When I bred guppies and mollies, I just used a simple breeder net within the main tank. when the mother looked close to giving birth i would very carefully direct her into the net and then latch it onto the tank side. Seemed to work very well and with minimal casualties. I've also jsut let them bred in the tank with breeder grass both on the bottom and floating, less babies survived that way. The other breeder with the fry trap might ensure the survival of the majority of the babies, but it might also stress the female guppy since it looks to me like quite a small area that she is kept in.
I Don't think i am going to be using the breeding net, i mean it is a good idea but i have thought about it and my tank is to small and no matter what tank i have them in i want them to have as much room as possible.
5.5 is pretty small for even a few guppies. Do you have more/larger tanks to put them in? If not, I wouldn't suggest trying to save any fry.
Not saving the fry is out of the Question,
The guppies will be moved to a bigger tank as soon as they become crowded, i know soon.
There are only a few adults in the tank, honestly they are guppies and this is a beautiful fully planted tank, there is more than enough room for now, i don't have that many.Although i do agree the fry will make it crowded, but I'm saving them look at above Quote, i am planning on moving all the fry.
I'd save the money spent on fancy traps and stuff and spend it on another tank, if you are keeping fry you are going to need it. Plus its easier to just put the mother in her own tank, add some plants for the fry to hide in, and let her do her thing. If you are really adamant about saving the fry, adding glass stones (they are about the size of a nickel) as substrate will help also, they hide in it very well.
Glass stones in the other tank right not the planted one right? The planted tank cant have glass stones its just so perfect now lol. I never thought of anther tank and putting her in there by herself, its a really good idea, and making that one planted to so it will be 1 guppy and tons of plants, i like it but i have multiples guppy that are pregnant where do i put the fry when i have another mother giving birth?
In my livebearer tank I have cabomba and many other fry only hiding places.
I have eco-complete so no hiding in that its to fine, i have a bunch of Rotala Magenta plants thats probably the main thing that will keep them alive if they are born there. Thinking on Java moss or dwarf hair grass if i decide to keep them in the tank.
ditto the above and yes! cover the intake. panty hose or a spare sponge filter work very well. I personally use a sponge from one of my cannisters to cover the intake, this also increases your filtration.
I hate coving my filter intakes because when i pull them off the suction holding all the crap in it is lost and a lot falls off, plus i have a DIY co2 hose going in to the intake and that is restricting it. I'll keep it in mind.
All good answers above. I breed guppies quite regularly and leave them in the main tank to hide among the plants. I have sessiliflora which is very close in appearance to cambomba.
Your tank is ideal for fry only. You need a 10 gal for adult guppy. I do not cover the filter intake (AC70 on a 29gal) but recommend a sponge cover. For food I use Hikari First Bites, then switch them over to crushed flake. I allow them to be born in the main tank and then switch them over to the hospital/grow out tank (5.5 gallon). I have tried breeder nets and all sorts of fancy gizmos and nothing works as well as netting them and moving them to a different tank.
For survival rate, I consider 50% to be acceptable due to natural predation of siblings and natural selection. It is usually higher in subsequent broods vs initial broods.
I need a 10g for adult guppy, that sounds iffy, i think it depends on the amount of them and if i do take the fry out, witch i will then i don't see a problem. Although i have so say they are going to be moved eventually but as of now they are staying in the 5.5g, i don't mean to sound stubborn, but i am moving them eventually.Ill consider the sponge cover like i said in one of the above answers the stuff falls of after removing it. I do have first bites but in the past have had great success with crushed flakes too, they are just little monsters right from the start lol.
SO your saying you have had more fry live when netting them and moving them to another tank compared to using all the other things, interesting.Do you mean you got more fry or its just more convenient?I just think it will be difficult to catch those small fry.
I agree with the survival rate, i mean i don't want weak fry to make it to the breeding group, i don't want to sound cruel but its true, a guppy that has a great disadvantage from the start should not make it to breed because then all the baby guppies from the one guppy might pass on the same trait.
Well I'm still thinking on what exactly I'm doing, thanks for all the responses and keep them coming.So Far its keep in tank with tons of plants and move them as soon as they get sub adult, or move fry to another tank or move mother to anther tank.
Thanks, I'll post a picture of my tank later.
