Pregnant guppy must be due?

This is 1 of my pregnant guppys, shes pretty fat, surely she must be due to drop any minute?
Ive never had guppys before so don't really know.

 

Guppies gestation period is about 28-32 days. However, a female may withhold her offspring for several weeks or more if she feels the situation is unsafe. Or sometimes they have them but eat them before you notice them.

The 20 someodd strains of guppies in Dino's fishhouse that I help take care of; once the females get big with their first set of offspring it is common for them to stay looking about to pop. Part of that reason is that the guppies are like endlers or convicts; keep them wet and with a male and they are hit (pregnant, hit, holding, gravid, etc.)

If the tank situation being unsafe is her reasoning, sometimes if you add floating plants with complex root systems (ie. water lettuce, keep good lighting on the plants if you want it to survive long) the babies can hide in it, and she will tend to drop closer to her normal gestation period. Also the guppy grass plant is good for that.

I wish I had a picture of a red german lace female guppy Dino and I are holding for Butterfly. You'd see what about to pop really is.

[the fish was seriously an obese fish. Very easily 3/4 to a full inch wide.] Maybe Butterfly will see this post and have a pic, I dunno.

 

would a guppy hold back the birth because of tankmates? ie angels and gouramis.

The guppies have their own tank now (MTS is strong in this 1) as she was
savaged by the angels when she started to give birth. As soon as she was
in the new tank she popped out 2 dead fry, that was over a week ago,
was wondering if shes a bit traumatised by the whole experience and shes
gunna hold them in until she pops?

 

Is it detrimental for her to hold the fry too long? My female guppies were pregnant when I bought them and still have not dropped, except one dropped two fry before she passed away(thanks DeathSmart!). I don't have any floating plants, but they seem quite comfortable and intermingle with all the other fish in the tank, especially at feeding time.

Anyway, it might not be time yet, but again, will they be ok if they withhold for a long time? Seems like the fry would continue to grow and make birthing more difficult for her.

 

I'll have to ask Dino about that. I am unsure if she can hold them or if she'd abort them after a while or what.

Sorry for not coming back to see your posts Azzman, just slipped through the cracks I think. Has she dropped yet for you? I'm glad you put them in their own tank, the angels would've probably eatten their fry.

 

yea they are now breeding like crazy, only seem to have 3 or 4 each time though, I'm guessing they are eaten
before I get to them?

 

Yeah 99.9% of that time that is the reason for spawning numbers that low.

Well, you seem to be doing alright. Congrats

 

Yes they will be eaten quick, need to isolate the mother from rest of tank mates, and then pull get the mother away from fry as soon as she's done dropping.