I have 2 questions on my guppy fry

My fry are 6 weeks old now some have gotten huge and 2 do not seem to be growing at all.How do I know when they are big enough to not be eaten by the others? And second is why are the 2 not growing at all? I had about 30 fry to start with all were doing great until my husband put some kind of fizzing tablets in the water and it killed my red tail shark,about 10 of my fry and the pregnant mom guppy.That is when I noticed these 2 have not grown a bit since birth.Any help on what I should do to help them grow is greatly appreciated.

 

Hello and to FishLore!

Sorry to read about your fish dying. That is a bummer. At this point, of course check your water chemistry. Test the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate using a freshwater master test kit. Then you can post the numbers in your profile and won't have to list them every time you post.

First step in getting your aquarium healthy is to make sure your numbers are stable. If your water parameters are healthy (i.e., 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and about 20 nitrate), then you may need to let nature take its course. Naturally, don't put any more fizzing tablets in your aquarium.

As for the fry, are they free swimming now in your 55? If you want to save them, make sure there is plenty of cover in your tank, OR you can net them and place them into a separate "grow-out" tank until they mature enough to go into the main tank. For the two little guys, they could be late bloomers! Again, just let nature take its course.

Hope this helps you somewhat. Please keep us updated!

 

Thank you. My fry are still in their breeder tank and I was worried it is too small for them all.I am too afraid to let them out and then get eaten. I tried to stop my husband from putting in the fizzing tablets but was too late.I have to buy a new test kit and will do so today and then will post all the numbers here. Again thank you for your help and welcome.

 

If you have a big clump of java moss in the tank, you can just put the fry into that. They are smart enough to know how long they have to hide.

As for the difference in sizes, this happens with any animal litter. Thus, the phrase "runt of the litter". Happens with fish, too.

The good thing about leaving fry to their own devices rather than separating them out, is that this issue is pretty much resolved naturally. There are enough micro nutrients in the plant life for every fry to do well.

 

I have a bunch of guppy and platy fry. They all seem to hang out in the plants where the other fish can't get to them. If you provide hiding spots for them, they will do fine with the other fish. The come out and start swimming around when they get big enough not to get eaten. They are smart about that.

 

In my current batch of guppy fry my babies range in size. I have most that are "normal" size for their age and then I have some runts that are about half the size.

 

Thank you all very much for your help,I was afraid they were so tiny because I might have been doing something wrong.I chickened out and just got them their own separate tank to grow in.