Pregnant Guppy, help guessing days until fry

[Niki]

Hello all,

I know this is a pretty common question and from all the reading i have done i would guess my guppy is about 1.5 weeks away from birth but I thoght I would get your opinion!

I bought her about a week ago knowing she was pregnant and they could not give me an etimate of whe she got pregnant, not that I expected them t know.

so if you think you might know please let me know

Thanks in advance

Sorry if my pics are bad

 

[Aron]

Guppies can drop very randomly, but I would say you are a week or two away from the typical drop. The black spot at her rear will almost double in size from that pic and appear square. Keep an eye on her though because as I said, it can happen any time in my experience!

 

[BBradbury]

Your Pregnant Guppy

Good morning Niki...

Most females will have a dark brown gravid spot, but when the spot becomes almost black, then check the female's underside. Sometimes you can actually see the fry's eyes.

I've kept large tanks of Fancy Guppies for years, but have yet to witness the actual birth. Hopefully, you have places for the female and the fry to hide. I float Water wisteria or Water sprite in my tanks.

I would start feeding a little food several times a day now. I have a high fry survival rate, because I feed the adult fish a little food every few hours. I've found if the adult Guppies are well fed, they seldom bother the fry.

B

 

[Niki]

I just really hope I am home to see it I have never had fish babies am I am so excited to see the little guys!

That is one thing I really can't tell the difference between dark brown and black because when I look at her it looks black to me....but then again I have never seen a guppy close to birth so.

I do have several plants in the tank (fake) I was thinking about getting some java moss. I like the look of the plants you listed better haha I would like to get a floating plant!

Thanks for the advice! I feed my guppies 3 times a day right now....should this be good?

 

[BBradbury]

Guppies

I just really hope I am home to see it I have never had fish babies am I am so excited to see the little guys!

That is one thing I really can't tell the difference between dark brown and black because when I look at her it looks black to me....but then again I have never seen a guppy close to birth so.

I do have several plants in the tank (fake) I was thinking about getting some java moss. I like the look of the plants you listed better haha I would like to get a floating plant!

Thanks for the advice! I feed my guppies 3 times a day right now....should this be good?

Hello again Niki...

Let's just say a little several times a day. If you have time for a couple more small feedings that would be good. When I see fry in the tank, which is quite often, I start feeding a little more often, that's all.

Noticed you're a cat person. We have 10 furrballs, a small petting zoo and 6 large fish tanks with about 1,000 Fancy Guppies and a couple of dozen Corydoras. We have a pretty crazy place!

B

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

i think she is maybe 2 weeks away, because the lowest part of her stomach is away from her vent which means she is nowhere near ready for dropping. when my guppies drop, they develop a large rounded stomach a week before and about 2-3 days before the actual day the stomach squares off and she will hover alot, as in in alot of pain (contractions maybe).
my guppy has been in the breeder 2 days and is supposed to drop tomorrow, she is alot more even and squared off than your guppy.
relax, she will pop in her own time

and also i noticed in the last few drops; the black bit will suddenly get alot bigger about 4-5 days before and on the day her vent will double in size and the siver bit uderneath will protrude a bit.

 

[Niki]

Thanks, this is great information!

everywhere I have read all seem to be saying the same stuff, but here I got the "same" info but better details for what I wanted to know.

you guys are awesome, keep up the great advice

I will have to share pics when I have little babies!

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

yes u will haha!
can i put my own babies on here when mine drops? shes due tomorrow and had 42 last time!! x

 

[Niki]

YES, go ahead I would love to see some little ones

 

[Aron]

It is really amazing to see, I have witnessed the drop three or four times n I never get bored of it! She will spit two or three out a a time and they are sometimes curled up then they unfold and swim for cover. It can last a few hours some times an I would sit and watch til the end!!

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

she's dropped two, but has aborted the rest. the net is in a tank with mbuna so they thought they could munch babies through the bottom. im going to have to move her net to the oscar tank, but that may abort her further.... oh dear

 

[Niki]

That sounds like a sticky situation!

Do you have an extra tank for the babies?

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

nope, they were going to be in a net for a week. then a few at a time, once per day, were going to be oscar chow
iv kept a few of the previous batch and they are colouring up nicely, are almost ready to go back in the guppy tank.

 

[Niki]

As pretty as guppies are it's the life of a fish. Big fish eats smaller fish :-(

Do you think they would make a good meal for a pictus catfish? In case I can't home them?

 

[Aron]

Chances of them growing to adult without dedicated care and separation is minuscule anyway so if u don't want them or are scared of overcrowding just leave them in the main tank and let nature take it's course.

 

[Niki]

One week and one day later from the first pics. I'm not sure what squared off refers to, does it mean the gravid spot looks square or that the bottom of her belly looks flat? To me her tummy looks flat on the bottom.

 

[Aron]

She looks close. Keep an eye on her, but as I said it is hard to predict sometimes. In the pic I have attached is one of my females 'squared off'. Her belly all the way to her anal fin will seem lower and larger and the gravid spot becomes somewhat of a square shape and looks to have moved back as opposed to a round spot poking from her belly.

The best way to tell other than that is he behaviour, she will become secluded and hide among plants aswell as act differently when fed, sometimes not feeding. Also, she may become territorial towards other fish.

 

[warthog76za]

Aron's pic is the way you want your female to be looking before she "pops". One of my female guppies are also on the verge of giving birth, but I doubt I will be catching any...have enough fish as it is...any survivors I will as per usual donate to my sons kindergarten. Still have a few month old molly babies also in my tank as well.

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

my female was that shape over a week ago. she was crazily squared three days ago. this morning she had 48, ate 2 and 1 died. so 45 little bubbas in the breeder
your guppy has a very nice dark body, i love those females

 

[Niki]

I know it can be hard to predict, I'm just a little anxious! LOL I have never had baby fish before!

I will keep an eye out for behaviour thanks!


MBF, I wanna see pics!

Thanks, I really like her black body, the pics do not do her justice...the color makes me think of a phantom...there is not a speck of blue in her black coloring <3