firestorm Posted September 2, 2008 Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 I have 3 pregnant guppies right now I recently got from a friend. I am a little worried about the females because the males will absolutely not leave them alone. I would love to be able to get the fry from them just for the experience of breeding a live bearer, but I have absolutely no clue what to do. I know you can put them in a breeder net or box when they are giving birth, and to remove the female immediately after. But when is a good time to put them in a breeder box? I was reading that I should not put them in anything less than 1/3 of their tank size, but the problem is they are currently in a 90 gallon and I have no tanks avail that would be that large. Yet at the same time the site said to put them in a small tank so the fry won't have to go far to find food. I am clueless when it comes to livebearers, haha. By the way I do have a breeder box that will fit 2 females in separate compartments, I just don't know when I should put them in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wackinator Posted September 2, 2008 Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 I have 3 pregnant guppies right now I recently got from a friend. I am a little worried about the females because the males will absolutely not leave them alone. I would love to be able to get the fry from them just for the experience of breeding a live bearer, but I have absolutely no clue what to do. I know you can put them in a breeder net or box when they are giving birth, and to remove the female immediately after. But when is a good time to put them in a breeder box? I was reading that I should not put them in anything less than 1/3 of their tank size, but the problem is they are currently in a 90 gallon and I have no tanks avail that would be that large. Yet at the same time the site said to put them in a small tank so the fry won't have to go far to find food. I am clueless when it comes to livebearers, haha. By the way I do have a breeder box that will fit 2 females in separate compartments, I just don't know when I should put them in. well if you wanted to you could just leave them in there and some of the babies will survive if theres places for them to hide, i dont think the male chasing them does any harm as long as the females have places to hide if they wanted to, and lol you dont have to put the female in any large tank, ive had females give birth in a fishbowl (she was only in there for like an hour when i was changing the water in her tank), a good way to tell when they are about to give birth is when their gravid spot is really close to their vent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Chicklets Posted September 2, 2008 Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 If you put a good sized clump of hornwart or naja grass you can just let nature run it's course and all will be well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lana Bollers Posted September 2, 2008 Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 I have not put my guppies in breeders boxes, and we manage to keep some of the fry alive. So long as you have good hiding places they will do fine, some will be lunch, but trust me you don't want them all anyway or you will soon be over run with them, doesn't take long. by the way how was the trip back, did the girls sleep all the way home? Lana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted September 2, 2008 Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 A 5 or 10 gal tank is plenty for the females to drop their kids. If you can fill the tank with a tonne of Java moss, or other plants that Nick mentioned, there will be no problems keeping kids and mom happy. If you keep the females well fed, they shouldn't try to munch on the fry. As soon as you put them back in the main tank, the males will be after them again - not a terrible thing, just make sure there are lots of hiding places as already mentioned. Also having a 2:1 female/male ratio helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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