Newbie And Totally Confused

[cpeckford]

I'm Sorry to be a bother but I am slightly confused. I have recently bought 3 guppies. 1 male and 2 females. When I had purchased them I said that I WANTED babies and the lady in the pet department ( at walmart...I know walmart fish aren't great but its the only place I can get fish if I don't want to go on a 4 hour drive....) picked out 2 females and told me that one was pregnant... These are the things I don't understand....

1. The females and males were kept sepertly. So how did she get pregnant?....

2. Theres is a gravid patch in the smallest female that is very black but she is not fat. Pregnant?

3. The largest female has a gravid patch also (I think) but its higher in her belly??? The patch is not as low as the smaller fish. Could it look this was because she is so big?? I also read that in light colored guppies the patch can ne pink, red, and orange... is this correct?? Her belly is HUGE and she tends to float at the top of the tank. She's also doing a lot of swimming backwards but she's eating good.... Could she be pregnant or is she sick?...

I've read the TB article for guppies... She's not out of shape in anyway other then being fat. She looks like the other guppy.

I am unable to get a decent picture to post.

Any and all help would be greatful!!

Thanks in advance...


***** I was just surfing arounf the site and came upon this picture...
<a href="http/www.fishforums.net/uploads//monthly...-1200777880.jpg" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/uploads//monthly...-1200777880.jpg</a>

My guppy looks EXACTLY like this (only not that color..She's kinda see through??)..... FAT..... but the dark spot is higher in the belly...

 

[kribensis12]

Females can store sperm for many month's after sex. So they will have babys and be pregnant again. Also, walmart isnt very good at sorting guppies. Fat guppies with a big gravid spot usually indicated pregnancy. Sometime's fish can have a gravid spot and not be pregnant, but if a fish is biog and has a big gravids spot, they are almost always pregnant. Under the right circumstnaces, it's a good indicater.

 

[cpeckford]

Could the gravid spot be in the middle of her belly instead of the bottom of her belly?

 

[kribensis12]

Yeah, as long is it is in the clear area of the female.

 

[LauraFrog]

Floating on the surface can be a sign that the water quality isn't up there. What did you condition your water with and did you cycle the tank before you put fish in it? How big is the tank?

Like krib said, walmart is not at all good at sorting guppies, and it's likely that whoever supplied walmart with the guppies sent them in bags of mixed sex. If you bought a male, chances are you will have babies within a month.
Gravid spots on mollies, platies and swords are definitely not good indicators. With guppies they can be used to tell, but they are not really reliable. If you have males and you bought them at Walmart you will have fry.

 

[Phatphish]

Have you considered getting fish posted to you rather than buying from Walmart?

I know of two highly respected livebearer breeders (specialising in endlers)based in the US who post all the time. Have a look at this site if you're interested.... (Adrian Hernandez is recognised as being one of the foremost experts in endlers etc). www.SwampriverAquatics.com

Also Paul at: http/www.Tampafishman.com

 

[cpeckford]

Thanks for the replies... to answer a couple of your questions....

The tank is new but the filter and all the water and some of the gravel/rocks/plants are from my 30 gallon tank (which has been running since October 07). I drained the 30 into the new 20 gallon. I don't condition the water with anything because I have had problems with gold fish. Every time I used tap water and placed the conditioners in the water I ALWAYS has an ICK out break and all my fish kept dying... so I now use filtered spring water and no conditioner and my fish are awesome!! No ick since September 07 and no dead fish!!..... I think I'm doing a good thing?? I hope so anyway!!

I have never thought about getting the fish transported to me but really I would see no difference in the price that I would pay to travel 4 hours to the nearest pet shop. By the time I pay for the fish, shipping and handling and transfer it to american currency its probabley cheaper to go on the 4 hour trip lol. But it is something to think about!!

** this guppy that I'm concerned with has been swimming around the tank more since I posted this yesterday. Even going to the bottom of the tank.. The male has been chasing her around a lot tho.. is that a bad thing or should I just let then do there thing??.. she has been eating more too... Just thought I'd update you on that....

I'm glad to know that She may be pregnant!!! I can't wait to see what happens. Will keep you posted if you like and I'll try to get a pic..

Click the link to see pics of my 30 gallon (2 small oscars) and 20 gallon tanks
http/www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5522...mp;id=612160222

 

[cpeckford]

I just wanted to let everyone klnow the I HAVE BABIES!! well fry lol. The guppy I thought was pregnant was and she droped some time last night between 8:00 and 12:30 (I'm assuming.. after that she had no more)....

Neways she had 9 fry and 6 eggs... The poor little guys had eyes and everything but just didn't make it...She ate the eggs too!! But left the fry alone!

I'm so excited and I hope they all make it!!

Wish me luck (and the babies hehe) and thanks for all the advice too!!

 

[dortiz24]

Congrats on your fry! Make sure you have an area for them to hide. I keep one corner of my tank packed with plants so the fry can hide and the bigger fish can't really swim through. So far I've been able to add 6 one mth old fry back into the tank and there are 8 newborns still alive. I still have about 40 other fry in my fry tank.

Congrats! They are fun to watch grow!

 

[cpeckford]

I have the 9 fry placed into a 1 gallon tank for now until I have something larger to put them in. I was told I could keep them in the breeding box but there wasn't much room to swim around and I felt bad for the little guys lol and I don't have much hiding room in the 20 gallon just a couple of plastic trees so I didn't want to take the chances... I can actually see the difference on them already in 3 days.. I have them stuffed with egg yolk so maybe thats why there growing so fast lol.... will try to get a nice pic if I can...