Quick Question

So my guppy hasn't dropped yet but I'm wondering when she does drop can I put the fry in a 5 us gallon bucket? It'll be unheated as the fact that I don't have a spare heater,but will. Be filtered,and possibly have a samall dest lamp over it if you think it'll help

I would advise the you go out and buy a tiny cheap heater....it will greatly help you keep the fry alive.

for the first few weeks, if you are diligent about water changes, it should be OK, not the best, but not the worst

If putting a new or currently unused filter in with the babies, you'll need to either fishless cycle it before she drops (which I doubt youll have time to do) or do 100% water changes every day or so. This will put a lot of stress on the babies and could well kill some of them.

If you can, get a large breeding trap or even a large tub with holes poked in it, and pop that in your main tank. This means the water will be warm and clean and the fish have a better chance of surviving.

Alternaively, let the fry loose in the tank and let nature do it's thing.

What size is your main tank?

Guppy fry can tolerate almost any comfortable room temperature without a problem. They will be fine in a bucket if you have a cycled filter to get them through the first few weeks. After a few weeks, the bucket will start to be a bit crowded for them. Don't forget to do water changes frequently on your fry "tank".

okay, about the size i'm aware that they'll out grow it fast it's just long enough so my danio won't eat them and they have a better chance with my cihclids just in case my cichlids turn. my main tank is a thirty us gallon , i currently have a breeding trap, it's just that im not very good at timeimg i had guppies a few years ago and i always missed before they dropped and all the fry had been eaten. i don't exactly know if my filter is "cycled" (sorry im only thirteen so im not an expert on all the terms,etc.) but about a month back i had it running in the bucket because i was gonna try breeding my danios but i couldn't find a heater and didn't want to put them in cold water and in such a small area. also how long do you think until she drops? here's a picture (it's the same fish just three different pictures i say that because some other people thought they were three different fish.)



sorry for the quality and size of the picture's but they're fast and i don't have the best camera.

pumh said:

So my guppy hasn't dropped yet but I'm wondering when she does drop can I put the fry in a 5 us gallon bucket? It'll be unheated as the fact that I don't have a spare heater,but will. Be filtered,and possibly have a samall dest lamp over it if you think it'll help

Click to expand...

Hiya

I often grow out guppy fry in unheated tanks, they are in the house & keep at around 20 degrees, alot of breeders keep guppies in unheated tanks, so you should be fine.

At times I have resorted to using the childrens toyboxes as they are a good size & clear so I can see them & they get natural light.

My females are quite bad for eating their own fry, so pop some java moss in tbe bottom of the bucket to help the fry escape, you could also use spawning mops as its just temporary, all you need is a ball of cheap acrylic wool normally around 99p

When you say a childs toy cantainer what size do you think the muinimun size in us gal? Also ivr nevr really looked at the plants do you think petco or petsmart? (Those are the only lfs close to me and I myself cannot drive at 13)

the toy boxes are probably around 3-5g, I only use them for about 4wks then the fry are generally big enough to go back

I'm in the uk, so i'm not sure what plants you would have available, the spawning mops are a cheap & easy option & once the fry are all born, you can take mum out, then remove the mops & throw away

Oksy thsnks fir the advice and helpm not too keep pushimg it but how long do you think until she drops? I am so eager to find out becausei hsve just left on vacation today so I wamt to know if shekll still be in the "same" prenancy ehen I. Get back on the 23

A lapse of 11 days seems unlikely for that female. With nobody feeding your fish for that long, the fry are likely to be seen as snacks.

Okay I figured that itd be longer than 12 days. So how long would you think from those pics? It's fine though on the feeding side I have someone feeding them but he' not rxactly "-nto" fish as I am but I showed him how to feed them

At the size and shape of your female, I would have guessed 8 to 10 days. If the adults are going to be well fed, all should be well.

neither of my fish tanks have heaters and they stay between 78-80F.

i dont know why some people need heaters, i guess im lucky and my set up just happens to keep the heat in.

i dont have a heater in my tank and all my guppys and platys r fine the temp stays between 75-82