Is My Guppy Pregnant?

[fishvirgin]

Hello! I'm new to a lot of this so please bear with me on my ignorance. I have a tank with a red eared slider turtle, snails, and feeder fish. My husband recently noticed that it appears that one of our feeder fish (a guppy) has a bigger belly than typical. Is this a possibility that she is pregnant? I have looked online and it says to look for the gravid patch, which I have and it's darker behind the belly. If pregnant, how long before they have their babies? I have seperated her from the turtle so she isn't eaten, and would like to see if we can handle some babies. Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated! I need to get some java ferns for her also. Thanks!!!

 

[the_lock_man]

The chances are certainly good that she is. If she has been in the same tank as a male guppy in the last 6 months, then yes, she almost certainly is.

 

[crazyforcordoras]

She will give birth in about a month.

 

[the_lock_man]

She will give birth in about a month.

Blimey, how can you tell that without seeing a photo of the fish? You been hacking their webcam or something?

 

[fishvirgin]

Thank you for your response! What do I need to watch for to know when she is getting close to having her babies? Is there anything I need to be doing to prepare the tank for them? I'm used to just having them in there to be food for the turtle. This is my first time trying to keep one.

 

[Guppyz]

Thank you for your response! What do I need to watch for to know when she is getting close to having her babies? Is there anything I need to be doing to prepare the tank for them? I'm used to just having them in there to be food for the turtle. This is my first time trying to keep one.

She will get very big and the gravid spts will get darker and larger. They also eat their own young.

 

[the_lock_man]

There is a thread pinned at the top of this forum, called The Stages of a Guppy Pregnancy. That will tell you what you need to know about the first query.

TO prepare the tank, you need plenty of fine leaved plants for the fry to hide in, Java Moss is often recommended for this purpose. Both parents are happy to eat their own fry, so if you leave the tank bare, there is nowhere to hide.

 

[OldMan47]

A nice clump of java moss in my guppy tank that gives me a non-stop supply of adult guppies for fish club auctions every few months.