LIVEBEARERS

[FOGGY]

I AM A NEWISH FISHKEEPER, NOW AS A FATHER, BUT KEPT FISH AS A CHILD ( THINGS HAVE CHANGED, FOR THE BETTER ) MY QUESTION IS WHAT IS THE BEST TEST EQUIPMENT AT REASONABLE PRICES TO BUY?, AS WATER QUALITY IS OF THE UPMOST IMPORTANCE. I HAVE A 42 GALLON TANK AND A FLUVALL FILTER ALL SEEMS TO BE WELL, I HAVE HAD A FEW CASUALTIES BUT ITS GETTING GOOD, WATER SEEMS TO BE EXCELLENT NOW, SO I WANT TO ENCOURAGE BREEDING OF MY LIVEBEARERS, WHAT IS THE PREGNANCY LIFE OF MOLLIES, GUPPIES, SWORDS?? WHAT IS THE BEST FOOD GIVEN IF THE FRY SURVIVE?? DO YOU RECOMEND NETTING THE PREGNANT FISH IN A BREEDING NET? ALL ADVICE WELCOMED.

 

[Angel Lady]

I AM A NEWISH FISHKEEPER, NOW AS A FATHER, BUT KEPT FISH AS A CHILD ( THINGS HAVE CHANGED, FOR THE BETTER ) MY QUESTION IS WHAT IS THE BEST TEST EQUIPMENT AT REASONABLE PRICES TO BUY?, AS WATER QUALITY IS OF THE UPMOST IMPORTANCE. I HAVE A 42 GALLON TANK AND A FLUVALL FILTER ALL SEEMS TO BE WELL, I HAVE HAD A FEW CASUALTIES BUT ITS GETTING GOOD, WATER SEEMS TO BE EXCELLENT NOW, SO I WANT TO ENCOURAGE BREEDING OF MY LIVEBEARERS, WHAT IS THE PREGNANCY LIFE OF MOLLIES, GUPPIES, SWORDS?? WHAT IS THE BEST FOOD GIVEN IF THE FRY SURVIVE?? DO YOU RECOMEND NETTING THE PREGNANT FISH IN A BREEDING NET? ALL ADVICE WELCOMED.

two years for mollies that is all I know about trust me just get one mle mollie to a tank of females they will be more than enough of him to go around those males thats all they do is eat and breed I wont never have but one male. mollies like salt to so try not to have them with scaless fish because they cant stand salt.and hi to and welcome these guys are great they have babies every 28 days or so to you will get tired of fooling with those babies fast I did i have only been in the mollie breeding for three months now I have 14 baby fry now and i feed mine baby brine shrimp mixed up with flakes and I crunch them up good they all are doing fine.

 

[FOGGY]

SORRY YOU DIDNT SAY IF YOU PUT THEM IN A BREEDING NET, I DO HAVE A GOOD SUPPLY OF PLANTS BUT STILL FEEL ALL THE OTHER FISH WILL EAT THEM.

 

[William]

Hi foggy, perhaps try not SHOUTING all the time

What other fish do you have in there? If you are sure that the babies will be eaten then when you are sure that the female is literally "about to burst" then place her in a net (not plastic!) breeding net. If you do it too early she may abort the pregnancy, and you can't really leave it to late unless of course she releases all the babies into the tank, but remember that livebearers tend to release the fry over a period of several days and so with a bit of luck if you see a "really fat one" become a bit thinner then put her in the net, this will avoid her aborting

Good luck and keep us posted!!

 

[FOGGY]

HI WILL, WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHOUTING ANY WAY HOW DO FISH ABORT A PREGNANCY PLEASE HELP, NEED ALL I CAN GET

 

[William]

I mean you are using capitals all the time, try turning off caps lock

The mother aborts the pregnancy by pretty much just releasing all the fry too early when they are not fully formed and cannot survive, there will be a sort of white residue.

 

[FOGGY]

THANKS WILL, I HAVE CAP LOCK ON SO I CAN READ CLEARLY, I AM GETTING ON A BIT AND AM TO VAIN TO WEAR GLASSES, THANKS FOR THE HELP.

 

[elgecko]

I have swordtails and guppies. Usually the guppies will not eat there own young and depending on what other fish you have, might not need a breeder net. The swordtails that I have, stalk and hunt there young. If I do not place the female into a breeding trap, I lose all the babies to the parents.

 

[zmz87]

It all depends how warm the tank is. If the tank is colder like 65 degrees the fish's metabolism slows and it takes longer to develop, but the fish lives longer. In warmer temps like 72 the fish could be mature in about 2 months. At the colder temp they can live about 5 years. At the warmer temp they will live for about 2. Just remember the colder the temp, the more time it will take for the fish to reach maturaty, give birth, and eso on. Make sure that you keep up with the water changes. At least 10% each week needs to be changed for the parents tank. The babied need cleaner water, and the water should be changed about 10% every 2-3 days. Best food that I have found are Earthworms (messy & stinky, but works), Boiled Carrots (makes collors appear quicker) bbs (fry love it) Egg yolk (has to be boiled and let cool before feeding. Mash it up in some water to soften. feed with a toothpick, a little goes far) I hope this helps. I have breed guppies for a while now and this works for me.

 

[bigfish]

Foggy i let my guppies release the babies within the communtiy tank then net them out, only because when i seperate the females into a breeding net they get far too stressed and started ram at the net!!! i suppose you could stick them in a seperate tank with a foam filter (so babies dont get sucked up) until she releases the babies and then put her back into the community tank.

Good Luck!!!