Emergency!

[messedupgirl77]

My 7 yr old brought home 3 guppies from school on Friday and one of them had about 16 babies over the weekend! Now we have an emergency because the temporary tank they're in is only a 1-gallon tank for the one small guppy we already had. I will go out today (Monday) and buy a bigger tank, but how can we prep it in a hurry before the babies get eaten? Can we leave the babies in the small tank until they're larger? And how often do we need to feed them? I've never had an aquarium before, much less babies! :help:

[Mgamer20o0]

well first read this.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598

your best bet would be to get a bigger tank and a breeders net to hold the fry in the bigger tank.

[messedupgirl77]

Thank you. I read the link you provided, but I still don't know what to do. i don't think we'd have enough time to do the fishless cycling. We also don't have any filters in the current tank, as it is so small, we just clean it frequently. All we have is a little gravel and one plastic plant.

[Mgamer20o0]

you will have to do fish cycle. since you have the fish. go out tomorrow and buy a tank a filter heater gravel and test kit. put the fish in the bigger tank.

your best bet would be a 10 gal tank from walmart $10. if you have a petsmart around you you can print out the prices of the stuff and have them price match it. things 50% off or more.

API master test kit
visi therm heater
aqua clear filter

dont buy any more fish. if you think this is something he would want to get into. keep other kind of fish i would look into a 20 gal long. i personally think its the best starter tank.

good luck.

[messedupgirl77]

Thank you very much! No, we won't be getting anymore fish!!! He's actually my fiancé's son and just came home with them from school. We had no idea, so obviously, we weren't prepared. Since he's only 7 and has an attention span that long in seconds, it's become my responsibility. If I left it up to my boyfriend, he'd flush them. :eek: I won't let that happen!

Will transferring the babies shock them to death?

Thanks again!

[Mgamer20o0]

hey you might fall for them. it has happened many times.

oh i forgot something to treat the water. pick up a bottle of prime. make sure the water temp is the same.

[messedupgirl77]

Thank you so much!

[Mgamer20o0]

any other questions please ask away.

[jessicar613]

Your guppies may not eat their babies- if you're not interested in getting more fish, I'd recommend just getting some floating plants (they can be plastic) for the fry to hide in and just letting nature take its course. My guppies never did eat their fry; in fact it became quite a problem. :o In a few weeks you have a bunch of mature guppies on your hands having fry of their own. They multiply very quickly.

[J double R]

hey.. guess what? its monday! ;)

[jessicar613]

hey.. guess what? its monday! ;)

Hmm I think you're implying I didn't read that thread thoroughly before responding.......!?!

and I think... maybe... you're right.... :o

Sorry OP :(

[Malefic23]

Fry are not a bad way to go with fish cycling. I've read where people put them into a new tank, and let them slowly build up the bioload. Fry produce very little in the way of wastes, so by the time the water volume contains enough ammonia or nitrites to damage the fish, the bacteria has had plenty of time to establish and devour it. But you could'nt add any of the adults to the tank untill the fry have reached about 1/2 inch size.