How can I tell when a guppy is done giving birth?

[Torkelgutt]

I'm sorry. I know I'm not the first to ask this question, but googling it gives me so many contradictory responses that I only end up more confused than before I googled it.

Who can answer this with clarity and certainty: How can I tell when a guppy is done giving birth?

My guppy started giving birth 24 hours ago, but so far I've only counted three fry. She still has a round belly (albeit smaller than it was), and the gravid spot is still there. Will either of those things dissappear when she's done?


I keep her in a separate tank from the rest of my fish, but would like to move her out of there as soon as she's done birthing to prevent her as best I can from eating her fry.

 

[drjallen3]

I'm sorry. I know I'm not the first to ask this question, but googling it gives me so many contradictory responses that I only end up more confused than before I googled it.

Who can answer this with clarity and certainty: How can I tell when a guppy is done giving birth?

My guppy started giving birth 24 hours ago, but so far I've only counted three fry. She still has a round belly (albeit smaller than it was), and the gravid spot is still there. Will either of those things dissappear when she's done?


I keep her in a separate tank from the rest of my fish, but would like to move her out of there as soon as she's done birthing to prevent her as best I can from eating her fry.

That's a good question! When a male's gonopodium transfers sperm to a female guppy, it's done by a whole packet of sperm at a time. Not all of the sperm in the packet are fully developed. They develope a few at a time and fertilize newly developed eggs that have ripined. She could continue to give birth sporadically over a 6 week period from just one mating. When you put her back in the regular tank, some fry could get eaten by her or other fish without you even knowing she gave birth. If she still has viable sperm in her or already fertilized eggs, you will notice her gravid condition getting large again soon.

 

[Torkelgutt]

That's a good question! When a male's gonopodium transfers sperm to a female guppy, it's done by a whole packet of sperm at a time. Not all of the sperm in the packet are fully developed. They develope a few at a time and fertilize newly developed eggs that have ripined. She could continue to give birth sporadically over a 6 week period from just one mating. When you put her back in the regular tank, some fry could get eaten by her or other fish without you even knowing she gave birth. If she still has viable sperm in her or already fertilized eggs, you will notice her gravid condition getting large again soon.

I see. Her gravid spot doesn't seem to have changed much so far, though. Does that mean she's still good to keep giving birth, or is there no way to know for sure?

Any advice on how long I should keep her in the nursery tank before I move her back to the larger one, to try to maximize the amount of fry I get in there?

 

[drjallen3]

I see. Her gravid spot doesn't seem to have changed much so far, though. Does that mean she's still good to keep giving birth, or is there no way to know for sure?

Any advice on how long I should keep her in the nursery tank before I move her back to the larger one, to try to maximize the amount of fry I get in there?

It all depends on how long ago she mated. As I said, the sperm will ripen at different times. And if the female has ripened eggs when that happens, conception will occur. The total time between last mating and her finishing giving birth could be 6 weeks. She could give birth to several fry over a couple of days and go a week without giving birth and start giving birth again off and on through the whole 6 week period as the newly conceived eggs aren't finished developing yet. But if she is still carrying fertile eggs, her gravid appearance will enlarge as the fry develope in her. Not all eggs get fertilized at the same time. I would give her one more day in the birthing tank and take her out to protect the fry you have. If you want more in the future, just expose her to another male.