pregnant guppies

[mlee0332]

I have 2 guppies that are pregnant. 1 is pregnant b/c it mated while I had and the other I bought yesterday pregnant. I just would like to know what to expect with this, seeing as how this is my first set of babies ever. What should I feed them? How long to keep mom away from other adult fish? Great signs of labor? you know that kind of general info. I have a 10 gal set up with a divider and light, heater etc. with a breeder net for when they are in danger of being killed by the pump. I have rocks and decor (very little) but is there anything else I need to consider?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You can buy some "first bites" by hikari or TetraMinfry as fry food, but the most important thing not to do to start with is buy heavily pregnant livebearers; its not fair on the pregnant fish as the journey is twice as stressful and she is twice as likely not to fit well into her new home. water stat changes from the lfs water to yours can also cause birth defects in the fry, abortions, still born fry, small poorer quality fry and birthing complications etc; i know you do not intend all this but it can happen as a result of buying pre-pregnated livebearers, well ok, its hard not to find pregnant ones but try to but the least pregnant one if you can .
There are some articles on livebearers on the forum which will help you know when livebearers are to give birth and how to raise fry

 

[betta_breeder]

Make sure there is no gravel in the tank, or the fry will get trapped between the gravel! Also if you have a breeding trap, the fry would be able to fall down through to the bottom compartment, without getting eaten by the parent! Feed the parents a good diet of good quality flakes and even some frozen bloodworms! Feed the fry liquifry No2 for about one week, then move them onto a diet of Baby Brine Shrimp, and then later onto crushed flakes!

Hope this helps!

 

[Annastasia]

Hi mlee0332

Here is a article about Livebearers, and in the bottom part of it is a whole section about fry.

Also, here is another link about fry:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=13664

That should be able to answer some of your questions too.

 

[paige]

dont no whiether this will help but normally when there going to have there fry there bellies normally go a bit square, but if u hav just fed her it could be a false alarm.good luck wit the fry anyway.

 

[mlee0332]

well these gupps are barely preg. I couldn't tell until I saw her gravid under my fluorescent light, so they're good to go. I also read that feeding them only brine shrimp is bad for them?!?! Is that so, b/c they say lots of protein is bad for fry...

 

[mlee0332]

Well, I had to add gravel to make the water cycle... I was planning on leaving them in the breeder net for a few weeks before I turned them out into the tanks. Maybe 2-3 weeks. Is that okay??