Crazyhermitcrab's Complete Guide to Livebearer's

[Crazyhermitcrab]

This guide will teach you the basics of livebearer's!
Written by: Ingrid Schoonover Images by: Ingrid Schoonover


Guppies:
Poecilia sphenops

Minimum Tank size: 20 gallons
pH: 6.8-7.8
Temperature: 74 F
Food: Omnivore
Ratio: 1 male:2 females
Size: 2-2.5 inches
Lifespan: 1.5-3 years
Number Of Babies: 30
Other: Breeds with endlers and mollies.


Endler's:
Poecilia wingei

Minimum Tank size: 10 gallons
pH: 5.5-8
Temperature: 64-82 F
Food: Ominivore
Ratio: 1 male: 3 females
Size: 1 inch
Lifespan:n 1-2 years
Number Of Babies: 20
Other: Hardiest livebearer, readily breeds. Breeds with guppies and mollies.


Mollies:
Poecilia sphenops

Minimum Tank size: 30 gallons
pH: 7-8
Temperature: 75-80 F
Food: Omnivore
Ratio: 1 male: 3 females
Size: 2-6 inches
Lifespan: 3-5 years
Number Of Babies: 60
Other: Provide lots of hidey's. Molly's DO NOT NEED SALT! Only sailfin mollies require aquarium salt. Breeds with endler's and guppies.


Platy's:
Xiphophorus maculatus

Minimum Tank size: 10 gallons
pH: 7-8.2
Temperature: 77 F
Food: Omnivore
Ratio: 1 male:2 female
Size: 2 inches
Lifespan: 2-3 years
Number Of Babies: 30
Other: Can breed with swordtails.

Swordtails:
Poecilia wingei

Minimum Tank size: 30 gallons
pH: 7-8.3
Temperature: 7--82 F
Food: Omnivore
Ratio: 1 male: 2 females
Size: 5-7 inches
Lifespan: 3-5 years
Number Of Babies: 90
Other: Males will fight to the death in tanks smaller than 40 gallons. 1 male per 30 gallons is a good rule. Can breed with platy's.


Mosquito Fish:
Gambusia affinis

Minimum Tank size: 20 gallons
pH: 6.5-8.5
Temperature: 65-75 F
Food: Omnivore
Ratio: 1 male:2 female
Size: 3 inch
Lifespan: 1-1.5 years
Number Of Babies: 30
Other: Good in ponds for keeping mosquito population down. Beware they nip.


Now let's talk about breeding. You can breed livebearer's as soon as you can s-e-x them. This means your livebearer's will start breeding between 3-6 months old.

Preparing the tank:

To breed your fish you will need a large aquarium. There will be a lot of fry so get a big enough tank. I would recommend a 40 gallon for breeding.
Fish will only breed if they feel secure. Make sure your tank is heavily planted with large bushy plants. Adding floating plants such as hornwort seems to help. Add some caves and pieces of wood. Your pregnant fish will drop fry only if she feels safe.


Selecting the fish

Select trio's of fish that are identical and have the color and traits you are looking for.
Wait... Is my fish male or female?
Male: Male's have a pointed/rod fin below their anus. Guppies have large colorful tails, and swordtails males have swords.
My platy is demon starting.

Here is a endler-guppy hybrid

Male sword

Male calico molly

Male guppy

 

[Crazyhermitcrab]

Female: Female's have a fan-like fin. They are normally less colorful and have shorter finnage.
My lyre tail female will demonstrator.

My platy will show you her fan.

Female swordtail

Female guppies almost always have a pale body.

Female molly


Selecting Mates

Inbreeding: This is crossing brother to sister, mother to son, etc. It is the best method to achieve desired traits. Beware of deformations after the 7th generation.

Line Breeding: Similar to inbreeding, but there is less risk. You start with the trio of fish. You separate the first batch of fish and separate them into different tanks. You inbreed in each separate tank. Every few generations mix the two tanks around to add some variety. This way you are still getting the traits you desire without the risks of deformities.
For example: Lets say I had 3 mollies. 1 male, 2 females. I would put them in a breeding tank. Each female became pregnant. I would place one female in tank A and the other in tank B. I would inbreed tank A for 3 generations, and I would inbreed tank B for 3 generations as well. Now, I would take 2 females from tank A and 1 male from tank B and place them in the breeder tank. Tada! That's line breeding.

Out Crossing: This method is used when you are not trying to create a strain. So, for this method you are breeding non-related fish to one another. This is unpredictable and you never know what you will get.

How do i tell that my fish is pregnant?

Well, simply put, if your livebearer's are together they WILL become pregnant. Your livebearer will get big and ready to pop, possibly you can see her gravid spot. Her body will square off.


This molly is ready to pop


Notice how this guppy's belly is squared. You can see indents where there would normally be curves.



This guppy has a dark gravid spot, you can even see the fry's eyes. She is also squared off.



Look the swordtail is starting to get her gravid spot too!



This young molly is in her early stages of pregnancy. She is started to inflate like a balloon.

 

[Crazyhermitcrab]

Here are some Spawn example:
Male sailfin black molly


+

Female dalmation molly


=

1st batch



2nd batch




3rd batch



Where do I put my fry?
If your tank is heavily planted. Than you can leave the fry in your tank, if not. Move them to their own grow out tank or place them in a breeder trap.
Heavily planted:


Growout tank:


Breeder Traps:



Thank you for reading.

 

[Hulka9]

Awesome guide!

 

[FishyBusiness]

Great guide! Should be a sticky!

 

[Crazyhermitcrab]

Have the staff seen it yet?

 

[Fishfanboy]

I'd say 10 for guppies though

 

[Crazyhermitcrab]

I'd say 10 for guppies though

In smaller tanks guppies are stressed and less Likly to breed.

 

[Crazyhermitcrab]

2nd half coming soon.

 

[New_b0401]

Thanks for the advice! Any opinion on where I can get some really nice high class guppies? I don't really want to breed the low class short finned pet store type.

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[Darkseid76]

Hopefully you can edit but some of your scientific names are mislabeled. But good job overall.


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[Crazyhermitcrab]

Hopefully you can edit but some of your scientific names are mislabeled. But good job overall.


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This is incomplete. I will add the final copy later,

 

[Fishfanboy]

Thanks for the advice! Any opinion on where I can get some really nice high class guppies? I don't really want to breed the low class short finned pet store type.

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You can find some nice ones on aquabid

 

[New_b0401]

You can find some nice ones on aquabid

Alright thanks ill take a look

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[Crazyhermitcrab]

Alright thanks ill take a look

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Or you can start with some muts. And breed lem for specific traits

 

[New_b0401]

Or you can start with some muts. And breed lem for specific traits

Yea thats what I decided to do but I'd still like to start out with some decent looking ones like mid grade and move up but will see

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[Larry P]

How quickly to female platys cycle after giving birth, and how long is gestation? Larry


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[Asherly_x]

This is awesome ?

 

[Crazyhermitcrab]

How quickly to female platys cycle after giving birth, and how long is gestation? Larry


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Platys give birth every 22-30 days. As soon as they give birth they pregnant again,

 

[Fishobsessed7]

Hopefully you can edit but some of your scientific names are mislabeled. But good job overall.


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+1


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