Pregnant Guppy

[iceband]

How long are guppies pregnant before they give birth and how can I tell when she's about to? When should I put her into the birthing tank, or whatever it's called

One of my swordtails has just given birth and I didn't even know she was pregnat, so the fry are having to take their chances

 

[bobbicus]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=34091


kewl showing them bein born too!!!

 

[Ethos]

Swordies have a dark spot near the end of their stomach, which gets bigger and bigger as the due date comes nearer.
As for the tank, I'd move her when you start to notice the effects of being pregnant.
I'd assume the same for guppies, though I don't know..

 

[iceband]

Swordies have a dark spot near the end of their stomach, which gets bigger and bigger as the due date comes nearer.
As for the tank, I'd move her when you start to notice the effects of being pregnant.
I'd assume the same for guppies, though I don't know..

we lost the swordtail that gave birth she looked extrememly tired after that, and didn't survive the night, but her babies have, so her memory will live on

I don't want to stress my pregnant guppy, so I dont want to put her in the birthing tank too soon, does anyone know the best time??

 

[iceband]

My pregnat guppy is being harrased by the 2 males, constantly, should I put her into my little floating tank thingy, or just leave things to take it's course?

 

[Annastasia]

How many males and females do you have? You should have 2-3 females per male to take the stress off the females. Male Livebearers are mating machines and will try to mate 24/7. If you have a few females per male, the males try to mate with all of them, therefore taking the stress off a few females while they try to mate with another. If you do have that ratio, and they are still both bothering her, they may be trying to make her abort so they can have a nice snack. Any way you can seperate them?

Breeder nets/traps are iffy things. If you put the fish in too soon, you then have to keep them in there longer, which means more stress on the female. I wouldn't recommend keeping her in there more then 2-3 days max. And you can only keep the fry in there for a couple weeks max, otherwise you risk stunting. Since you don't know what she acts/looks like before she gives birth, it might be worth it to just let her give birth in the tank this time, and provide some cover for the fry. This can be plants, wood, caves, whatever. Floating plants work especially well though. You may lose a few fry, but some should still survive, provided you don't have extremely aggressive fish. What other fish are with her?

If you are serious about raising fry, I'd look into a breeder tank. This way you don't put stress on the female from putting her in the breeder net/trap, and you can raise the fry well without risking stunting them. It's win-win. There's a pinned topic on this here.

Also, I noticed earlier in the post you asked how long the gestation period is. It's about 4 weeks, give or take a few days, depending on the fish. You also asked signs that she's close. They can include:

• Increased/Decreased Appetite.
• Hoovering in one place.
• Hiding.
• Being more aggressive to other fish.
• Chasing fish away from her hiding spot.
• Sometimes laying on the bottom of the tank.

Keep in mind some fish may show all these signs, some may show none. Most likely, she'll show a few. You'll get to know what to expect from her right before she gives birth after you've had her a while and she's given birth a few times.

Also, have you checked out the pinned topics and FAQs? You may find them helpful. Good luck!

 

[iceband]

Thanks for the info. It's a long time since I kept fish and I couldn't remember what happened. I think I'll let nature take it's course this time and just keep watching.

I think she's about 3 weeks into it so maybe another week before she gives birth.

As I said in another post, one of my swordtails gave birth and I didn't even notice that she was pregnant. About 4-6 have survived that I can tell, maybe more. No doubt I'll find out over the next few days as they get a bit more adventurous

Oh yeah, theres 2 male guppies and 4 females, but the males don't even look at the other 3 females, bet it does wonders for the self esteem

 

[guppymommy]

Thank you so much for this topic. I was wondering why one of my female guppies was suddenly so agressive toward the other fish in the tank. She hadn't been agresive toward them before, but I suspect she is pregnant (she is awfully fat!) and after reading this topic, I suspect she is close to giving birth. She has also been eating more than usual. I was beginning to wonder what might be wrong with her, but now I think she's normal . . . or as normal as a pregnant guppy can be.