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Today I bought 4 guppies for my tank which only has one cory in at the moment and I noticed something small swimming at the bottom. It's about 3mm in length, has a red dot in it's tummy and a clear tail. Does this sound like a baby guppie? I've seperated it in to a bag which is floating in my tank. What should I do to feed/care for it.

Any help?

It should be a guppy fry, based on your description. Head on over to the Livebearer's Lounge for more information, specifically with the HELP FRY!!!!!, Best food for fry?, and Sailfin Molly Fry threads.

Yeah, guppys breed like wildfire, I would definitly say it is guppy fry. If you don't have a small (maybe 1 or 2 gallon ) tank just lying around to put it in, then I suggest that if you really want to keep it, then get some thick live or fake plants for it to hide in, and feed it baby brine shrimp, or very crushed flake ( you can buy baby flake also). Also, keep a look out for more of them, because your guppy must have just had them a few days ago. If you don't want to bother now, just leave him alone and see what happens, after all, you'll have more fry in a few weeks anyway

Good luck, hope this helps, I have bred and raised many live bearing fish in the past, and am now working on egg-layers. If you have any questions just Private Message me

Last edited by GrimZ at 07-Feb-2005 14:33

OK you can head over to the livebearers or just stay here ...

First and foremost let that baby free, and it more than likely is not the only one in the tank, look closely at the bottom, and around decorations and plants, they will be there!

Ok let's see if I can tell you everything I know about raising guppy fry

My favorite plants to use in general are Anacharis, and Java Moss. Both are basically fool proof (I have a brown thumb and they survive wonderfully). I left a small chunk in my 10 gallon at school by accident and it has flourished again...Java Moss though can be quite hard to find. You really just have to look at your LFS's and if you see this green mossy clump that isn't solid, as them for it...it is usually java moss. I also like to have Anacharis in my tanks. Again this is almost impossible to kill...When I first began I would plant one of the front corners of the given tank with this...depending on the size of the tank, for a 10 gallon 1-2 good size bunches will be enough. For a 29 I'd go for 3-5...I'd plant this one corner really well with Anacharis...if the plant is too long don't worry, just snap it in half or thirds (I've been lucky to get really long sections of it ) and plant them too. This is one of those that will grow from snippens of itself. Then after planting this area, I'd leave some of the Anacharis floating. I find that my newborn fry like to hide in the floating bits, they really don't seem to swim too well in my opinion in this first couple of days more of darting at this point. The floating plants are where the food can get caught, the fry can get to, and the adults won't bother. After about 2-3 days you will notice that the fry aren't just hanging out in the floating plant, but are getting a bit gutsy and swimming along the sides and bottom...don't worry they are FINE!!! By the end of the second week they will be swimming out in the open, and from my experience very seldom get eaten

OK what to feed these little newborns. You can always go out and spend $4-5 on fry food or make your own from what you have, I tend to make my own, it's easy...Take an empty ziplock bag and put some of the food you feed your other fish in it. I tend to use TetraFlakes (yellow and brown can), and some dried blood worms, and whatever else I have on hand, it's up to you, sometimes it's just the flakes that they get. Anyways take a couple of tbs of flakes, and some of everything else, if you choose, put them in the ziplock, seal the ziplock without air....and grind it between your palms, fingers, hands, whatever floats your boat...it will become a fine powdery substance...then Viola you have fry food...I tend to feed everyone from this. You can keep it in a bag, or put it in an empty fish food container...a little bit will go a long ways, and it tends to float quite well...

I'd be willing to say by the end of the first month they will have doubled their size. At about 4-5 months they can start breeding (sometimes it is more 6 months) The males tend to "develop their colors and tails" at about 3-4 months. This will happen quickly...You will go to bed one night, then the next morning they have a bright colorful tail...

I think that's it for now...oh make sure you keep up with your water changes, just be careful...the cleaner the water (but don't send it into a cycle!) and the more room, the faster they will grow, and the healthier they will be...Let me know if there is anything else...I'm here to help, and let me know how they are doing....

Does this answer everything you need to know? If know ask the question and I'll try to find you an answer...been doing this waaaayyyyyy tooooooo loooonnnnngggg!!!

Heidi


"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Thanks for all the info. You are right, have been looking carefully in the bottom of the tank and have counted 5 fry!! It's quite exciting for the first time. Unfortunatley on of my adult guppies died a couple of days ago but all the others seem fine. Is there any way I can tell if the fry are males or females? One if them is very dark in colour. Another one has a really red tummy.

i've got so many guppies i don't know what to do w/ them, so either i throw them in the 55 w/ the cichlids, even though the cichlids are big now and ignore them, either that or just let the fry fend for themselves in the tank w/ the Female betta, and the 2 gourami's they seem to do fine since my tank has TONS of hornwort

Daka<<<<

Honestly there isn't an easy way to tell male from female till they are larger...been told there is a way, but have yet to be successful:%)

I have to agree with Daka though, there are so many fry in the tank currently I don't know what to do. They can hide if them want, or swim if they want. It's survival of the fittest. Yes, this sounds cruel, but other than giving my females a daily birth control pill, I just don't know what to do, and I refuse to get rid of them]:| So they have to fend for themselves. There is plenty of plants to do so in, and when thy get larger they will go back to the lfs for credit (someday i'll get a tank out of this...otherwise let them go, and enjoy the babies...Heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Follows Heidis help about the plants. With the food I used crushed up flakes and frozen baby brine shrimp. I used this for a platy and he is now a happy little boy at 2 months about 2cm.