My Guppy is pregnant!

[Robert04]

Well to begin with I'd like to tell you guy's what I am using currently equipment wise.. I have a 5g tank that I run fresh water. closer to tropical temp, If that makes sense.. It is an established tank that has been running happily for a few months now.. I have about 9 guppies 4 fancy 5 feeders and also a rainbow crab about 1 to maybe 1 1/2 inch carapace..I've noticed two of my females are pregnant.. they are very large compared to the others.. They have black blotches on there rear abdomen and they seem to be holding there space near shallower parts of my tank fending off anyone who comes within an inch or two. They don't look like they are to distraut because they are a little larger then all the males.. and they don't seem to be bothering the females very much. My tank is setup like a mini beach with some stone hendge type rocks that my crab likes to hang out in.. I originaly got the feeders because somebody suggested the protein would be good for the crab and he would probably eat them even though he is mainly a veggie muncher. Well no luck there(He did eat a few blood worms though dethawed) he just seems to love the little guys.. in fact if i get to close to them with my stick when I am mixing the sand for gas pockets like somebody had suggested, he got quite pissed for lack of better words and came after my stick hehe.. Now the part I am having trouble with is.. WHAT DO I DO! lol they seem to have been fat like this for over the 28 days they say pregnancy takes.. Do they feel threatened or something? my Buddy said they will absorb the child or eat it if they dont have alot of space..I dont have a larger tank to put the females in.. Am I harming them by letting them sit here in limbo? Is there anything I can do.. Will a fish bowl work? maybe a large tupper wear.. I'm in no financial condition to buy a new tank for atleast two months and I don't want to lose these guppies.. It took alot of attempts to get a none diseased group of guppies in my little dream tank.. :(

[jackiomy]

Trust me, you will have more guppies. LOL They like a floating cover like anachris or hornwort for the babies to hide in. If you don't supply cover they will eat the babies whether they are stressed or not. That is how I ended up with guppies too. My friend gave me some as food for my rainbow crab and he wouldn't eat them either! What do you feed yours? MIne likes bottom pellets and algae wafers as well as zuchinni and carrots. He goes through stages where he loves blood worms and other times he won't eat them.

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[jpappy789]

Congrats! Look forward to many more. ;)

[KIM_TMA]

They will be fine, just possibly turn lights off a little early tonight and maybe they will go ahead and release them. If they do all get eaten by the other guppies you will have more chances on saving some, give you time to save up for another tank, possibly.

Wowe, that is a huge looking crab, Jack. How big is it really or does it just look that big.

[H3D]

THAT CRAB IS AWESOME!!! I WANT ONE!!!

[jackiomy]

They will be fine, just possibly turn lights off a little early tonight and maybe they will go ahead and release them. If they do all get eaten by the other guppies you will have more chances on saving some, give you time to save up for another tank, possibly.

Wowe, that is a huge looking crab, Jack. How big is it really or does it just look that big.

He is pretty big. He is in a 20 long to give you some perspective. And let me tellyou, if he gets ahold of you it hurts! I thought he broke my finger not too long ago.

[Robert04]

Trying to get some photos up.

[wataugachicken]

sorry, but there's no way this is a "dream tank" for the guppies, even if it's one for you. they need a bigger tank NOW or they have to go back to the store. a 5g tank with a "mini beach" means that there is far less than 5g of water for the fish. a gratuitous estimate might be 2.5g of water. far too little for 9 guppies which are trying to make even more guppies. they need a larger volume of water, and unless it also has a filter and a heat source, they're no better off. at the very least, find a new home for the females and just keep the males. you don't have room for them to reproduce, and overcrowding will lead to poor(er) water quality, disease, and death.

how often do you change the water?
is there a filter on the tank?
what are test readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?

[Robert04]

http://i39.tinypic.com/30c3w3n.jpghttp://i44.tinypic.com/2hn81m9.jpghttp://i41.tinypic.com/fuw9kp.jpghttp://i44.tinypic.com/ehgf2p.jpghttp://i42.tinypic.com/2w3az4j.jpg

[Robert04]

I have a pump heater and all the goodies.. I had them in a 15g but it broke so i put them in here.. till i can afford better.. they have been living in this tank for 3 months the fish i saved anyways.. I didnt know that this would be that terrible for them.. I'll see If i can get someone to give me a tank..or maybe buy and sell.. I cant afford anything new that would suffice.. The pump is for 10-20g tanks.. so i put some netting on it. to prevent any fish from going up. its aquarium sand and purchaced water from a store because I was trying to simulate the best that I could for them.. I feed them mixtures of food and use water conditioners... destilled water in abucket let it sit 2-3 weeks. etc etc.. got all the meters down stairs.. I was just pulling out some veggies from the morning thats why the heater and stuff is out.. but i watch the temperature pretty close.. i run a thermonitor in the tank aswell

[jackiomy]

I know that feeling when you can't afford to expand. But you are going to need a much bigger tank just for your crab in the next year. I have mine in a 20 long and am probably going to have to move him to a 40 the next time he moults. So if you get another tank try for at least a 20 long. Everyone will be happier and it will be much easier to care for and keep clean. Good luck! You can always PM me if you have any questions. :)

[jm1212]

good luck with the fry.

interesting setup. you'll want to upgrade to a 20 gallon as soon as you can.

[Robert04]

Btw I spoke to a few people at different aquarium stores and they suggested fruit.. I was very sceptical due to the acids in fruit so I cut some some straw berry and apricot into very slin pieces and gave him 1 wafer of each(fairly low acidic fruits).. he nibbled on them but they ended up only partialy eaten and floating on the pump.. he eats letuce cucumber carrot any vegi's that are very clean.. I washed them off under the tap in cold water then rinse again in the destilled water bucket.. I just didn;t want to see him die or something so silly.. but he did enjoy the variety. he munches on cucumbers alot.. cut the skin off.. usualy motivates him a little more.. and I put it laying on his beach.. and half of one in the water.. it just floated around and he didnt bother with it.. but he gave the cucumer on the beach a good try. It's hard to observe him because he is young.. I read that they prefer water as a younger crab and will explore his aquairium more with age. Crab pellets are just terrible hahaha.. I've nevewr had any luck with them... I catch him eating abit once in a blue moon but I cant rely on them.. Veggie wafers are his main diet. and blood wurms once in a while.. I catch him eating fish flake left overs aswell.. As much as it looks messy its lunch for my crab.. haha :).. btw I noticed he dosnt like live fish.. I had a fish get partialy stuck in the pump and pass.. it fell into the tank when i pulled the pump off and he scooped it up.. I'm guessing they prefer there food dead.. anyways hope that helps.

[jpappy789]

do you have a filter running at all?

[Robert04]

do you have a filter running at all?

Yea I have a 20g tank pump running full capacity all times.. it falls on the rocks to kill noise level and prevent to much current. I dont want to **** off the pregnant fishies :)

[excuzzzeme]

If you manage to breed guppies one time you will get 3-4 more broods from it! The female packets the sperm and can self inseminate from it. When it comes to pregnancy - it's a continuous state for the females.

[jpappy789]

a pump is not the same thing as a filter...you need some sort of media (foam, filter floss, ceramic rings, etc.) in order for the bacteria to grow and proccess the ammonia and nitrite.

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

[Robert04]

a pump is not the same thing as a filter...you need some sort of media (foam, filter floss, ceramic rings, etc.) in order for the bacteria to grow and proccess the ammonia and nitrite.

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

Well I meant its a filter than because it has the "sponge" and the mixed charcoal bag. I just try to watch the levels I dont know much of the technical terms to this yet.. I want to be taken serious though I really do love taking care of my fish and I didnt mean to come off careless with my info.. My grandpa had 100's of tanks in his basement unfortunatly he passed before I could learn anything from him.. but he used to breed all sorts of fish and I think he was secretly trying to repopulate the local pond.. he had like 50 30g tanks with trout bass and all kinds of north american fish.. I think they ended up putting the fish in the pond.. hah

[Robert04]

Just wanted to let you guys know the good news.. the female had her fry about 22 of them still alive .. some got eaten becuase I saw it for my own eyes.. But the good news is I found a little 5g tank to put them in for now and my friend has a 90g! that she is donating to me this week so I'm going to make a similar beach theme like before.. and eventually once I got the 50g for my crab he will move into that one and ill seperate him from the guppies.. also creating more land space for him hopefully..

PS i also wanted to add live plants for the fish and crab.. what plants do you guys suggest and what type of substrate do you recommend?