i recently purchased a pair of guppy's to breed. i never had guppys before so i don't know much about them. i thought she was pregnant cuz her gravid spot was dark and big. i put her in the breeding piece and overnight her gravid spot became clear....she doesn't look preg to me anymore.....any help is appreciated.
pregnant guppy
- Thread starter bella535
- Start date
I hear that guppies can absorb their young. Make sure that your water has proper parameters (a local fish store (LFS) will check this for free) and make sure it is dechlorinated.
Another possiblity is that the young didn't escape their hungry mother. Baby guppies are delicious to all fish.
Another possiblity is that the young didn't escape their hungry mother. Baby guppies are delicious to all fish.
I find it better to let them give birth in the main tank- the babies will hide among the plants and gravel. You can then net those out and transfer them into the breeder net.
Yeah buddy....Just fill your tank up with bushy plants and Hornwort....The fry will hide and eat the algea and other microbes that grow around the plant...I beleive Hornwort cost 99 cents a bundle...Get a bunch to fill the tank with....Leave a small swimming space in the front, so yo can see them from time to time....Leave the tank next to the window for sunlight....bella535;1434192; said:
Guppies can store sperm from one spawn for up to 6 months. Even when she has just given birth to say, 50 fry, another brood is still developing. Once she has the 50 fry spawn, she'll continue to have the gravid spot untill the sperm 'runs out' so to speak.
The livebearer gravid spot is one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of livebearer reproduction. If you try to judge pregnancy and such from gravid spots you will not have a lot of success with these fish. I can tell when my guppies are a day from giving birth with almost 100% accuracy without even looking at their gravid spots.
A gravid spot develops in juvenile females whether or not they've been fertilized yet. This dark patch is actually a mass of orange eggs but due to the colouration of the guppy often appears black or brownish. The gravid spot changing colour therefore, is a result of a change in colour on the guppy's part not anything going on with her offspring. If a fish changes colour and it isnt breeding time, chances are you've stressed it. You said you'd had this guppy a day before tossing it in a net and if that's the case 100% you've over stressed that fish. A new tank is stress enough for a fish without being tossed into a tiny net right away.
Size isnt neccessarily an indicator of pregnancy either. Shape is more important than a female's overall size. Sometimes a fish is just fat because it has eaten a lot and when you stress it all that was inside comes out. Once they get back to eating normally the weight usually comes back. Absorbing fry is a very uncommon occurence, far more so than most would lead you to believe. Unfortunately, if this does occur your fish will not just carry on normally in all likelihood. A fish that has absorbed fry often has serious problems later, including an inability to reproduce.
A gravid spot develops in juvenile females whether or not they've been fertilized yet. This dark patch is actually a mass of orange eggs but due to the colouration of the guppy often appears black or brownish. The gravid spot changing colour therefore, is a result of a change in colour on the guppy's part not anything going on with her offspring. If a fish changes colour and it isnt breeding time, chances are you've stressed it. You said you'd had this guppy a day before tossing it in a net and if that's the case 100% you've over stressed that fish. A new tank is stress enough for a fish without being tossed into a tiny net right away.
Size isnt neccessarily an indicator of pregnancy either. Shape is more important than a female's overall size. Sometimes a fish is just fat because it has eaten a lot and when you stress it all that was inside comes out. Once they get back to eating normally the weight usually comes back. Absorbing fry is a very uncommon occurence, far more so than most would lead you to believe. Unfortunately, if this does occur your fish will not just carry on normally in all likelihood. A fish that has absorbed fry often has serious problems later, including an inability to reproduce.
I appreciate your info but I didn’t say that I purchased her and the next day I put her in the breeding net. I did say that I’ve had tank for over ten years so I know what not to do to stress out fish. I’ve successfully bred molly's a number of times (I currently have some week old fry) I just said I’m new to guppies so I don’t know much about them and I’m trying to figure them out.
