[GuppyLove]

I breed guppies and for the longest time i've used the traditional method.

But I've tried something new reccommended by a friend of mine.

Once the pregnant guppy starts to drastically "show", Isolate her into a solitary tank. Once there check her several times daily (Before/after work, etc) If there are any babies present, and you have the time, use a line of tubing about 18 inches long or so, and syphon the babies into their pre-setup confinement tank. Then give the mother privacy again, wait ten minutes, go back into the room, and syphon any more babies she's had. It works because she's so busy having babies, not only does she not have the time to try to eat them, but even if she did take a break, there arent any babies to eat. The syphoning part sounds a bit harsh on the newborns but I've done it for a few months now and it seems to work a lot better than the traditional isolation method. Keep checking and syphoning until you're positive that the mother is finished. remember to keep her isolated for a good week or so that she can recover before being "attacked" by all the horny males again. As for the babies, they can stay in their tank until they're big enough to be added to the rest of them.

I kinda wonder if the newborns really do like that water slide technique lol.

Try it and let me know what you think.

 

[The Dude]

i am currently trying my hand at breeding swordtails, i have a 5 gallon for the mom, but this is a great idea so the mom can roam free and i can set up a little tupperware container next to the tank until shes done

 

[fish_4_all]

Not a bad idea, I have used turkey basters in the past with similar success. I have also seen some other methods for breeding to separate the mother from the babies. In the tank you want to use, most of the time a 10 gallon, you set up an "automatic" method to separate the babies out. Get some plexi or other plastic sheets. Get some glass or plastic rods 1/4 inch in diameter. After cutting the plexi to fit the tank leaving an area of 2-3 inches on one side, you cut a series of holes in the plexi to hold the rods 2 inches above the bottom and spaced about 1/4 - 5/16 inch apart. This is placed in the tank on the bottom so when the babies are born they naturally go to through the slots and are protected form the mother. The slot on the side is used to syphon the babies out of you want or you simply wait til mother seems to be done, remove her and then use the tank to rear the fry. The separator is reusable for another tank or again in the same tank for the next brood to be born. One could even modify certain UGF plates to serve the same purpose. A good way to recycle the plates if you have them laying around.