Why no guppy fry's?

[ajaguilar]

I got 3 female guppies and a male about 2 1/2 months ago. The females were with males at the store and i was told they were probably prego.

2 1/2 months later the females have been huge for over a month but have not seen any fry. The tank is well planted 10 gal tank and have lots of places for fry to hide. I presently have 7 juvenile ghost shrimp and 5 adults that were born in the tank. So why don't i see any fry guppies? I have thought they were having babies a dozen times only to see it was poop. lol

The gravid spot seems big on most of them but anymore i am not even sure its a gravid spot.

What should I do?

 

[Guppy Breeder]

They may be having there babies and then getting pregnant again before you realize it. If this is the cause then the reason you see no fry is because : A - they are being eaten by the other guppies. And B - because they are very small when born and they might being hiding and then being eaten.
Finally C - the females have aborted the pregnancy because of bad water conditions a
or because of to much stress.
For reason c you should get paper water test strips.
Do you have hiding spots in your tank?
When the females are pregnant do you put them in another tank or put them In a floating mesh breeding tank?

 

[Alyxx]

Get a liquid test kit over the inaccurate paper strips if you don't have one already! However, all three of those reasons listed are possibilities as to why you don't see any fry. I would make sure you have plenty hiding places for fry and make sure the water quality in the tank is top notch.

 

[Fishie]

Get a liquid test kit over the inaccurate paper strips if you don't have one already! However, all three of those reasons listed are possibilities as to why you don't see any fry. I would make sure you have plenty hiding places for fry and make sure the water quality in the tank is top notch.

+1 IMHO I think liquid is more accurate and easier for me to use! Save me money from paper. Those are the 3 options that have happen(Ed).

 

[Starka]

Also to add to your list of being eaten- ghost shrimp will eat fry if small enough.
My fry tend to hang out at the bottom of the tank when first born. Easy pickins for the ghost shrimp. :/
Learned that the hard way, when I saw the tail being eaten after one of my platies gave birth.

 

[ajaguilar]

They may be having there babies and then getting pregnant again before you realize it. If this is the cause then the reason you see no fry is because : A - they are being eaten by the other guppies. And B - because they are very small when born and they might being hiding and then being eaten.
Finally C - the females have aborted the pregnancy because of bad water conditions a
or because of to much stress.
For reason c you should get paper water test strips.
Do you have hiding spots in your tank?
When the females are pregnant do you put them in another tank or put them In a floating mesh breeding tank?

thanks for the info
a i would think with 3 females and as mu ch hiding places i have and as much as i watch them that the babys wouldnt all get eaten before i see them but it is possible

b i look alot at my tank i would think i would spot the ones hiding for a while

c i have a api test kit ammonia is zero, nitrates are under 5 and ph is 7.3

i have rocks and a jungle of plants,

i thought about separating a female but have read it isnt goog for them and you should only do it for a day or 2 in a small space, also i now have no idea when / if they will have a baby. \\

i may try to place one in a bucket what do you think?

 

[ajaguilar]

Get a liquid test kit over the inaccurate paper strips if you don't have one already! However, all three of those reasons listed are possibilities as to why you don't see any fry. I would make sure you have plenty hiding places for fry and make sure the water quality in the tank is top notch.

got a kit. lots of hiding places. good water quality any other suggestions

 

[ajaguilar]

Also to add to your list of being eaten- ghost shrimp will eat fry if small enough.
My fry tend to hang out at the bottom of the tank when first born. Easy pickins for the ghost shrimp. :/
Learned that the hard way, when I saw the tail being eaten after one of my platies gave birth.

i have observed my ghost shrimp as very non aggressive, it is possible they ate your baby platy but it is also possible that they ate it after it was already died. btw i do have 2 dragon fly nymphs that i am sure will eat baby guppy fries and shrimp fries but they are not that fast and are not likely to eat much before i would spot the babies.

 

[ajaguilar]

is it very possible that my male doesnt have what it takes and i should add another? how long does it usually take before a typical store bought guppy is mature?

 

[Guppy Breeder]

Yes you probably should get another male it usually take 3 - 7 months the ones from the pet store should already be mature enough

 

[ajaguilar]

I went to the pet store i got them and they said its impossible that they females aren't prego between since they were surely prego when i got them and that you have a male with them. is it really that obvious when they have babies? Do there bellies decrease in size a great deal? My ghost shrimp, know to be very hard to raise are now multiplying like rabbits but the easiest fish to breed...my guppies still nothing.

 

[ajaguilar]

Still no frys, I put a female by herself in a 20 gal tank. Is it ok to leave her by herself for a long time? I read they don't do well alone.

 

[daveho]

check your filter.

 

[ajaguilar]

Dave,
I don't have a filter, they would suck the baby ghost shrimps and guppy frys if i ever get any. It's a heavy panted tank with a bubbler.

 

[Chronos313]

Get a filter and put a sponge over the filter a voila problem solved.

 

[Chronos313]

Oh and I have yet to Lise any guppy or platy fry to my 30 gallon running a tetra 30 and aqua clear 20 filter. Fry aren't stupid they aim right for a hiding spot for survival.

 

[ajaguilar]

Get a filter and put a sponge over the filter a voila problem solved.

Why do you think getting a filter will give me frys?

 

[Chronos313]

It won't give you fry but if you place a sponge over it they won't get sucked up. A filter also filtrates the bad out of a tank. But to each their own. I run filters in all my tanks(4).

 

[daveho]

when u do end up with fry they will most probably die unless you adress the fact that you have no filtration, when the ammonia levels build up you will lose your shrimp too. long story short set the tank up properly and when u do end up with fry some may see adult hood

 

[ajaguilar]

Daveho,

My ammonia level is zero. Nitrates are zero. I have a very low bio load and a high plant growth.