My First Foray Into Raising Fry!

[Kyle E.]

I finally managed to find and separate 2 brand new guppy fry before they got eaten! I don't know why my guppies don't produce that many per birth. Aren't they supposed to produce like 50 or something? I don't really know how many I get as I have never seen them actually dropping the fry but I only ever see one or two a little while after. My tank does not yet have enough plants to just leave them in there so I have them in a breeder box.

I do not have special fry food, but I do have some brand new Fluval Bug Bites Flakes. Literally bought them this morning. I assume if I crush it up enough they will eat it right?

Is there anything special I need to know about their care? How often should I feed?

My fish, especially my betta, try to get at them through the box. Is this a problem? They can't get in, obviously, but I am worried it will scare the fry. How long will it be until I can put them out into the main tank?

There is a high chance of them dying on me as I am still fairly new but they're guppies so I will always have more fry.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Circus]

Fine crushed flake is fine, since live born fry are more developed than hatched fry.
I got almost 500 fry over the course of 10 months, from a single female off of a single breeding. It is very likely that they are being eaten by other fish in the tank, especially if you have betta in there.

 

[Circus]

You should leave the light on 6 hours or more, as the fry may develop bent spines without enough light. I always fed mine small meals three times a day for the first 2 weeks, then twice a day for the 3rd week, then once a day when they were a month old.

 

[Kyle E.]

That is some very good advice! Thank you!

When you you get 500 from "1 breeding" you are saying that they only have to be with a male once and then they have multiple batches?

 

[Circus]

That is some very good advice! Thank you!

When you you get 500 from "1 breeding" you are saying that they only have to be with a male once and then they have multiple batches?

Yes. Not all, but many females live bearers are like this. A female guppy will hold milt for up to 10 months off of a single mating, and produce fry about every 28 days (tank temp depending).
My female was only exposed to a male for about a week before I realized the shop had actually sold me a juvenile male rather than another female. My female started off with 15-30 fry the first 2 months, then produced about 60 fry each month after until the last month or so. I always separated the fry from mom after 2 weeks so I didn't risk her being refertilized. I fed most of my fry to my other fish (mostly bettas) or gave them away to the pet shop.

 

[jonny-5]

On the first batch of fry its not uncommon to only have a few fry as normally the female is young herself.
As the female develops & gets larger she has more fry each time

I fed all my batches 3-6 times a day, Crushed flake,Spirulina powder & egg yolk in the first week, After that they will have a go at frozen foods & start to develop really quickly.
I changed 25% of the water twice weekly

If they are in a breeding box the fry can & will escape or the other fish can suck them out of the slits
I had 4 females & the fry amounts doubled each time, So i was quickly running out of space. I had no choice but to get rid of the adults except 1 Female, Now her fry are 11 weeks old, So she lives with the rest of the females

I had 150 fry that i sold off before xmas & a friend has just taken another 70/80 this week, So that shows you how fast they reproduce

The fry will be ok as long as they are fed & in good water.
They are tougher than you think & chances of them dying are slim unless there eaten of course

 

[jonny-5]

Here is some of mine born in the main tank, The mom is used to having fry around now & rarely eats them now

The fry in the box was some i rounded up for shipping out

 

[Sgooosh]

I finally managed to find and separate 2 brand new guppy fry before they got eaten! I don't know why my guppies don't produce that many per birth. Aren't they supposed to produce like 50 or something? I don't really know how many I get as I have never seen them actually dropping the fry but I only ever see one or two a little while after. My tank does not yet have enough plants to just leave them in there so I have them in a breeder box.

I do not have special fry food, but I do have some brand new Fluval Bug Bites Flakes. Literally bought them this morning. I assume if I crush it up enough they will eat it right?

Is there anything special I need to know about their care? How often should I feed?

My fish, especially my betta, try to get at them through the box. Is this a problem? They can't get in, obviously, but I am worried it will scare the fry. How long will it be until I can put them out into the main tank?

There is a high chance of them dying on me as I am still fairly new but they're guppies so I will always have more fry.

Any advice would be appreciated!

do not be discouraged. the first time my female gave birth to 3, never ate any and only 2 survived. well 4 another one died sadly

 

[Kyle E.]

Thanks so much guys! How long until I can put them in my tank with a Dwarf Gourami and Male Betta?

Also I have NO idea what color they will turn out to be. My male is a Tequila Sunrise guppy, and my 3 females are grey feeder quality guppies lol. Anyone have a guess at their coloration?

 

[jonny-5]

normally the males resemble the father some what but I have noticed any female fry tend to have Mom's strong base colours but also can have Dad's colours mixed in too

my guppy mom in the pic above her female fry are identical to her but some have no markings on the tails, They are just half black. The males are a mixture of metallic blue/silver with fire tails

I had a Blonde female & her female fry are also half yellow but she only had 5 females all the males were eaten

 

[jonny-5]

They are far to fast to take pics of

 

[jonny-5]

Few more from same mom

 

[Sgooosh]

Thanks so much guys! How long until I can put them in my tank with a Dwarf Gourami and Male Betta?

Also I have NO idea what color they will turn out to be. My male is a Tequila Sunrise guppy, and my 3 females are grey feeder quality guppies lol. Anyone have a guess at their coloration?

then it will be a wild type tewuila guppy! let me know plssss that sounds soo cool! orange, black, blue, shiny green blue and shiny white spots in endler color formation. soo cool

 

[Circus]

You can put them in when they are too big to put into the mouth of the other fish.

Beware about male guppy and betta, though. Any long, trailing, and brightly colored fins might entice the betta to attack. It is also usually a bad idea to mix anabantoids.

Also, the hardness requirements for guppies and gourami/betta are different. If you have soft water, your guppy fry will be more likely to get sick. If you have hard water, minerals will build up in the organs of your anabantoids.

 

[Kyle E.]

I know about the water quality I issues, I bought them before learning about that.

There is absolutely no aggression in my tank, the betta is super chill so it won't be a problem.

It sounds like it's sort of a mystery as to what color they will be so we will see!

How long until they color up?