeding population young and means you are selling fish that look their best. Do sell pairs and trios, not large groups. It seems contradictory but I can make more on a nice trio of guppies than a group of 15 or 20. For some reason, people will pay more for the trio from the same tank.

 

[Binge]

I will keep that in Mind doubt I am selling anything for a good long while turns out my new [platys braught parasites with them and I now have white spot in the tank. Gonna try the 80 degree high salinity method of treatment. Just waiting to get a couple questions answered( posted in the emergency section) before I begin already added some salt and started upping the temp.