Guppy fry: ALL female?

[Shetland James]

I've had multiple female guppies give birth from the same tank and I have isolated all the fry so they survive - but every single one is female from what i can see. They're of varying ages and size from 5 weeks to 1 week. Mynmales are particularly colourful in my main tank so the fact that there isn't a drop of colour in any of the 40+ creché. Is this normal? It seems like it shouldn't be, especially given that after about 6 weeks they can be sexually active.

Halp?

[GuppyLover]

Originally Posted by Shetland James

I've had multiple female guppies give birth from the same tank and I have isolated all the fry so they survive - but every single one is female from what i can see. They're of varying ages and size from 5 weeks to 1 week. Mynmales are particularly colourful in my main tank so the fact that there isn't a drop of colour in any of the 40+ creché. Is this normal? It seems like it shouldn't be, especially given that after about 6 weeks they can be sexually active.

Halp?

They will start to get there color at about 5 weeks old, By the time they are 7 weeks old all of their color should be in. They become sexually active at 6 weeks but if you alow them to breed at that time all of there fry will come out to look like ugly gray feeder fish, Once your males and females start to get there colors and you can tell them apart you should seperate them so they don't breed.

[mudraker]

Depending on what you are feeding the fry, it could take longer for their male colors to show. It is highly doubtful they are all female.

[BillD]

Originally Posted by GuppyLover

They will start to get there color at about 5 weeks old, By the time they are 7 weeks old all of their color should be in. They become sexually active at 6 weeks but if you alow them to breed at that time all of there fry will come out to look like ugly gray feeder fish, Once your males and females start to get there colors and you can tell them apart you should seperate them so they don't breed.

Not true.

[mudraker]

I have about 200 guppies, and keep males, females and fry seperate.

Personally, I've never seen or heard of young parents producing anything but what their genetics are.

If you let different varieties of young fry who don't have their colors yet breed willy-nilly with different colors (say delta blues with lemon cobras) the fry may start reverting back to the generic looking non-fancy look. Usually you get an orange/black combo for a generation or two first.

However, well bred fancy guppies bred with others of their kind, will produce offspring that look like the parents, regardless of age.

[GuppyLover]

My brother breeds guppies and Ihave seen it happen plenty of times and I have read about it in almost everyone of my books. Just because it hasn't happened to BillD doesn't mean its not true and although you have so many guppies and have never had it happen I no for a fact it does. I was also told this at a petshop when I purchase my first Guppies.

[mudraker]

I would take pet shop advice with not just a grain of salt, but a whole salt lick.

Its the genetics of the parents, not the age of the parents that determines the type of fry produced.

[fan4guppy]

Although reading a book does not make one an expert in the field where as there are many experts that even sometimes work at pet shops that are paid for what they know. Even some that belong to guppy associations such as the IFGA and many other educational guppy sites such as the IGEES - International Guppy Education and Exhibit Society that are highly educated in the matter of the post. Many are professional breeders that belong to that society.

There are many professional breeders that would agree with this statement done by mudraker. However, well bred fancy guppies bred with others of their kind, will produce offspring that look like the parents, regardless of age.

Pure bred fancy strain guppies that have heritage that are bred by those that know the control of their genetics would say that the colors of males and females may occur even sooner than 4 weeks I have purebred strain of Black Moscows where the young develope as early in coloration as three weeks.

However if you have bought your guppies in the stores and do not know their heritage it does not matter how many books you have read as you do not know the history of the strains involved in making those guppies.

There is a difference between knowing and not knowing the history and the possible phenotypes in breeding guppies and that takes not only reading but breeding and observing the fish

Now for the possibility of them being all female in some university studies that have been out there there is even issues of females actually changing sex ...and possibility of fry being of one sex or another due to water conditions there are many factors involved.

However waiting the period of up to 2 months would be advised for aquarists with lack of knowledge in this area in regards to sexing and yes I would think the best plan is to seperate males from females in regards to store bought guppies for selection of further breeding.

[Owl307]

i read somewhere that when the fry are first born they are all females the some change gender as they grow.

[BillD]

Originally Posted by mudraker

I would take pet shop advice with not just a grain of salt, but a whole salt lick.

Its the genetics of the parents, not the age of the parents that determines the type of fry produced.

This is true.