How Big Will My Livebearers Get

[sketchy]

hi all

i have recently set up my tank, added some platties and guppies

the question is i found a fry in the tank yesterday. i'm pretty sure it didnt come in with the guppies that i put in there on saturday as i spent quite a while watching them in the bag, but i dont think anyones big enough to be breeding yet!!

so the question is: will they breed before they are fully grown or is the little one a stow-away!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

If you have any adult female guppys in tank the chances are is that they are all pregnant. Guppy fry usually need to be 2-3months old before they start breeding, but the size at which they start breeding varies a great deal (sometimes an inch long, sometimes less, sometimes larger etc) depending on whether the fry turns out to be male or female. How large is the fry currently?

 

[sketchy]

very small!! you can jus see it, maybe a millimetre in length. i have it in a net at the top of the tank so it doesnt get eaten. the guppies are probanly less than an inch in length but all the females have black spots on them near the rear so i was wondering if this means they are pregnant, or if its usually there. i havent had them long enough to know any different!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yes if the females have a dark area near the back of their stomaches it is a sign they are pregnant- this "gravid patch" is actually the developing eyes of the fry inside the mother guppy you are seeing . See this link for a pic of a very pregnant guppy with her gravid patch;

http/aquariumhobbyist.com/guppies/gravid.jpg

You might want to buy some special food for the baby fish, there should be a decent range of powdered or liquid fry foods at your local fish store/lfs .