We’re Breeding Guppies!

[gracieguppy]

yay! my friend ethan and i are breeding guppies together this summer. we’re planning on getting three adult males and three adult females and housing them in a 10 gallon with a divider. 10 gallon is fully prepared with good water conditions, a filter, heater, plants, substrate, etc. we have a smaller tank setup for the actual conception and for the pregnant mother to give birth into, and are also looking into a breeder box. we will have a larger tank for the fry to be raised in, we’re thinking either 20 gal or 29 gal. then, when the little guppies are at least an inch, we can give them to our local aquarium shoppe(s) for money and credit. we’ll keep a few to make a new breeding pair. we’ll only have one pregnant mum or brood at a time, but want a few of each adult so that they can breed with who they like. any tips? we’re hoping it’ll go well!

 

[Delapool]

Hi, looking forward to pics! You might even be able to get away with just one male.

 

[MattS99]

You always want more females than males. Personally I'd only find one really good male and keep him with three females for breeding.

 

[Toad]

I'd skip the divider in the ten gallon and just keep adults in there, keep the smaller tank for the intial birth and then move the fry into the larger tank asap. Keep a lot of plants with the fry so they can graze off the various stuff from the plants in addition to food, plus they'll grow faster. Keep in mind that if you are just buying from a pet store the females you get will most likely already be pregnant. And make sure you really can trade in for credit, or you will end up with a whole bunch of fish really quickly.

 

[coralbandit]

Plus one to making deals /arrangements now , before you get swamped with fish.
Many stores will not take fish .If you are lucky you will find a nice privately owned fish store where the owner will show interest. I developed a great relationship with my LFS owner 20+ years ago and now he will take anything I breed...Store credit is great and how I built my fish room !
If you know how to ship and calculate cost you can try to sell on AquaBid .
It is a great site with lots of exposure.They only ask for donations so no investment besides time to get up and running.
Most fish take 4 months at least to reach a sellable size ...

 

[guppygourami]

+1 on the male to female ratio... one adult male and three adult females is good.

I’ve never been a fan of breeder boxes/netted cubes. Often stresses the female out IME. I would recommend putting a bunch of (especially floating) moss and plants in the tank to provide good cover for newborn fry until they can be moved to the new tank.