Baby guppies - what do I do?

Julie's Julies

One of my guppies had three fry this afternoon. The parents seemed completely oblivious to them, but I netted the fry anyway and stuck them in a net breeder. Now what do I do with them? I tried feeding them crushed flakes and some boiled egg yolk, but I haven't seen them eat anything yet. My angelfish has his eye on them and keeps swimming around and bugging them. My only other experience with guppy fry were with three semi-grown feeder guppies that I managed to kill within two days of purchasing them. Needless to say, my confidence in my ability to care for baby fish is not good.

Lupin

If I were you, either you provide another tank full of plants or simply provide more plants in the main community and allow nature to take its course. The fry that usually survive are the ones that are healthier than the rest. Weak and deformed ones are all too often eliminated by the predators.

The livebearer fry should eat readily all food given to them.

Guppies are very prolific and aren't known million fish for nothing.

willow

i agree with Lupin. :)
i've had guppy fry in with the tigerbarbs,and Angles.
The tank has top cover(plants) and they all survived.
ok granted they were not in there more than a week,as i set up
their own tank,however it can be done.
please don't let this knock your confidence.!!!!!!!!
i made plenty BIG mistakes in the past,but i'm here.(a little crazy maybe)
good excuse to get another tank, :D ,only needs to be a little one,
nick a bit of sponge from an existing tank,and you'll
be sorted.
:)

Julie's Julies

I did notice that the fry were staying low to the gravel and plants and out of the way of the parents. Perhaps I should just release them from the breeder net again. I actually ended up with four fry, but the fourth I ended up sucking up with the gravel filter because I didn't know he was there. He didn't survive. Thanks for the tips; I am really new to this sort of thing!

Julie's Julies

Out of curiosity, how many fry are typically born in one batch?

Steffiweff

Hi Julie

I've had four guppies born in one batch - none of which survived. I've also had 20 black bar endlers guppies born in one batch, 14 of which survived.

I suppose it's all down to how the parents are feeling, how happy they are in their environment and how much plant cover there is in the tank.

Good luck!

Julie's Julies

Thanks for the info and advice. So far, the three guppies I initially put in the breeder net are doing well. They eat CONSTANTLY! I don't know how long they will survive, but I'm enjoying them right now and I love watching them.

Julie's Julies

Wow, they're still doing well - they've nearly doubled in size, though there's no coloration on them yet and I cannot distinguish the gender yet, either. I can see their mouths open to eat now, too! Okay, sorry. I am just having fun observing them!

willow

hi
glad they are are doing well, :)
i've got fry again ,and they are like slivers of glass
(they are white looking this time,instead of clear,
maybe another colour morph)
i almost missed them,in the tank of doom.(lol)
how old are yours now ?
you won't see colour yet for a while,and the gender
for longer,you'll probably notice a little tinge of colour
on the tail first,
:)