luke

Hi all, I'm new to the forums and I'm also new to everything to do with fish
I just got a 40 Gallon aquarium and it has about 12 Guppies that came with it.

I don't know which are males and/or females, and I was hoping to get help in knowing how to breed them. One of my Guppies is kind of chubby on the belly, and it has a little brownish/dark/blackish spot on the rear end at the bottom near its anus. I'm not sure if that indicates its pregnant or not or if its a male/female but its the only Guppie that has that, and also one of the biggest ones.

There always is about 2 or 3 other Guppies chasing it around the tank, they are yellow and spotted black, and the fins under its belly are longer than the chubby goppie and they are stringy like.. the chubby goppie has a more.. triangular shaped fin I noticed. So what I did was put the chubby goppie in a breeding container

--EDIT--
Almost forgot... I took some pictures of the Chubby Goppie




* A plastic box that floats at the top and has 2 other pieces of plastic, 1 is long and V shaped with gaps it goes at the bottom and another 1 is small, half the size and it goes vertically in the center of the box all together make 3 chambers. *

Also along with the chubby goppie I put 2 of the Guppies that always chase it around and have the longer belly fins *dont know why i did that* but i did... lol

Would appreciate any comments/suggestions since I'm a new fish owner and I don't know a lot if not anything.. about fish.

Alessa

Hi and welcome

the chubby ones (the biggest ones, with dullest colors) are girls, and if they have a dark spot near the anus they are pregnant!

the little ones, that are most colorful, with larger tails are boys. they also have their anal fin modified, pointy and pointing backwards.

Congrats on your Guppies, they are awesome little fish... ah, and the secret in breeding them is, not wanting them to breed lol.

just be careful, they will eat their fry if not given enough hiding spaces... or separated from their parents until they are large enough not to be eaten. but that "box" you describe, sounds like a breeder box, you place the mom there when shes about to give birth, so she does not eat the babies.

also try to get more females, 1-2 per male, so that they dont chase only one and stress her.

pepetj

Hi Luke. Welcome to Fishlore!


It seems to me you already know how to tell male from female.

I couldn't see her as being pregnant at the pics, but that's a female guppy.

As Alessa said, you should aim at 2 or 3 females per male ratio. Don't worry, you'll have enough to give away! Keep some baby fish food at hand.

Female guppies look as they are going to explode before they give birth, and that dark spot gets really dark and big.

That V shape breeder tank system you have is really cool. The fry will go down the bottom aperture and be safe from becoming food.

You're doing good with your guppy breeding project!

Pepe
Santo Domingo

Chief_waterchanger

Female guppies gestation period is 28-32 days. About 1-2 days before they give birth they usually get a "square" or boxy appearance to the chest, almost like they swallowed a pea whole.

Females also store sperm for upwards of 6 months. That means that they are able to reinsemenate themselves for that period of time (6 months or so) without a male being present, if needed.

luke

Thanks to all from all the Info, I didnt know I would have to have a 2male:1female ratio, but now I do, and unfortunatly it seems I only have 1 full grown female, who is the one I described and 1 baby female, she is very very very very very!!!! small! lol and 10 male guppies all vary in colors

I've taken the female out of the breading box, so she doesnt die of boredom.. since she isn't ready to give birth, but I dont think the baby girl can be breaded yet? or can she? the full grown female guppie is 1inch long and the baby is only half an inch, very slim.

But I guess I'll give her some time before I place her in the breading box thingy

Alessa

Actually the ratio is 2-3 females for every 1 male.

luke

Then I hope all the baby guppies are females, because Im about 20 short heheh..

Just wondering looking at those pictures *sorry their a bit blurry.. she moves alot * can anyone tell when or roughly how long before she will give birth, so I can put her in the breading box? Id hate to see the baby guppies get killed

Alessa

She does not look like ready to go. Give her a good time, once she looks like she is about to explode and become squarish, you will know that shes about to drop. She will also start to hide a lot and behave weirdly, like head-standing and stuff like that.

Also, here is an article that you might find useful. http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

since the fry are so delicate, it would be nice if you looked at it

and congrats on the project. Depending on the amount of fishies you already have, (stocking capacity of the tank) you may want to consider getting some new females with interesting color combinations!

luke

I got some TiggerBarbs 3, and also 3 Albino Tiger Barbs, they get along fine.. don't know anything about them heheheh, I might post again soon when I see one of them begin to explode hopefully :P, I also got 2 plecos and 2 catfish.. not sure what type, but their about 2" and theire really cool!! =)

Theres plenty of hiding spots for them and they have been getting along just fine.

Thanks for the tip about the nitrate, ammonia and pH level. Fortunatly I do have a kit, which also came with the tank and right now it reads at 6.9-7.0ph which is alright.. and the temperature, always perfect for my guppies 26-28°C

Alessa

The Ph is not that important, what matters is the ammonia reading (which must be 0) the nitrite readind (0 also) and the nitrates which should be under 20

Tiger barbs can become really agressive, keep an eye on them.

can you post a picture of the plecos? they could be common plecos which can grow to be 18 inches +

clinton1621

You might want to rethink having tiger barbs in with guppies... I can pretty much guarantee that you will have 0 guppies left in a short amount of time =(

luke

Well most of the guppies are about 1" and the barbs are around an inch too. their not fully grown yet, the only baby guppy *my 2nd female <--- shes very special* lolol, is in a breeding box and she will stay there until she is a little bit over 3/4" atleast so she doesnt get hurt.

And here is what my pleco looks like.. he is not a bristlenose.. but i dont recall its name what i do know is i was told he only reaches 3-4 inches, 5 at most..

Alessa

Someone will soon come with help... I really have no clue about the plecos.

What we meant is not the size of the Barbs, but their agressiveness... they are very agressive and might soon go into "kill mode" and finish with every single one of your guppies.

I would replace them with female guppies, or some other non-agressive fish, if possible.

luke

They are rubber-nose plecos, so far all my guppies are alive lol, its a big tank.. and theres plenty of hiding places

luke

-----Anyways-----

Back on topic lol, I have not succeeded in breeding my female.. or maybe she is still pregnant..? she does have the darkish spot, I tried to get better images with my fathers new camera. Last night when I checked on her the dark spot was gone... it looked orange-ish.. so I figured maybe she isn't pregnant? Then I took her out of the breeder, once again all the males are pileing up on her.. following her everywhere, the next morning, I checked her again, she was under rocks.. and inbetween bushes, typicly she is ALWAYS at the top.. along with all other guppies, and her dark spot was back.... clearer than ever..?

So I put her back in the breeder.. I still haven't breeded any fish, you can tell I'm very "experienced" lol

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Alessa

Since there are so many males for every female I would be careful. Chased, stressed livebearers have been known to abort. You really need more females in that tank.

As for the pregnancy period for platies and guppies, I think it is a month or more. Be patient, you will have fry sooner or later.

luke

She is in a breeding tank isolated from the males, if that helps?

Alessa

In the other hand, being in the breeding box for too long can stress her too.