im confused, where did these fry come from?

so I got two female guppies (I had two males in the tank already) and that was about a week ago. yesterday there were fry in my tank. the females I got couldn't have been pregnant because they were in a tank with only other females at the store. neither of them even looked pregnant! are they guppy fry?

 

Just because they were separate at the store certainly doesn't mean they were separated at the suppliers. Females only need to breed once to drop fry for several months after.

 

Even if the females where in a female only tank, doesn't mean they where not exposed to males before they reached the store. How many are there? And how did you acclimate the fish? I have gotten fry stowaways in my bags before.

 

I did the drip method or whatever you want to call it, then scooped them out and put them in my tank. neither of them even looked pregnant

oh I said that already haha. I sound silly now

 

During a females frist drop, she may not even get any fatter at all.

Welcome to FishLore, btw

 

the only other possibility is the molly that I got at them same time. it was the only one left in the tank when I bought it.

 

What I said about a females first drop applies to all livebearers. Do the fry have color, or are they a clearish ivory?

 

I have another question/concern. I found four and put them in a breeding net, and three of them have normal looking tails, like rounded and guppy tail shape, but one of them has a pointed tail. so it's whole body kind of resembles a stretched out tear drop shape. is it deformed or will it be okay?

What I said about a females first drop applies to all livebearers. Do the fry have color, or are they a clearish ivory?

they're mostly a clearish ivory. one of them is a bit more yellow and another is a bit darker

 

Then they are Guppies. Molly, Platy and Swordtail fry are colored, usually black or orange. Guppies will be an awkward clearish, maybe with a bit of yellow overlay or black specks.

 

Then they are Guppies. Molly, Platy and Swordtail fry are colored, usually black or orange. Guppies will be an awkward clearish, maybe with a bit of yellow overlay or black specks.

funny, I never realized that like, when I had platys the fry were orange and these are clear, but I mean, I remember now but I didn't think it was weird that these ones didn't have color.

 

We'll, now you know

 

cool. how long do they take to get color and grow to a size where I can let them roam free in the tank without having to worry about them getting eaten?

 

They will slowly start to develop their color, and they will have nearly their full color at 3 months. Growth rate depends on how well and often they are fed, and how clean their water it. Usually takes a month or so.

 

alright. this should be exciting. last time I had fry in my tank only one of them made it so i'm determined to get all four to live!

 

A high protein food, and warm clean water will grow them out quick Good luck

 

Guppy & Endlers fry are almost always a clear with no color. Depending on the colors of the adult Molly the fry they can range from almost clear to black and every color in between. My Yellow and Yellow Dalmatian Mollies will have fry that are almost clear to very light yellow, my Black & White Dalmatian’s will have fry that range from clear to almost white but my Black Mollies will only have Black fry. My Platies and Swordtails will have fry that are color like the parents but will not necessarily be as dark colored as the adults.

 

What should I be feeding them? I've just been crushing up flakes, is that fine?

 

I feed mine crushed flakes, a powdered fry food (first bites) and crushed up brine shrimp and blood worms.

 

alright. also is it normal for them to vary in size after a week? one is still barely a centimeter long and another is about a centimeter and a half. doesn't sound like a lot but it looks like a big difference to me...

 

hey, so they're about a month old now (just over four or five weeks) and only two of them have started getting color, and its just a little black on their tails and dorsal(is that what you call it?) fin. they're all about an inch long(maybe a little less) except one that's still only a little more than a centimeter.... they all look like girls and have no signs of the male fin thing(I can't spell it) forming yet.... I guess I should just be patient and wait a few more weeks, but i'm worried about the one that's still so tiny.... am I right to be concerned or do fish have awkward growth spurts sometimes?

 

Gondopodiums will not start to form until they start hitting maturity. You'll see the bottom edge start thickening up, and then it'll seem that they'll just change over night.

They may still be small because of your routine. They have to have very clean, warm water, and be fed on a high protein diet. But it could also just be that they are slow growing I wouldn't be too worried

 

i'm still worried about my molly eating them, so they're still in the breeder. will this stunt their growth? there's only four in there...

 

Not as long as clean water is moving through there

 

okay. I have to go on vacation for about five days, will they be okay without food? (last time I had someone feed my fish for me they were severely over fed)
i've heard that fish can go a week or two without food, but fry? I'll probably tell whoever is watching our pets to drop and algae wafer in the tank every other day for my ottos, shrimp, and mollies(and whatever other fish want a nibble) but I don't really want them to feed flakes since that's hard to like, measure out consistently. if that makes sense.

 

It should be fine, but they may be stunted. At this point, they are of a decent size, so it should effect them too much.

 

alright... :/

 

neither of them even looked pregnant

oh I said that already haha. I sound silly now

Lucky you! My most pregnant female looks like a blimp and has been holding those babies in for the maximum date it seems! Still waiting on mine! One of my other females might end up dropping before her!