Gravid Female guppy

[efisher]

Hi

I am new to aquariums. This morning I have purchased a pair of guppies. The female seems as if she is going to give birth soon as she seems as if she is going to explode. Can somebody tell me if I should separate her from the rest as yet? By the way she is staying alone behind the filters.

 

[thatmagicguy]

It is always risky to move heavily gravid female livebearers. If she gives birth in the main tank and there are not enough hiding places then the babies may get eaten. Genetics plays alot into how cannibalistic the mothers are, certainly the other fish in the tank will have a go at them. On the other hand, you could isolate her in a small aquarium with lots of plants, either plastic or live will do. You mentioned you are new in the hobby, so you must ask yourself, are you ready to take care of the babies?

Let us know what you decide.
Bill

 

[efisher]

Hi I have decided to seclude her from the others and yes I am willing to take care of the young fry once she pops.

 

[thatmagicguy]

Cool. You'll want to have food ready for them once she has them. Make sure that there are hiding places in the isolation/birthing tank. Put her back into the main tank as soon as she finishes giving birth. You can use finely crushed flake food to feed the babies, but really, newly hatched brine shrimp would be super for them. You want to do daily water changes in the fry tank to offset the waste and ammonia from uneaten food.

Bill

 

[meegosh]

I've been using crushed flakes with my fry and they seem to be doing great. I also drop a shrimp pellet in every once in a while. They really seem to love it. The oldest of the fry is probably 2 months, youngest being less than a week. They all eat the flakes.