Guppies and Breeding

[Jramatized]

I purchesed 2 guppies today. A male and a female..I hear these are really easy to breed. I have them in a breeding net right now, just for the hell of it. I forgot which is the male and which is the female. How can I tell them apart???Also how do I know when she is preggy? What do I look for? I read that they will have a spot u can see in them? But they both have spots I can see in there belly. Im going to buy a few more tomorrow in hopes the breeding chances will rise. I have tehm a in a community tank. 29 gal. Pretty well planted and gravle at a temp of 87 F

Any hints, tips, or tricks is appreciated..

thanks in advance

 

[Jramatized]

Oh yea

I forgot to mention.. One of them( the bigger one, with the bigger belly) is acting kinda strange. he/she keeps putting her tail down and head up and its fins are fluttering a lot. I dunno if this si due to stress or shes preggy and wanting give birth??I just moved them to the breeding net in case/

 

[Jramatized]

lol one more thing.. The pet store I got them frmo had the males in one tank and the females in the other. So I dunno if it could be preggy?

 

[frog girl]

Usually the male guppies have sort of bright shiny decorations near the tail which they show off to the females. They are iridescent or colored spots. I don't think you need a breeding net because guppies breed like rabbits & the fry will hang out in your plants. The adults will probably be less stressed if you let them wander around.

The fin fluttering could very well be courtship. You will know if one of them is pregnant because she will swell all up & get a dark spot in front of the caudal fin & right near the cloacal opening.

However the 87 F seems sort of high to me. But I have never really kept guppies so someone else will have to comment on that.

 

[Jramatized]

yea the temp is a lil high, but I was curing for ich and never dropped it. kinda scared to lol

 

[BASSNMAN]

The males are smaller and more colorful. The primary difference is their belly fin. The female has a wide fin, the males fin will look like a spike. The spot on the belly will be black when they are prego.

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

The male's tail fin is usually significantly larger in relation to its body. If you think the one is "with fry" take the other one out. Guppy dads think a mommy dropping fry is a moving buffet. Also, if your female has ever been around a male it is possible for her to be pregnant. Most livebearers can have multiple batches of fry from only one mating. More efficient but less fun.

 

[aquazen]

I don't go by the dark spot rule. It turns dark also if they're full of poop. Best way to tell is that the female becomes fat.

 

[FancyGuppyGuy]

usually the front part od the females belly will get fuller and the back part will get bigger and square off when they are close to giving birth. They also tend to hide or get away from other fish and at times become aggressive towards other fish coming near them.

As far as breeding goes the male will constantly be trying to breed almost 24/7 and they will become pregnant within a day or two if they are not already pregnant.

They can carry sperm to have more fry for 5-6 times without a male being around.

Males will have longer fins and be more colorful. females are usually larger than males.

 

[Jramatized]

well the male died the first night I had it.. BUT my female had babies. I just discoverd them today. I have only found 12 as of now. They was all in the fake plants and still may be some in the log. Anyone know how long she has babies or how many APPROX.? I dont know when she had them, but I have them in a breeding net to keep away from the other fish. The female is still free swimming in the tank. Oh and what can I feed them? I have some fresh dried brime shrimp that I crushed to powder pretty much and dropped it in there. All I have is flakes and that shrimp. then I have some frozen treats which I know they cant eat. Will they be ok with fine crushed flakes or the shrimp>?

 

[Brandontheman]

I use my credit card to grind up the flakes small enough for my fry to eat.

I recently set up a ten gallon tank to breed some guppies and it has been going VERY well...a little too well actually, ive been feeding some of the fry to my 4 betteas becuase im getting overun with them.

As far as telling when they are pregnant, its pretty easy, they get HUGE !

 

[Jramatized]

lol sounds like your ready to do some cocain lol

well Im up to 14 now. thats all thats in the tank unless she pops some more out. I was worried about the tank water not being clean enough for these guys. I did a water change yesterday but I heard u have to do it daily for the babies to live?? So I was thinking of moving the fry to a 2.5 gal. but does it need an air supply and a heater? or would they be ok with just plain water?
thanks for suggestions

 

[aquazen]

The crushed up flakes and especially the shrimp will work well for the fry. Just change the water once a week like you normally do. I used to feed 4 times a day like they recommended on those fish sites, but this made the water extremely murky after one week. I had to vacuum and do 50% water changes every other day for a week to get it clear again. I now feed them twice a day, which is fine unless you're trying to make them into store quality guppies.

Oh, one other thing. Expect between 8-15 fry at any given time. She will keep getting pregnant and delivering every 3-4 weeks until she runs out of 'stock' sperm. Mine's given birth 4 times already in 4 months. She's been alone with only females in the last 3 of those months.

Enjoy. They're fun to watch. Now you have to decide what to do when the fry run amok! Also, keep the heater running at around mid 70's. A HOB will work fine so long as there's a little bit of surface aggitation.

 

[Jramatized]

ok thanks. Ill just keep them in the breeding net inside the tank then. I doubt Ill keep them all. MAybe 3-4 if they all live? do a lot fo them die? If not Ill give htem away or try and sell them at a local pet shop.. thanks for the feed

 

[FancyGuppyGuy]

sure you can feed them finely crushed up flakes. they will need quite a few feedings to start then as the grow older you can cut down on the feedings.

5-6 times a day would be minimal for new fry. after a month 4-5 times. 2 months 3-4 times. 4 months or so 2-3 times.

The first month is critical. if you can get some high protien flakes 50%-60%+ that would be good. they need a balanced diet of protien, vitamins, and minerals.

 

[Jramatized]

preci8 it

 

[youronlysin]

One of my females gave birth to about 30 fry on Jan. 31 this year. I havent lost a single fry yet and they are now starting to show some color. Its quite intersting to watch. Now, I didnt plan on raising these fish when I got them so I was kind of over my head when I tried to allow them to have their own tank to grow in. Now, I dont remove the females when they drop...I leave them in the community tank and let things happen naturally. Usually only one or two fry will make it out of a bunch. I figured that this was no more inhumane than feeding our fish any other kind of live food. I simply cant raise a milion of these fish. I do have a job and a family, so my fry have only been fed twice a day from birth. Crushed flake food. Thats it. They may grow faster and healthier with better food and more feedings, but mine seem to be doing quite well. They are also in an established tank with plants, snails and there is usually plenty for them to eat (I think). I know this isnt quite the proper way to breed fish, and I dont mean to say that I condone raising them this way. But, if you have to do what you have to do, then I wanted to show you what has worked for me. Im not a breeder nor do I sell any of my fish. It just happened this way and I do what I can to keep them all healthy.

 

[Jramatized]

So it takes them around 2 months to show color and get some size on them?

 

[FancyGuppyGuy]

It all depends give them clean water and quality food and in 2 month they'll be 2 inches. the colors start showing up between 4-8 weeks depending on the strain.