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Hello. I have recently been away from home (as some of you know) and have recently returned. Upon my return, I have found my tanks in horrid condition which I am working on correcting.

To sum it up, I have about 50 guppies (some may not survive due to conditions beyond my control), mostly fry. I'm wondering though, if I seperate the males/females to prevent breeding, how many could I put in each tank? Also, I am considering adding Ottos to each tank in the future. The tanks are a 15g (will be ready shortly) and a 10g (must be COMPLEATLY broken down and cycled and treated, but should be ready soon)

Any advice would be helpful, thank you ^.^
-inky

Inky

Otos should be kept in schools, so they will limit how many guppies you can keep in each tank. Because neither guppies nor otos require a lot of space, you can keep about 7-9 fishes total with adequate filtration (females in the larger tank).

Also, just in case you don't know, female guppies will continue to give birth to fry for some time after separation.

yes. I am hoping that I can give away any fry I get in the future, but I would like to keep as many fish as I can. I have more males then females I noticed (which is one of the reasons I am considering the seperation)

Inky

If you separate them, it would cut down on the population problem a bit, but the females will most likely continue to produce fry. Platy (also live bearers) females have a tendency to sometimes morph into males - not sure if this is true with guppies however. Giving away some of the fry will help too. Most fish stores will take them, but won't pay you anything for them since they are such common fish.

I'd be hesitant to give them to a shop, I don't want them to end up in a feeder tank. I think I will give them away to friends who want to get started in the hobby or post an ad in the paper or something. ^_^

I've had plattys morph on me, but never a guppy. I really hope that doesn't happen!

Inky