guppylove23

i stocked my tank yesterday (10/10/09) and one of the females gave birth a few hours later! i saved 9 fry and used a divider to put the fry in a separate area of my 10 gallon tank. they are swimming around but i dont know how to feed them. i put fish food into a plastic bag and tried to make it really small for them to eat. do i need to feed them something besides this
this is my first time with guppy fry so i need help!

the guppy fry's side of the tank looked a bit dirty because of my attemps at feeding them. the food thats too big was sitting there and i didnt want my babies to die. i put my apple snail in wiht the babies to eat the exess food. will the snail eat my fry?

iloveengl

Hi guppylove

Your snail won't eat your babies, but he'll help clean up that wasted food so that was a good idea!

Using a brand new turkey baster is one way to suck out the extra food.

I fed my fry by taking a pinch of flake food and grinding it between my fingers so that it was practically a powder. Feed a tiny bit three times a day.

Congrats on the babies.



...If you don't have another tank to put your new babies, do you know where they are going to go once they are a few months old? If you don't have somewhere to put them, you may want to remove the barrier and let nature take its course. It's natural and healthy for the big ones to eat the fry. With mixed sexes, you're going to have fry every four weeks, so you may want to consider what you're going to do with survivors. Especially since guppies can have 10-40 fry at a time.

Gouramiguy17

No the snail will not eat the fry but watch out if you add shrimp to clean up, they will make a meal out of your fry. You are doing good and don't be discouraged if a couple die and make sure that the water is good, you don't want any stunted fish. The fry need to be on a place that has pretty good lighting, my friends sister had some fry in her tank and the tank had bad lighting and the fry developed bent spines.

guppylove23

thanks!!! the websites i visited said that teh babies need more than just flake food. is that true? i dont want to get brine shrimp because thats complicated and im only in 9th grade i have school/hoomework not exactly hours to sit by my tank althought thats what i did this whole weeekend. is there any fast/easy way to get them the nutrition? can they live healthy lives with only flake food?


i know fish develop at different rates but about how long until they are big enough to not get eaten by my other guppies and get sucked up the filter (aqueon filter not sponge filter not safe for babies)

guppylove23

my tank has a light

iloveengl

For the first two to three weeks, all I fed mine was finely crushed flakes.

Once they are a month old, they will be plenty large to go with the others without getting eaten and they will be big enough to eat the flake food without crushing it.

I feed my guppies a variety of food. Fish like variety just like people. If you have a pet store that you can go to, check if they sell frozen blood worms. My guppies LOVE these and even the 2 month old babies can eat them.

Avoid buying freeze-dried food. These tend to make fish bloated and constipated. If you have a veggie clip, you can slice a piece of cucumber or zucchini. They like the fleshy part. (Scrape off the seeds first, so they don't make a mess in your tank.)

guppylove23

ok thanks!!! at a month old will they survive with the filter? are there any other tips that i should know?

Lucy

Congrats on the babies.
You can get frozen baby brine shrimp. I didn't have much luck with hatching my own.
There's also a fry food called First Bites.

iloveengl

I keep my filter stuffed with filter fiber because I worry about tails getting sucked or torn on it, even with the adults. Or you can secure a piece of (must be brand new, never washed) pantyhose over the intake filter, so nothing can get caught in the filter. You can secure the pantyhose with a rubber band.

You can find filter fiber in the fish section of many stores. Or you can use the craft stuffing (must be unscented, non-dyed) found at any craft store or craft section of a general store.

guppylove23

okay thanks!!! i dont want to do anything wrong and only find out when theyre dead so are there any signs i should look out for that indicates the fry need something/are sick? how can i tell when theyr hungry?

iloveengl

Prevention is the best thing with fry, which means pristine water. Daily partial water changes will keep them happy.

Fry always think they're hungry. Try to feed them just a little bit (they don't eat much at once) three times a day.

Gouramiguy17

All my fish do pretty well with my filter( it is made for 75 gallon tanks) so I have to put it on it almost lowest setting or else my fry get sucked up. What are you going to do with the fry when they grow older? Good luck selling the fry, you will need it. If I were you I would try to upgrade your tank soon because it will get overstocked quickly. Watch out in the world of fish, people look at us freshmen and try to take advantage of us because they think we are clueless

guppylove23

haha thanks i have space at the time being but im not sure how long that will last... since this is my first time with babies i have a feeeling they wont all make it. sad but true. i plan on keeping these. if more come that i cant deal with, i will try to sell them to a pet store there are about 6 stores within a mile radius of my house (NYC), prbs even more. im sure SOMEONE wants a bunch of adorable lil fishies! or i can give them to my friends

also, i ran into a little problem: in my beginning attempts at feeding i put big peice of food in that are now sitting at the top polluting the water. the surface is cloudy while on the other side of the divider its sparkling clean. the snail takes care of the debris on the tank floor but what about the surface? i tried to use a net to get some of it out but the waters still clouded. i dont want to suck up babies in attemp to clean the water/replace it with new. what should i do? i want to put an adult in for a minute just ot clean the surface but im not sure which fish is the mother. last night i put the most pregnant looking female with teh babies and she didnt eat them. does this make her the mother or was she just not hungry? i need someone to eat the surface debris and clean it!!!

iloveengl

Any adult, mother or not, will eat those babies in a second. I do not suggest putting an adult with them for any reason if you want to keep your fry.

To clean the water surface, use the fish net, then change some of the water. Water changes are really important for fry. Since your filter is on the other side of the divider, there is nothing to disturb the surface of the water, which makes it easier to get filmy. Do you have an airstone you can put on that side?

guppylove23

bigger problem: my snail is dead i think... i have 2 plastic plants and a bunch of real ones it is next to teh plastic one on its side and its not moving.... did it mistake plastic for food and die?

nope nevermind it was just sleeping. usually, it goes into its shell to sleep and closes the hole but today it was just sleeping hanging out

do you guys know any good methods of waterchange? how should i do it safely?

iloveengl

If he is drawn up into his shell, he's telling you that the water is bad and needs changed.

If he's just sitting there, then he's probably relaxing or eating. Sometimes snails will just sit for a day or two, not moving, especially if they are new to a tank.

Just leave him be for now. Snails are pretty smart. They know what they like to eat.

On that note, your snail would appreciate algae wafers and fresh vegetables because he will not have much to eat in a new tank. Snails, like fish, like people, like variety in their diet too.

* * * * * * * * ** * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Most of us use a gravel vac (sold at any pet store and walmart) and a clean, new 5 gallon bucket.

If you don't have those right now, you can use your hand to swish the water around (thus bringing poop and food off the bottom) and use a new bowl, tub, or similar container to remove the water.

* * * The most important thing to remember is not to use anything in your tank that has been in a dishwasher or otherwise washed with soap. Even if you can't see or smell the soap, it is enough to kill fish.

Refill the tank with water close to the same temp as the tank water. You must add water conditioner for the new water added.

guppylove23

i have water conditioner but how do i get the water out without taking babies with it?

iloveengl

The babies will run to the bottom.