Guppy frys and 2 gupies dead

d_lit_e

AC Members
Oct 6, 2007
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Well I waited a 1 1/2 weeks and finally saw my first guppy fry today. I was really supprised to finally see one but just when I was about to point at it, a male guppy ate it!:rant2: ( I only saw it for 3 seconds!!) After that I quickly looked around the whole tank for more and found just 1 sitting in some plants, well I walked away and returned 2 minutes later to find it gone:rant2:!

I also found 2 dead female guppies dead on the gravel and their bellies did not look that big before, so I don't think they gave birth. I lost 4 guppies in total, so I really want to start raising frys.

Now.. how can I save the future frys? The female guppies go crazy in the breeding trap and the frys will hide in the plants making it extremely hard to net them.

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First, I like the way your tank looks with all the plant decorations. The cories will leave healthy fry alone so what you really need to do is protect the fry from the adult guppies. It would help if you had a separate tank to raise the fry until they are large enough not to look like food to the other guppies. If you don't have it you don't.
Next best option and you will be amazed at how many are saved by it is to get something, almost anything, that the fry can swim into and through easily where the adults cannot follow. In a nicely decorated tank like yours, I would look for something that looks like a dense stand of grass or an open looking moss. The idea is very small spaces your fry can fit right through. Now that you have seen them, you can guess pretty well how small a space they can fit through. The hiding place should be large enough for several fry to live in it for several days without being too crowded as that is exactly what they will need to do.
Another thing you can do when you see a female starting to give birth is get the lights off in the tank. You won't be able to watch the process easily but the adult fish won't be able to spot their snacks as easily either. It won't stop the predation but it will help some.
 
I have a 10G I let my platys give birth in...no traps. just a big wad o' java moss and a load of dense hornwort in there. The newborns usually hide in the java moss and venture out as they get bigger.
 
Move the adults to a different tank after the females drop the young. They will be easier to catch than the fry in your tank.
 
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