[TORYthefishMOM]

So I started my 10 gallon fishtank about 2 months ago. I now only have guppies in my tank, 3 pairs. 2 of my 3 females are pregnant, so I went and picked up a floating in tank nursery with the divider drop in so mom cant eat the babies when theyre born. But Ive done some reading and I now understand that putting a female guppy in a nursery can stress her out to the point of dying! They apparently stress so much they dont survive SO I dont know what to do! I know the adult fish will eat the babies but I dont want to kill my females in the process Ive lost enough fish already. What should I do? Is it worth the risk or not? My water parameters are good save for I'm working on getting my ammonia levels down from .13ppm to 0ppm with liquid ammonia remover, prime, and water changes. My fish are doing great. I dont want to mess that up! Help please?

 

[OSagent23]

If there is nothing else in the aquarium other than guppies, then the babies should survive without being eaten. Guppies do not eat their young. If you have other fish other than guppies then yes use a nursery.

 

[TORYthefishMOM]

Are you sure? From what Ive read and from others experience whove told me about it I'm to understand they will eat their young if no other food is present at the time? So...what about my algae eater? I have a Chinese Algae Eater to clean the tank. Will he eat them?

 

[Captain Jim Dandy]

Different strains of guppies behave differently in regards to young,.I've used those plastic traps, net keepers.I have found, while many times it can be very successful, that some females will hold young or stress to point they cannot bear the fry.Then some become ill, and I really don't know how to save them after they become ill, they will slowly fade. I've gone to not capturing, just having a lot of plants for the young to hide in. Then gently net the young out to different tank (usually try to let them strengthen a few hours, unless really being pursued). It's what works for you,..but I always fear mom getting sick.

 

[DragonFyre14]

I bought one of those for the same reason. My guppies never really liked it. They would swim quickly around and crash into the walls and never would give birth. I prefer to just let them give birth in the main tank and then try and find the babies I can. (although with about 8 or so adult guppies and a gourami not too many survive unless they make it to the planted side of the aquarium.) I usually use the breeder trap to house the fry until I have a different home available. That being said, newborn fry or couple day old fry, I've found have the tendency to slip out of the cracks in the plastic breeder traps.

 

[TORYthefishMOM]

I have a pretty intense filter in my tank its only a 10 gallon but I got a filter that would work for upwards of a 30 gallon tank. It wont suck them up will it? And I do have quite a few plants in my tank. 3 ferns, 2 sheaths of bamboo, and a fine laved plant on a lava rock with moss. Its pretty green in there. So long as my filter wont suck them up they should survive?

 

[DragonFyre14]

If its as heavily planted as it sounds like, you should have no problem getting at least a few.
As for the filter though.... I have a 29 gallon tank with a filter rated for 30 gallons and I have had one or two fry who did get sucked up by it. I would recommend using some clean panty hose or a net of some sort. Other than that I'm sure you will have plenty of fry.
I'm not sure if this was previously stated so I'll say it anyway, guppies will eat their own fry. Especially the first day or two. The mom on the other hand won't at first because of certain hormones that make her not want to eat them right away.
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[TORYthefishMOM]

Panty hose? Really? Thats interesting and not something Ive heard before...but if it will save my babies I'll definitely do it If my camera hadnt been destroyed by my 2 year old Id upload pics of everything so Itd be easier for people to tell me what to do. One day soon maybe...but yes. I have a pretty green tank as I said. Id heard the babies will hide in the plants to survive. Should I maybe add a few more just in case? We're planning on getting a 55 Gallon tank as a larger community tank and get more guppies, and I'll use my 10 gallon as a nursery tank, probably with a bit smaller filter then too. I know now about the nitrogen cycle and how to establish my tank properly before adding fish. And this tank will be sweet for sure. I'm putting in driftwood and lava rock. Anyone know anything about putting crystals in a tank? Like actual rock crystals? My pawpaw ownes/owned a rock quarry in the mountains of NC (he passed away last march but its still in the family) and he brought all us grandkids all kinds of cool rocks including big sheets of Amethyst and Quartz Crystal. Think I could use those without it causing weird things to happen with my water parameters? Theyre natural minerals so I figure they wont hurt anything. And lots of plants. Lots of them.

 

[DragonFyre14]

Yep. Panty hose works well. Really anyway you can cover up the filter intake without impeding it too much. Panty hose is just the best and easiest I've heard of. You can always add more plants but it sounds like it should be fine. My tank isn't too heavily planted and the main reason I lose a fair amount of fry, is the plants don't really reach up to the surface (all but one are fake plants at the moment). So make sure you have some hiding spaces near the surface as guppies are top dwelling fish mostly.
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[TORYthefishMOM]

Both my twisted bamboo sheaths go well above the surface and have multiple branches and lots of leave. They should be sufficient enough to shied them. If not my ferns are fair sized but dont quite reach to the top yet. I also have a big spongebob figurine (my eldest loves spongebob) its hollow in the middle. Will they hide there too? I need to know where to look for them so I can find them and put them in the nursery when theyre born because chances are I wont be around the tank when that happens. 2 small girls take up most all my time at the moment lol Curious too. I had no idea there were so many specific types of guppies until now. I was looking and apparently I have a Gold Cobra(male), 3 Blue Diamond(1 male 2 females), and 2 Orange/Tequila Sunrise variations(1 male 1 female). Is it bad to let them cross or does it matter?

 

[DragonFyre14]

I don't think it matters too much. Guppies breed so much that unless your trying to breed for a specific trait it won't matter. They might hide in your hollow spongebob but I can't say for sure. I've never had any of mine hide in the hollow objects in my tank. They preferred to sit inside the plants or hover above the gravel for the most part. I haven't really gone around classifying my guppies but I know I have 1 male cobra, 1 male lyretail, 1 male cobra endler and it looks like one of fry is going to be a lyretail as well (fingers crossed for a female!!)
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[hallie56]

Torythefishmom...... I am breeding guppies and I have read about floating moss..... I have some in my maternity tank now (lfs gave me a sprig) . It is just a small amount at the moment but after reading up on it i agree.... the guppy fry will automatically go to the top of the tank. If you have some moss in there they can hide from the moms. Mine have not eaten any of their young yet, but that doesn't mean they won't...... I now have over 100 fry that i will be sexing in the next few weeks. and have 5 more moms expecting. Good luck with the new fry, it is a site to watch them giving birth and watching the babies grow *S*

 

[TORYthefishMOM]

Hallie I did debate getting some floating moss but Ive heard mixed results on what it does to your filter if and when some pieces break apart lol. If it will better aid my babies I will look into it. We go tomorrow to pick up the 55 gallon and I am so excited! Cant wait to get it started. Will keep all posted!

 

[TORYthefishMOM]

As a side note will it matter if I add my babies back to my communtiy tank to breed? Since I'm not sure who fathered what and all?

 

[Captain Jim Dandy]

Like Dragonfry said..unless you want to keep a certain strain "pure"..it matters not. All your females likely pregnant now. Start with one of your new fry females and try to keep her from any males until you decide who you want to breed her to for whatever reason...but guppies are just colorful little guys to enjoy ,not fret over!

 

[DragonFyre14]

Yeah It's not really a problem to add them back in. I do that with mine as well. Chances are she won't mate with her father and then her children won't mate again with her father and so on. It takes a couple of generations of inbreeding before you can see a slight decline in health as a result of inbreeding.
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[TORYthefishMOM]

I know I get so technical but I want to learn as much about this as possible and be great at it! At what point can you tell the sex of the babies? And I have another dilemma! Apparently my Chinese Algae Eater is getting so big hes knocking things over in the tank! I dont want him to harm my guppies nor get rid of him hes my favorite fish! Were picking up the 55 gallon tank in a few hours and setting it up to begin cycling. I read in the fish profile theyre hardy and will withstand the cycling process. Should I move him to the big tank ASAP and let him be a loner for a while or leave him in my 10 gallon and hope he doesnt hurt my guppies?

 

[DragonFyre14]

If I remember correctly you can usually tell definitively at about 3-4 weeks of age. Although, I've found (with a little practice) that I can usually tell a bit earlier just because of how much color they have. I assume you already know how to sex them?
You know, you could probably leave him in there for a bit but if your worried about him knocking something over and hurting your guppies, why don't you just move him over. I'm sure he wouldn't mind being a loner. As they aren't typically social fish (or you would most likely have one or two more for him to play with) I don't think your guppies would be hurt, but if you are worried about it I would just switch him over and he can help you cycle the tank
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[MoneyMitch]

get some bushy plants and some bushy floaters itll give the fry places to hideout. best advice I can give at the moment

 

[TORYthefishMOM]

Ive looked into some Anubias plants? Ive heard they grow extremely well and easily and are dense enough to house Guppy babies. Also looked into adding some driftwood and moss to the tank as well. I plan to make this tank a sanctuary for my little ones I do know how to sex the Guppies initially I didnt. Is it better to feed them normal crushed up flakes or should I get something different for them? What will make them healthier and grow better?
And according to the pet place I got him from my algae eater wont grow bigger than 8 inches. They supposedly only get so big in the wild. IDK like I said from what Ive read they get huge so hes going in the 55 gallon ASAP. Im waiting for my dad to finish the stand for it but as soon as its done I'm going to get everything going and start setting it up. Weve decided on a mix of black gravel and sand, a few pieces of Manzanita Driftwood and Aquarium Rock, and a ton of plants. Still deciding on what kinds. I lovethe Anubias plants all of them are beautiful and apparently easy to grow and maintain. Some moss of course. Gonna have to learn how to make it grow on other surfaces besides sand and gravel I want to attach some to my driftwood and my rock. Any other suggestions plant wise?