Russelletino Posted March 27, 2017 Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 so I've had this one male guppy, he's a wild type guppy for a few months now and today I got him a female fancy guppy to see if they would mate. They're in a community tank with one female betta and 3 neon tetras, I plan to move the neon tetras if I get any fry. So far the male has been trying to make a move on her but I think she might be resisting, either that or it's normal, I'm not sure as I don't have any experience in breeding yet. Could she been pregnant already? I got her from a place that separated males and females but she could have already mated with a male before being separated, I really am not sure. The male was going at her nonstop for about an hour when I first introduced her in the tank but stopped for a while after, he's back it again though. I DO want to breed them so if you guys could give some tips then that would be great! one other thing, the betta is quite docile and doesn't ever attack the other fish in the tank except for a quick chase at the male guppy a couple times a day and she also only goes up to the female guppy and the female guppy just swims away, and the neons, she doesn't bother with them as they're much too quick for her and she knows it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russelletino Posted March 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 I am also planning to give away my paradise fish as I don't want to keep an extra 9l tank just to house a fish that's too aggressive to be kept with other fish so if you guys think so, I could move the two guppies in there to breed if that would make help at all, I can also put the fry in there if needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russelletino Posted March 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 I just had a closer look at the female guppy and she looks kinda fat so she could be pregnant but idk yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 27, 2017 Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 Guppies are also known as the millions fish because of the number of fry they produce. It is very hard to find a female guppy that isn't gravid. The fry will be eaten by any fish with a mouth large enough to fit them in, including the parents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russelletino Posted March 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 2 hours ago, Caryl said: Guppies are also known as the millions fish because of the number of fry they produce. It is very hard to find a female guppy that isn't gravid. The fry will be eaten by any fish with a mouth large enough to fit them in, including the parents. what do you mean by gravid? i thought gravid was just the name of the dark spot on the female guppy, also i moved the paradise fish out and put some water from the 20l into the 9l, should i move the 2 guppies in there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted March 27, 2017 Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 Gravid = carrying eggs or young; pregnant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennyleigh17 Posted March 27, 2017 Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 It is recommended to keep 2 female guppies per 1 male since the males tend to harass the females constantly to mate so having two females gives one a rest while the male is interested in the other. I'd recommend keeping the pregnant guppy in a heavily planted tank so the babies have somewhere to hide to avoid being eaten or put her in a breeding box when she is close to giving birth. I'd also recommend keeping the fry in a tank on their own but be careful with what filter you use since fry are so small they can be sucked into it. Cover the filter intake with some old stockings or pantyhose or use a sponge filter. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colour_genes Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 I agree totally about using a sponge filter (you will need an air pump to run it with as well). It depends on the strain of guppy you have, to some extent, if they will eat their fry or not. For instance most albino guppies will eat every single fry as soon as they are born unless you take major precautions, whereas some of the snakeskin and platinum strains are really chilled out and will not really bother the fry (even the males don't touch the babies) But on an average you should expect that unless you have the tank absolutely stuffed with weed (java moss I think is the best) about half the babies will be eaten, unless you can arrange to have the female in her own tank to give birth then remove her straight away. If you have only one tank then possibly isolate the female in one of those net breeders that hang on the side of the tank, and leave the fry in there until you think they are big enough to survive in the tank with other fish. Don't worry about getting your female guppy pregnant - if there is a male around, she will be! Silverdollarboy2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russelletino Posted March 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 3 hours ago, Colour_genes said: I agree totally about using a sponge filter (you will need an air pump to run it with as well). It depends on the strain of guppy you have, to some extent, if they will eat their fry or not. For instance most albino guppies will eat every single fry as soon as they are born unless you take major precautions, whereas some of the snakeskin and platinum strains are really chilled out and will not really bother the fry (even the males don't touch the babies) But on an average you should expect that unless you have the tank absolutely stuffed with weed (java moss I think is the best) about half the babies will be eaten, unless you can arrange to have the female in her own tank to give birth then remove her straight away. If you have only one tank then possibly isolate the female in one of those net breeders that hang on the side of the tank, and leave the fry in there until you think they are big enough to survive in the tank with other fish. Don't worry about getting your female guppy pregnant - if there is a male around, she will be! I do have a 9l tank that I can put the fry in once they're born (or should I put the guppy in there once she looks about ready?) and idk much about strains but the male is a wild type and the female has a single colour pastel blue tail, there could also be a chance that she was already pregnant before I bought her, I don't know yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russelletino Posted March 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 5 hours ago, Pennyleigh17 said: It is recommended to keep 2 female guppies per 1 male since the males tend to harass the females constantly to mate so having two females gives one a rest while the male is interested in the other. I'd recommend keeping the pregnant guppy in a heavily planted tank so the babies have somewhere to hide to avoid being eaten or put her in a breeding box when she is close to giving birth. I'd also recommend keeping the fry in a tank on their own but be careful with what filter you use since fry are so small they can be sucked into it. Cover the filter intake with some old stockings or pantyhose or use a sponge filter. Good luck! 3 hours ago, Colour_genes said: I agree totally about using a sponge filter (you will need an air pump to run it with as well). It depends on the strain of guppy you have, to some extent, if they will eat their fry or not. For instance most albino guppies will eat every single fry as soon as they are born unless you take major precautions, whereas some of the snakeskin and platinum strains are really chilled out and will not really bother the fry (even the males don't touch the babies) But on an average you should expect that unless you have the tank absolutely stuffed with weed (java moss I think is the best) about half the babies will be eaten, unless you can arrange to have the female in her own tank to give birth then remove her straight away. If you have only one tank then possibly isolate the female in one of those net breeders that hang on the side of the tank, and leave the fry in there until you think they are big enough to survive in the tank with other fish. Don't worry about getting your female guppy pregnant - if there is a male around, she will be! would it be alright not to have a filter in the guppy fry tank? it's a 9l tank. also what would I feed them? I saw some prepacked brine shrimp eggs in the pet store yesterday but I don't really know how brine shrimp works so I didn't buy it, and one more thing, I probably won't be able to get another female guppy until monday next week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colour_genes Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 Put your female guppy in the 9l tank reasonably early so she gets used to it, otherwise they can abort or reabsorb the fry. Catching the fry once they are born in the big tank is a pain, I don't recommend it, females often give birth overnight / early morning anyway, so a lot may already have been eaten by the time you realise it has happened. Yes you will need a filter, also water changes very regularly for the first couple of weeks. You can feed the fry on a good quality ( high protein) flake, crumbled into fine particles or 'dust' if you want to, although brine shrimp (either newly hatched live, or decapsulated eggs - google-search details for both) will make them eat more and grow faster. There are also specialist fry foods you can buy. I have some female guppies spare, you could have one or two for a dollar each if that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russelletino Posted March 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 1 hour ago, Colour_genes said: Put your female guppy in the 9l tank reasonably early so she gets used to it, otherwise they can abort or reabsorb the fry. Catching the fry once they are born in the big tank is a pain, I don't recommend it, females often give birth overnight / early morning anyway, so a lot may already have been eaten by the time you realise it has happened. Yes you will need a filter, also water changes very regularly for the first couple of weeks. You can feed the fry on a good quality ( high protein) flake, crumbled into fine particles or 'dust' if you want to, although brine shrimp (either newly hatched live, or decapsulated eggs - google-search details for both) will make them eat more and grow faster. There are also specialist fry foods you can buy. I have some female guppies spare, you could have one or two for a dollar each if that helps. wow thanks I'll definitely hit you up about that offer, I have some tools to make a sponge filter for the 9l, what if I just put the both guppies in the 9L for now and remove the male when I'm definite that she's carrying fry, would that work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colour_genes Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 Yes, sounds a plan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 28, 2017 Report Share Posted March 28, 2017 When I was breeding guppies I made a "V" trap and put the gravid females in there. Get a 50 litre tank and build a trap that fits inside that tank. The trap is about 2/3 the length and small enough to fit inside the main tank.. It has sides about 1/3 the depth of the tank and then tapers in a "V" leaving a matchstick wide gap at the bottom. The fry fall through the gap and cannot be eaten by the adults. After a few days they can be removed to a raising tank. Some people add a lot of plants such as java moss to give the fry somewhere to hide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russelletino Posted March 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 11 hours ago, alanmin4304 said: When I was breeding guppies I made a "V" trap and put the gravid females in there. Get a 50 litre tank and build a trap that fits inside that tank. The trap is about 2/3 the length and small enough to fit inside the main tank.. It has sides about 1/3 the depth of the tank and then tapers in a "V" leaving a matchstick wide gap at the bottom. The fry fall through the gap and cannot be eaten by the adults. After a few days they can be removed to a raising tank. Some people add a lot of plants such as java moss to give the fry somewhere to hide. thanks for the suggestion, I'll keep it in mind for when we rehome our goldfish in the 55.5l but for now I'll just make sure that the female gives birth in the 2.5l Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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