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HI all my guppies are pregnant but one is much bigger. Her dark gravid spots are about twice the size of her eye and has a definate bulge. I only got her yesterday so dont know how long she has left. How big should their bulge be when you put them in the breeding trap?
Thanks

u can add her to the breeding trap now, because she may drop, better safe than sorry.

The larger she is the closer she is to dropping her fry. Of course if she is an older female she may just be larger anyways due to previous drops

One way to tell she is really close to dropping her fry is I find mine tend to start hiding and staying closer to the bottom of the tank when their time is close; within 1-2 days usually 2 being the latest...If you wish to put her in a breeder net do so then, or just make sure you have plenty of floating plants and planted plants, this will assure you plenty of surviving fry...

Best of luck, heidi

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

Thanks, I think I'll get some floating plants today and let nature take its course and hope for survival of the fittest.

shiftingsands

I would also say place her into the breeding net at once. Water sprite is an excellent plant for this job.

Also dont forget to remove her as soon as possible

Keith

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Thanks. If I do keep her in the breeding trap how will I feed the babies as the trap has slits in it that let water in/out which I assume means I cant give them liquid fry food? I have flake, blood worms and daphnia any of thos any good?

Also will they be able to get out of these slits and into the main tank as I dont know how big the fry are when they are born.

She is not happy at all in the trap, will the stress harm her? I'm such a softie I'd hate to think I was making her miserable even though she is "just a fish".

shiftingsands,

I am way more keen on the breeder net than the plastic case. It reduces the chance of fish injury and let’s more water through for a better circulation.

I once thought my platy is ready to give birth and I placed her first in a trap. I could tell after one day that she is really not happy. Then I placed her in the net and it appeared to be a little better. Nevertheless, she didn’t give birth in it at all within 4 days so I released her to the tank again (I am a softy too, and proud of it ). Finally, about 6 days later, she had babies and I managed to scoop 9 out that are by now young adults. I raised them in the net breeder and fed them Hikari (sp?) first bites and crushed flake food. I got a tip here to put some flakes in a zip lock bag and to rub them between your fingers until they are really small.

Why do you think you would have to feed liquid fry food? I never had guppies but I think they should be large enough to eat the foods mentioned above. You could always add some floating plants into the net (which I would do anyway) and they could nip on the tiny algae that grow on it.

To sum it up, IMHO – get a net breeder ($3.50), add some plants for the fry to hide, place her in it, keep an eye on her, if she gives birth wait until she is “done” and then take her out, if not then take her out when you think you cannot handle it anymore. In the last case, keep an eye on the tank, fish any fry out that you can find and place it in the breeder.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

i'd go with a net breeder as well, i have both kinds, and my fish seem to be a little less-stressed out with i put em in the net, just make sure theres plants in there to keep the mommy from eating the babies.

and if you're really concerned about the mother dropping soon, why not just put her in now? a few days wont hurt, i usually put mine in two or three days before i expect them to drop, just to be on the safe side.

Chelle

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

Ok, thanks so much, I am off to get a net breeder today.
:-) Some plants I odered have just arrived this am so can put some in the top.

Hi to all...yes I'm new. In regards to the pregnant fish issue; I have a very fat and bulgy female Mollie. I just bought my net yesterday to have around in case I need it. So...not to sound dumb..but tell me more about when to expect or not. Is it the same for Mollies as Guppies? All help would be appreciated. (p.s. I'm doing regular water changes and keeping everything clean to encourage)
THANKS!!!

i had my first batch of molly fry about 5 months ago. i didnt know what to expect then, but i've done alot of question-asking on here, and found out alot of good advice.


um.. things to know

mollies store sperm from other fish for up to three months, so your prego molly could be prego in another 28-34 days.


by the way thats the birth cycle for mollies. its pretty accurate, mine give birth at least 28-30 days.

um, i keep all the prego moms in a net breeder, with LOTS of plants, after they give birth i take the mom out, because she will eat her babies.

um, i also have a 10 gallon tank i use to raise the fry in until they are bigger than the largest fishs' mouth in the tank (thats what i was told) then they are safe to release.

any other ?'s?

hope that helps ya,

Chelle

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...