Dont forget to test the water parameters. Another reason to separate your pregnant guppy is to protect the fry upon birth. If you spot your molly has an extended stomach, then there is a chance she is pregnant. This freshwater tropical fish originates in South America. All Possible Causes, Dropsy In Fish: Your Guide To Symptoms & Treatment, There Are Changes In The Appearance Of The Gravid Spot, Why You Have A Cloudy Fish Tank (And How To Fix It), Picasso Triggerfish Care Guide: Size, Tank Mates, & Diet, Clown Triggerfish 101: Diet, Tank Size, Care Tips & Mates, Marine Betta or Comet 101: Diet, Tank, Mates & Breeding, Ribbon Eel Care Guide: Tank, Color Change, Diet & Size. If your guppy is constipated check out this article for more information. Use a medium tank light, LED, or ambient room lighting. One of the joys of owning them is the fact that they can create a lotof little baby guppies to fill up your tank and keep you Fishkeeping Planet is where we share tips, guides, and all sorts of information to do with fishkeeping. The same goes for the fishs overall health. By continuing to use this website, you consent to our use of these cookies. The males will fight each other and your female guppy will give birth every month and other problems. This spot will darken as the pregnancy progresses, and it can be used to help estimate how far along she is. The growth of guppy fry can be stunted if you keep them in a breeding box for too long. You may notice your female guppy is not as active, tending to stay in one location. Remove any stillborns to keep the rest healthy. There are a few signs which you can look out for which include. 42+ Most Unique & Beautiful Types of Cichlids for Every Aquarist, Freshwater Shrimp: 26 Colorful Types for Aquarium (with Care Tips), 35 Most Exotic & Cool Freshwater Fish for Aquarium (with Care Tips), 20 Most Effective Algae Eaters for Freshwater Aquarium (all Sizes), 39 Most Colorful & Active Types of Tetras to Intrigue Aquarists, 38 Most Colorful Freshwater Fish to Enhance Your Aquarium, Saltwater Fish: Most Popular Picks for Your Marine Aquarium. The guppy fry need from 8 to 12 hours of light per day for healthy development. The average gestation period for a pregnant female guppy is about 28 days. Occasionally, the process can start and stop or can extend over a longer period. You can also use a divider with tiny holes. The best time to separate pregnant guppy fish is when you see the gravid spot darken in color. For example, many aquarists are unsure whether they should separate the pregnant guppy from other fish. How many babies youll end up with depends on many different factors. Guppy fish can quickly over stock your aquarium tank. Also if you see them swimming / shaking in the same spot this is another common sign. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Ensure that the pH, temperature, ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites are within the desired range. This changes in shape due to the contractions they will be having. I brought my female fancy guppy, Bridget, home on June 21, 2014. The gestation period for guppy fish isn't long at all. If you make a purchase through them, we receive a small commission. Give her several small meals each day, and then just a small bit. Feeding a pregnant guppy. Guppies are pregnant from 21 days to 31 days on average. If you are keeping female and male guppies together, most likely female guppies are pregnant, unless they are infertile. The guppy gestation period can be between 21 and 30 days, depending on the fish. Some babies are bound to die shortly after birth. Once you notice that your female guppy is pregnant, remove her from the community tank to a separate breeding tank. Another reason behind this behavior is stress. Hopefully these photos will help others to determine how far along their pregnant guppy is and when she might be due. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'helpusfish_com-small-rectangle-1','ezslot_32',657,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-helpusfish_com-small-rectangle-1-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'helpusfish_com-small-rectangle-1','ezslot_33',657,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-helpusfish_com-small-rectangle-1-0_1');.small-rectangle-1-multi-657{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:7px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:7px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:50px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}Below is a picture of a Senzeal breading box which I have used many times. Why is this important for guppies? The guppy will also appear fat or bloated in the days leading up to the birth. Guppy fish are less likely to eat their babies if they are well-fed. A variety of high-quality, high-nutrient foods will allow her to regain nutrients lost in the birthing process. Moving the mother will cause unnecessary stress. If you continue having female and male guppy fish in the same aquarium, you can expect the female guppy to become pregnant as often as every 30-35 days. While the average number of fry per birth is 30 to 60, your female can give birth to as many as 200 fry from one pregnancy. Buying different types of fish food for each specific fish can be costly and confusing. Hello, I'm Jason. Knowing a little about guppy biology and reproductive habits will go a long way toward keeping your fish happy and healthy. Once you see this sign, it is now time to separate the pregnant guppy. My name is Gilad, a 29-year-old fish fanatic from Israel. Do guppies make bubble nests? It is not common for guppy fish to eat all of their babies. Below is what a gravid spot looks like. If you already have a small tank set up with clean, safe water, simply scoop the pregnant guppy with a fishnet and place her in it. A separate birth space doesn't need to be set up. Then you can introduce them to the community tank. Adult guppies will eat the fry if they see them (Including the frys mum) so it might be a good idea to move the fry to their own tank if you want them all to survive. In severe cases, environmental factors can terminate the pregnancy altogether. Guppies are easy to breed because male guppies are pretty enthusiastic about mating. How Long Are Guppies Pregnant Before Giving Birth? The guppy will give birth to 5 to 80 fry. Author Note: Guppy fish are vulnerable to attack when giving birth, so they seek out quiet areas to avoid issues from other fish. Separating them can help reduce stress and protect them from being attacked. Once separated, you should keep your pregnant guppy away from all other fish until she gives birth. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. In the best practice, set up two tanks: one for the fry to be born in and another to let mom recover in for one to two days before you return her to the community tank. So, separating the female when carrying fry is always better to stay on the safe side. The water hardness should be from 7 to 12 dGH. If you dont have this ready, its not worth the risk of hastily setting one up. And when the fish is in labor, put it in a separate tank or a breeding box where to drop and house the fry up to two weeks before they can be . As you can imagine this can be very stressful for the female, she is getting ready to give birth and she has males harassing her and making her swim away making her tired. If you want to learn more about breeding boxes for guppies take a look at this article I wrote about them. Once the female has given birth, you will need to separate her in case . Healthy ones will start swimming after sinking to safety. . Between 40 and 80 babies are usually given birth to in an uncomplicated labor affair. If they do eat, you might see them spit the food back out later. So it is possible to provide a safer environment for moms as well as for children. The male guppy will chase the female around the tank. If you found this article helpful, these may also interest you: Pro tip: If your guppy is pregnant and will give birth soon, youll need to know a little more about the babies. Feed them often, up to five times a day. A female guppy can store sperm from one insemination for up to a year and can become pregnant up to eight times from that single event! if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'fishkeepingplanet_com-banner-1','ezslot_10',109,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-fishkeepingplanet_com-banner-1-0');Another option is to place her in a breeder box that hangs on the side of your original fish tank. The consequences for a pregnant guppy are worse because the fish is so weak and vulnerable. I have used plastic storage containers before, and they worked great. That will cause less stress and remove breeding boxes from the equation. What are pregnant guppy signs of delivery? Tetra Fish Care is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. The gestation period is around 28 days. You can expect to have guppy babies in the tank in a month. Guppies are bad parents. Both artificial and natural aquarium plants will serve this purpose. Even the mother will attempt to eat her young. Afterward, you can use a breeding trap or make your own divider in the tank. The average age for first breeding is between three to five months. After Your Guppy Gives Birth After your female gives birth, separate her from the fry, either through the use of a mesh or another tank. With up to eight pregnancies possible off of one breeding session, this means that a single female guppy fish can have several hundred guppy babies in one season! You dont need a big tank to separate the female. They need to eat 5-6 times a day when they're very small. Do not separate her for longer than this time as the isolation can further stress your fish. As you can see, there are a number of simple ways you can tell if a guppy is pregnant or not. Some aquarists put their guppy in a breeder box as soon as it starts showing signs of pregnancy. The good thing is that it very easy to know if a guppy is pregnant. If a pregnant guppy manages to stay alive in a tank with other fish, the fry she births will most likely be eaten. You might even be able to see the dark eyes of the baby fish through the belly of the mother guppy. If you have identified that your guppy is pregnant you will want to know how long are guppies pregnant before giving birth. Birth can typically last up to 24 hours, so don't expect all the fry to be birthed in one sitting. . An example of a premature fry is shown below. link to How Long Does It Take For a Guppy to Give Birth? If the birthing process has stopped, return the female to the community tank for a day or so as isolation will stress your fish. Although signs of an imminent birth can vary among guppies, there are several common indicators that guppies should watch. They do not want the fish to spend their gestation period in a community tank, surrounded by other creatures. A typical female guppy will be pregnant for 21 to 30 days but this can vary considerably . This means that the female guppy gets pregnant from a male guppy and the egg inside develops into a fish. Nitrite is also a toxic substance, but a different type of BB eventually grows and converts nitrITE to nitrATE. Keeping the fry separate from the community tank and the mother is important, as the mature fish may eat the fry. The website is a communal website i.e. Female guppies do not need a male guppy to be pregnant as they preserve semen for as long as six months and use it up for pregnancy; hence, the male guppies keep chasing the pregnant guppies to mate; avoiding constantly, the chasing male guppies create immense stress on the female Guppy. Below are signs that you can look out for to tell if your guppy is pregnant. A Friend of mine has a guppy that took three months to finally give birth. You have to separate the fish to keep them safe, or they may refuse to give birth. To determine whether your female guppy is pregnant, look for changes in the gravid spot. {Best Ways To Clear It Up}, Are Spaghetti Worms Harmful To Humans {Are They Poisonous? You could lose all the babies. Breeder boxes require precise timing. The optimum temperature for fastest development of the brood inside of a female is between 77 F and 80 F and development will take approximately 4 weeks in the average live-bearer. Now, there are no guarantees about the survival rate. It will start swim slowly, eat less and try to stay close to the heater. Author Note: As you get close to the end of the gestation period, you may even see tiny dots in the gravid spot. Caring for the Fry if you feel yours is being harass, move he so she can have her babies in peace. If you wait until she gives birth, separating her will cause more stress, and the guppy fry might not survive because of the lack of food. It lives on converting ammonia to nitrite.