guppy help..

[darren1989]

Hi there i was just wondering if anyone could see from the pictures how long my guppys have before they drop their fry they are currently in a double hatchery as this is my first time and wish to keep the fry, the actual guppys are not that old so not sure how big they will get, but on one of the guppys the gravide spot has little black dots :-_ thank you

 

[emilygupps]

It's hard to say, I would guess soon. But when they're in the smaller space too early they may get stressed and not drop the fry. (At least in my experience) do you have any males?

What I'm thinking you should do, is watch the females. Leave them out in the big tank and keep an eye on when the fry come so you can remember for next time when to love the female. If you can check them several times a day you may be able to rescue some fry before they all get eaten.

5-10 fry are easier to care for than 100 each one can potentially drop. Multiply that by how many females you have... And a good point to doing it this way, most of the weaker slower fry will get eaten and the ones you see hiding in the plants are usually stronger and healthier. It's a good way to let some natural selection occur.


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[darren1989]

Ok thank you i may just do that as dont want them to get stressed in them hatcherys either seems a bit cruel i wouldnt like to be in a small box :-( i will do that and see what happens hopfully il save a few as work long hours.. is there anything else i can do to help the fry when they are born plants or anything i have 3 live plants at the mo one being a grass

 

[emilygupps]

Anarchis floating at the top is good! Grass is good too. In my guppy birthing vase (I know, I was bad. It was before I understood about fish) I had all uneven smooth marbles in different sizes so the babies could get down there away from momma until I saw she had the babies.


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[guppy44]

I put a large piece of coral in my tank my fry seem to hide out perfectly in there!! Everyday I see more and more I'm worried there might be 50+ in there lol!!


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[wildroseofky]

Floating plants really help. Hornwort, water lettuce, red root floaters are all good. Just about any plant that has some roots that they can hide in. Lots of dense plants will also help. You can also add small "caves" made of plastic pill bottles, well washed of course, or any small container that the adults cannot enter. Rocks stacked to make little caves and hiding places work well too. Getting some fry food like Hikari First Bites seems to help more fry survive too. It is a fine powder that sinks so the fry do not have to fight with the adults for food. It floats into small spaces more easily than fish food. -

 

[Glene20]

By the way by the looks of it u need to clean out the hatchery .

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