Guppy fry question...

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H2OPawesome

Water Opossum
Apr 24, 2007
118
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Louisiana
I know, I'm just chock full of stupid questions! I have about 20 guppy fry that were born april 10th or 11th. Their mom is a 3 cm blue fancy guppy, have no clue who the daddy is...she was prego when I bought her, I wasn't ready for babies... Anyway, they are all about 5-7 mm long and I'm wondering if that's about right? They're tank is too small for them, I know that, but they'll be moved to a bigger one fairly soon...they just have to stay healthy until then. So far only 2 have did that I know of for sure....and both were because I dropped them...one jumped out of the net when I was catching him and fell somewhere never to be seen again, the other fell down the drain. But there may have been other mystery deaths...there are a couple of ghost shrimp in there with them. I feed tetracolor flakes...the kind with a picture of a guppy on it. I crush it up really small, and sometimes add in a little bit of bloodworms. There are also lots of different shades in there right now. Some are really dark, others nearly white.
Anyway, does that seem like a healthy size? I'd try to take a picture, but my camera won't get a clear shot of them...
 

lucky777ca

AC Members
Jan 25, 2006
617
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They seem to be the correct size. It would seem that having a larger tank for them grow in would increase their growth rate, though.

Are you keeping up with the daily water changes, since it is such a small tank (I'm not even sure what size it is)?

Does it have gravel at the bottom? A bare-bottom tank would be easier to clean than a tank with some substrate.

IME, ghost shrimps haven't harmed by guppy frys (whether it be small 1/4" to larger sizes) but, the shrimps are pretty much on the small side (1").

Tip: I've been using the gravel vacuum without the attachment and cleaning the bottom of the breeding box for live-bearers while keeping my thumb near the end of the vacuum. If I see frys swimming near the hose, I plug the end with my thumb, scare them off with the hose and continue once they are far away from the hose.

I've also heard of using an airline with an airstone attached at the end to remove water from the growout tank for smaller frys.

Keeping up with the great water conditions would speed up the growth rate of the frys but also keep the fishes as healthy as possible.
 

H2OPawesome

Water Opossum
Apr 24, 2007
118
0
0
36
Louisiana
I've been doing about 3 day 50% changes, but I just recently learned I should be doing more often. And to be honest, I'm not sure what size it is myself, lol...it's just one that I found...it's small though, under 10 gallons, I know for sure. There's a bigger one at home I'm going to move them into. About what % change would you suggest? And I'd not thought to leave the bottom bare, I think I'll try that. They have gravel and some plastic plants in there now.
 

H2OPawesome

Water Opossum
Apr 24, 2007
118
0
0
36
Louisiana
OK, I managed to take out almost all the rocks, left a few in a corner, so that my plant would stand and so it'd look kinda cute. Oh, and guess how many were in my filter? 7. only 1 was dead. I need to get some netting to put over the end of it. And the water changes are going to be a whole lot easier without the gravel! That was an awesome suggestion, thanks! Here are some pictures of my fry, when they were chilling in a bucket while I cleaned:




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nD_QKcFDKI
 
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