Livebearers- what to expect?

[sarah5775]

Ok. I have a 55 gallon tank with a lot of hiding places, caves, plants, etc.

I have 4 bloodfin tetras, 3 black skirts, 2 gold barbs, 1 gourami-

And 2 female mollies, 1 female platy (all these were from tanks with males so they may eventually have babies) and 3 female and one male guppy.

How many babies am I looking at over the course of a year or so? I am trying to calculate how many fish I should add at this point while still leaving room for possible fry.

I don't intend to actively try to save babies, just let them give birth in the tank and hope some survive. I know some (most?) will most likely get eaten. How many 'litters' from those that don't have a male, and how many will the guppies put out and how often? How many do you think will survive?

 

[Crepe]

Well from the guppies expect 50 a year in total. I'm not too sure about the others. But guppies will give you fry every 3 weeks for about 3 months out of the year it may be more or less depending on temperature and some other conditions. Each litter they have about 30-50 fry and most of them get eaten.

 

[BigJim]

I think Crepe's estimates might be a little low. I started with two pairs of guppies. I cleared out most of the jungle from the tank yesterday to find 100+. The first batch of fry was born on Christmas Eve. Other than the larger guppies, I don't have anything that'll eat the fry. You may lose more as food than I do.

 

[Big Dog]

Guppies will give you a ton of little fry. Trust me on this one.

 

[sarah5775]

What I worry about are the other fish in the tank- the gourami, the tetras (there are now six black skirts) and the 2 gold barbs. I am concerned that they will eat all of them, even though I have a ton of hiding places. I really hope I get some.

 

[Crepe]

Don't worry about it, you will always get some survivors.