# pregnant guppy...



## ferris89

so I am not sure if my guppy is pregger or not, and it is getting kinda obnoxious trying to figure it out... If she is I want to make sure I get here isolated so the babies aren't eaten by the other fish, but I also don't want to keep her in a confined space if there is no need... I know about the gravid spot and such, but what other things should I watch for? 
I know some people, if not all, have had guppies before so please let me know 
thanks!


----------



## bgzbgz

You have tiger barbs? They are the best guppy eaters.They will only stay away from the FULL grown guppies in my experience. Fry get eaten instantly.

When your guppy starts hovering on the top of the tank for a long time she is about to give birth. If you really want the fry id separate the mother now, and make sure you have a tank and the equipment to keep them in for some months or possibly permanently.


----------



## bgzbgz

Oh yea and big guppies are always "pregnant".


----------



## ferris89

Haha! yeah she is already a bigger guppy, but she has gotten larger, that's what set me off first... it wasn't like normal growth, and I haven't upped the food intake, so it startled me, so hmmm. I guess I'll set up a birthing tank or something...


----------



## Nexed

If the female has been with a male one point in the last few months, its very likely she is pregnant!

They can store sperm and have babies after they mate, so you can have no males around and have babies.
The pregnant ones have a black/dark gravid spot near their anal area, or "behind" thier stomach.


----------



## ray-the-pilot

Female guppies are always pregnant. In fact if she weren't that would mean she is seriously sick. She has probably dropped off a few babies in your tank already and they were fish food. 

If you are serious about keping the babies, you need to move the female to a tank of her own. Keep it well planted with a lot of hiding places for the babies. 

Guppies are a lot of fun to raise and don't get much respect from serious fish people but they can be challenging especially when you want to maintain a specific blood line. Bottom line, if you want to maintain breeding fish, they require their own tank with no other species in it.


----------



## isenblatter

I would have to disagree, the best guppy fry eaters in the world are guppy parents. When I had a 55 before for my Oscar, I had a 10Gal for breeding guppies, as soon as momma spit a load, I'd feed her to the Oscar so she wouldn't eat the babies.


----------



## Complexity

I've watched guppies go after their own fry. They are very fast to eat them. Endlers, on the other hand, do not.

Something to look for as a sign that your guppy is close to dropping her fry is when her body becomes squared off. If you look, even when she's pregnant, her body from the head to the gravid spot is still rather curvy. At the point when dropping the fry is very close, she will become so packed that her shape becomes more square than curvy.

I've also heard that some people can actually see the baby's eyes in the gravid spot just before the female drops them. I never could. But I have noticed that the gravid spot becomes much larger the closer the guppy is to dropping.

If you really want the fry, move her to a birthing tank and keep a close eye. The other poster is right; when she's starting to drop her fry, she will become very still close to the top (not necessarily at the top). She will drop a few and then swim to eat them, then drop more and try to eat them, repeated until she's done.

If you're able to catch her dropping the fry, you could put a screen up with large enough holes for the fry to fall through, but too small for the mother to get through. I would only do this if I was able to watch things so the female doesn't accidentally get trapped.

There's also a plastic birthing container you can buy. It's around 5"x3" or maybe a bit larger. It's designed to hand on the inside of your tank. The bottom has two plastic parts that create a funnel down to a slot at the bottom. This is for the fry to drop into so they can be safe below the mother.

I've never tried any of these methods, and yet, I ended up with fry. I found mine sucked up in my canister filter! Amazingly, it appears they can survive there for a few days.


----------



## ferris89

I have the little plastic thing to separate them, but she hasn't become still yet... I keep a very close eye on them... I love guppies, they can be so darn pretty (expensive fish aren't the only pretty ones) they are also fun to watch swim around. I have noticed the gravid spot getting larger, and when looking at her head on she is more square, but not so much yet when looking at her from the side. And any of the males she could have mated with in my tank would make a gorgeous match 

Thanks to all for your help!


----------



## Complexity

I found this video on YouTube that shows a guppy giving birth. This way you can get an idea of what a guppy looks like when she's getting close to dropping.

Notice how fat she is which is what causes the squared off appearance. Also notice her large gravid spot.

Once you figure out when she gives birth, you can pretty much expect a repeat performance every 30 days. So if you miss this first one, you can better know when to expect the second drop.


----------



## ferris89

Complexity said:


> I found this video on YouTube that shows a guppy giving birth. This way you can get an idea of what a guppy looks like when she's getting close to dropping.
> 
> Notice how fat she is which is what causes the squared off appearance. Also notice her large gravid spot.
> 
> Once you figure out when she gives birth, you can pretty much expect a repeat performance every 30 days. So if you miss this first one, you can better know when to expect the second drop.


I totally watched that video a few days ago when I first suspected 
I think I will study it more closely!


----------



## ferris89

moved all females to a birthing tank!


----------



## ray-the-pilot

ferris89 said:


> moved all females to a birthing tank!


Good move!:clap2:

But I'm sure you will soon have way more Guppies than tank.


----------



## ferris89

prolly, but I expect to thin the herd (even as sad as it is)


----------



## yum

i'd have to say that i have not seen any baby guppies being eaten by the adults in my tank. not for lack of trying though. the fry i have in my tank are just too darn fast. strange.


----------



## ferris89

I put the females back in the larger tank, they didn't have as nice of color, and my tank seemed very different without them. I guess I will let natural selection take care of my issues for me


----------

