Pregnant Guppies Not Birthing?

[dorf 2001]

Hi all

I have about 5/6 heavily pregnant guppies in a seperate tank to my other fish as Id like to keep the babies, They have been pregnant for a couple of months.
Can I ask how long the pregnancy period is and if the reason they havent birthed yet is because there is no male in the tank?


Thanks in advance

 

[OldMan47]

If your fish are carrying fry, they will drop them in about 28 days.
Many beginning fish keepers think they have pregnant fish simply because the fish are well rounded in their bodies or because they show a darkened area that is interpreted as a gravid spot. The shape of a fish, not its size or its color are a far more reliable indicator of them carrying fry. It is not quite as simple as judging by size but it is seldom as misleading either. You want to look for the fish to "square off". Once it starts looking like your female has swallowed something with sharp corners, she is close to dropping fry. At that point you should keep a sharp eye for any fry in the tank. A well fed female will always be large and will frequently show a dark color from her bowels being full, that can be misinterpreted as a gravid spot. That is one reason that I judge by shape rather than by size. The shape is round looking when a fish is merely well fed but begins to look sharply squared if she is carrying fry.