Guppie question

[stone]

guppie fry question...someone...anyone...

Hi everyone,
I just bought a pair of guppies at the local petstore, one of which is quite pregnant. On the advice of the petstore clerk I have put the female in a smaller mesh confine within the tank. It's affixed so that she can get to the top and she seems quite comfortable, but what I am wondering is how small will the fry be? and will they be able to get through the mesh? Also, after they're born, whats the best thing to do with them, some websites say you can leave them in with the mother, where others suggest moving them to an entirely different tank. I dont really have another tank readily available, but if I were to move them out, would they need a filter, and bubbler? any and all advice would be welcome

-stone

 

[Stephen]

I have various age fry in a 30 gallon with 6 adults. They do fine. Just make sure you feed them well. It's a good idea to keep the female out of the reach of the male for a few days after she gives birth. He'll pester her otherwise and she needs time to regain her strength.

I keep most of my new fry in a 10 gallon tank with 2 tetra junior power filters and a heater. Make sure the tank gets plenty of light a day. I've read that they need between 8-12 hours of light. Otherwise they can develop defects. Don't know if it's fact or not but every batch of fry I've had does fine.

As for feeding I feed them ground up flake, sometimes baby brine shrimp, and luqiudfry. I've read it's best to feed BBS when they are born for the first couple of weeks for growth purposes but I haven't noticed that big of a difference.

You will need a heater for them. I keep the temp between 78-82. This is also important.

As for how big they will be depends on how big the female is. It's a general rule that a small female will have smaller and a fewer amount of fry.

If you're planning on breeding your guppies only breed the best of each fry batch. Sick or unsatisfactory fish shouldn't be bred if you're looking for quality. Quantity however is a different story.

Hope I answered all your questions. Let me know if you have more or I missed one.

 

[Cichlid Woman]

I bred guppies once using the same setup--the in-the-tank mesh box thing works great. The fry don't slip out. I would remove the mother, though, when the birthing is done because she'll eat the fry (guppies do that).

As for putting her back in the main tank, if you have additional female guppies in there perhaps the stress from the male wouldn't be too bad.

Firefighter's right, you can just leave her in the main tank. Be aware, though, that at least some of the babies will be eaten.

-- Pat

 

[stone]

thanx guys, i was just a little unsure about what they required. my tank is actually heated, and I think I might get a divider of some sort and just keep them on the other side of it. I've been thinking of really getting into it too...trying to develop certain characteristics in them, but I think I'm going to have to get another tank (or two heh) if I decide to do that!

-stone