ludimac Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Hi all, to quote someone else, i am a first time poster but long time lurker. Up till now i have been able to find all the answers to my questions from the various posts on this helpful site but now i am at a loss. I have 2 pregnant guppies in isolation and one has popped out 2 babies. Could someone please tell me how long i leave her in there? is it possible she will only have 2 babies? and finally could the other female eat one of the babies? thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Both females are quite able to eat the babies if they are within reach. Depending on the size and age of the female, the number of fry varies considerably but she will have had more than two. Most likely she ate others. Do you have lots of fine plants in the isolation tank? This will give the fry somewhere to hide otherwise they have little chance of survival. It pays to keep a female separate from the males for a week to give her a rest after giving birth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiuh Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Hi all, to quote someone else, i am a first time poster but long time lurker. Up till now i have been able to find all the answers to my questions from the various posts on this helpful site but now i am at a loss. I have 2 pregnant guppies in isolation and one has popped out 2 babies. Could someone please tell me how long i leave her in there? is it possible she will only have 2 babies? and finally could the other female eat one of the babies? thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give me. first of all, you shouldnt really have 2 females in one isolation. if one female drops the other female might eat them. mind you...the mother herself would eat the babies as well. it is possible you have only 2 babies. but i would suspect the other female might ate it and left you with 2 babies. Females guppies also drop a few of babies at times...you have to play by the ear. you can leave a female in insolation as long as you want. not as recommended as it will stress her out...but as long they are comfortable in there and not too tight, and getting enough circulation water movement in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ludimac Posted November 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 at the mo, she is in my community tank in a breeder trap. i have another small tank, that has fry a friend gave me about a month old, would she be ok in with them or will she eat them too? i feel so sorry for the wee fry , protective mother instinct ? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 A small tank would be better but make sure it has lots of Java moss or sprite in there to protect the babies. Mother guppies have no maternal instinct. They see fry, they eat them. Breeding traps stress the mums too much and sometimes they abort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ludimac Posted November 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 ok here's a plan...could i take the seperator out of the trap, put it in the smaller tank and let the fry fall straight into the tank? would the older fry eat them? also i have gravel on the bottom could they get stuck in it? maybe i worry too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ludimac Posted November 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 also i have a cory catfish in the fry tank? do they eat newborn fry? thanks in advance anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Older fry can eat them if they are small enuogh to fit in their mouths. Fry do not usually get stuck in the gravel. Corys are bottom feeders so don't usually eat fry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ludimac Posted November 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 thanks very much Caryl. well she had popped out 8 babies while i was watching closely and neither her or other female tried to eat them, then just after the 9th was born, mummy made a grab for a fry beside her so i promptly removed both females. i will wait till they are swimming and put them in with other fry. Thanks again for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keri Anne Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 I've had female guppies have 50+ fry in 10 minutes and I've had others take over 24 hours to drop all their fry. I've had some females go 5 1/2 weeks between dropping fry and I have some that drop every 3 weeks to the day like clockwork. I've had some have 12 fry and some have 70+ I’ve had females that eat their fry and females that don’t… I’ve had females giving birth to a mix of blonde, grey and albino fry who will eat the blonde and albino but not touch the grey. There are a lot of things that can effect all of the above from genetics to environment, diet to tank mates to water conditions… even to the personality of the individual fish. Good luck with them. Have fun and I’m sure you’ll learn a lot. Cheers, KA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ludimac Posted November 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 wow KA, i guess like pregnant women, pregnant fish are all different. well, i started with 9 babies after i took mum out and because of my angels i am now left with three. i'm pretty sure the angels were sucking them through the slits in the trap. i have a tank i'm not using right now and i thought of putting kribs in it one day soon. would my angels be safe in with kribs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 theyll probably be fine as long as both species arent too agro or breeding. watch out for signs of aggression though just to be sure make sure you give the kribs some extra hiding holes (pots, pieces of driftwood etc) as they like a place to call their own :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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