# How will I know if Guppy's are pregnant?



## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

I just got 2 female guppies that were kept in a community tank with males and I'm wondering, how will I know if they are pregnant? I was told that they may already be pregnant as they were kept with the males at the Aquarium shop so how will I know? Are there particular traints she will exhibit? swaying or something? And when/if she gives birth do I need to remove the fry or will they be ok just to hide amongst the plants in the community tank?


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## Ringo (Apr 10, 2006)

The female guppies you have are most likely pregnant, if they were in with a tank with some males.
You don't need to remove the fry from the tank, all depends if you want to keep a few or not. Some will get eaten, but usualy some hide and survive until there big enough to venture out on there own.
They'll act like any other guppy when there pregnant, and when there getting close to having there fry they'll act a little bit differant, staying near the same spot, stuff like that.
You'll notice any changes, plus they'll get really really fat and just when you think there skin is about to tear apart from being so fat, they go another week.


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## Zoe (Feb 26, 2006)

Is she with a male? Has she ever been? If so, she's pregnant  She'll start to get fatter soon!


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## Sable (Nov 6, 2006)

Symptoms of pregnancy:
1. The gravid spot (a triangular spot at the end of the female's abdomen) will darken.
2. The female will be much fatter than a female of the same age.

Signs of delivery within a few hours:
1. The female will stop eating (she _may_ take food into her mouth and spit it back out).
2. She may sit at the bottom of the tank or hover at the top or the middle without moving much.
3. Her body will "square up".

Your signature reveals that you are keeping 3 males and 2 females in the same tank - this is a Bad Idea (to be Orwellian). You should keep 2 to 3 females for every 1 male. Otherwise, the males are going to harass the heck out of the females, probably stressing them to the point of death. If the females are harassed when they are close to dropping, they will probably not drop. This will have one of two consequences: (1) the female will not drop the fry at all; they will rot within her and she will die; (2) the female will drop stillborns. Either get rid of two of your males (give them away or sell them to a LFS) or buy at least 4 more females - _if_ you have room.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

I was planning on buying more females this week, I did read that you need more females to males. I would have gotten 3 females but my son saw one male that he wanted that had a cheeter pattern on his tail and we had one like that die recently so I got 2 females and a male instead. My Aquarium sells 3 guppies for $10 so I'll get some more this week. 

In reply to Zoe...yes they both have been with males! At the Aquarium and here at home. 


This Gravid spot? where is it?

Also I think I may have a female mascarading as a male. It's tail isn't as flowing and whilst it doesn't look exactly like the females I have, it is less colourful than the males I have.


When I get my camera back from my ex I'll take some pictures and post them to see if anyone can help me identify the sex.


Thanks all


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## Sable (Nov 6, 2006)

Click here to see a picture of a female guppy with a gravid spot. The gravid spot is the dark area visible just before the body gets much thinner. It's not too far behind the gills. You should be able to see it fairly clearly in that guppy.

Keep in mind, though, that on some dark-colored females, it's almost impossible to see the gravid spot.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

OK, One of my felmales has a very dark almost black gravid spot. The other ones is kinda just brown. The one with the dark gravid spot does look slightly bigger in the abdomen area so maybe I'll have some guppy fry soon! How long is gestation in guppies?


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## Sable (Nov 6, 2006)

Gestation is 28 to 30 days.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

I just found the female dead. I think maybe she was too stressed to give birth and they all died inside her causing her to die.

Yesterday I noticed she was hovering around the surface and not moving much and not eating so I figured I might have babies today only to find her dead.

Ah well. Better luck next time i guess

Thanks for your help guys


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## Ringo (Apr 10, 2006)

Whenever any of my livebearers have fry it always seems to be about around 30 days for the first batch, then any batches of fry that come after that seem to be around 2-3 weeks


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

No worries, anasfire23...there WILL be a next time..and a next, and a next, and a next...
Before you know it you'll be up to your eyeballs in them.

Guppies- the gift that keeps on giving!


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## Sable (Nov 6, 2006)

She could very well have been stressed... Just fix your male-to-female ratio.  That's your best shot at success, and trust me, it is so rewarding (even though the fry can be hard work).


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

I got 3 more girls today (2 of which I'm pretty sure are pregnant already). So now I have 3 males and 4 females. I'm going to get some more next week too, another 3 and no more males!!

Also I was wanting some thoughts on lighting for my tank. 

I've got a table lamp with an adjustable head and 25W globe that I use for my computer and was wondering if this will be ok for the tank? I set it up last night and it looked really nice but I'm a little concerned it may heat the water too much (there's not longer a heater in there maintaining it coz its summer now and water temp is stable at 25 deg C) and cause too many fluctuations?


Anyone have an opinion on whether this will be ok?

It looks really pretty with the light on it hehehe.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

OK this is my tank that I have the guppies in. Any suggestions on how many fish I could safely stock this tank with without any major problems. At the moment I have 6 guppys and 1 neon tetra, I want to add about 10 more tetras and 6 Harlequin Rasboras. I'm considering putting my female Betta in there for now. She's in a tank on her own at the moment and she's constantly showing stress colours.


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## Sable (Nov 6, 2006)

anasfire23 said:


> At the moment I have 6 guppys and 1 neon tetra, I want to add about 10 more tetras and 6 Harlequin Rasboras. I'm considering putting my female Betta in there for now. She's in a tank on her own at the moment and she's constantly showing stress colours.


No way can you add 10 tetras and 6 rasboras. This tank is the equivalent of about 16 US gallons (15.85, to be exact). With 6 guppies and 1 neon, you're already overstocked. The neon is a schooling fish, however, so I suggest you either return him to the store, or buy a bigger tank (at least 120 litres) and get at least 5 more neon tetras. If your tank is very well-planted and you've got at least 3 years' experience in fishkeeping, you could conceivably EITHER move the betta in for a little while (but she will probably harrass the other fish), OR get 3 or 4 more neon tetras, to at least approach a school. You also must add fish very slowly, so as not to upset your bioload and cause an ammonia spike.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

It is not a 16ga tank, it's a 30. It holds just over 60litres and there is no way it's already over stocked! But thanks for your opinion. I'm going to get about 5 tetras hopefully just before Xmas although the one that's in there doens't seem all that stressed. He schools with the guppys and they let him, it will be nice to have a proper neon tetra school though.


Thanks for all your opinions


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## Sable (Nov 6, 2006)

60 litres = 15.85 US gallons. I'm not sure about UK gallons, but I am sure about my conversion. 1 litre = roughly 1/4 of a gallon. Type "litre to gallon" into www.google.com 's search engine.

Or, you can just look at the big text next to the calculator icon after clicking this link: here.


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2006)

> 1 US gallon = 3.7854118 liter


From google.com.

So if you take 60 liters and divide by 3.78, you get about 15.87 gallons. Your tank is not 30 gallons...its 15. 

Sable is right, you don't have room for that many tetras. You can get 5 more neons, like you said above...and that will stock the tank. With livebearers, its always best to understock tanks because you know they'll breed. So I'd leave it with the guppies and 6 neons. If you want more, you'll have to get a larger tank.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

HOLY CRAP!!! I can't imagine having a larger tank than that in my house! it's big enough already. I just won't have room.

I've decided if these fish cark it that I'm just going to stick with Gold fish for a while, they're SOO much easier to look after (this is my first attempt with a tropical tank)


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## Sable (Nov 6, 2006)

You got that right. >< You could actually put a goldfish and a couple of snails (depending on the species) in a 16 gallon tank.

Tropical tanks are harder to care for than cool-water tanks. I love my guppies' colors, though. The good thing about goldfish is they live forever (42 years is the record, I think; most healthy specimens live to 20 to 30 years). They're also less expensive and their tanks are much easier to maintain.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

ok I see what you mean by knowing when they are pregnant! All my females look about to burst!!! I sat down and looked at them for the first time in about a week and the amount that they're abdomens have swollen is amazing! I reckon I'll have guppy fry in the next week or so (hopefully). Quick question though, If I take the males out will it be less likely that the fry will be eaten or will the females eat another female's fry also? Oh and will the neon tetra's eat the fry too?


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## Lupin (Aug 1, 2006)

There is one solution for this. Leave them in the planted tank and let them survive on their own. Obviously, you'll be left with the strongest ones which will make it easier for you to raise them. Weak and deformed fry will often pop out.
All fish will eat the fry if given the chance or if the fish are not well-fed.

Guppies are so prolific that it is best not to try separating the fry. They weren't called "million fish" for nothing.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

oh ok, I wasn't talking about seperating the fry, I was talking about seperating the males, which I did today. None of the females are eating so I think they're going to drop soon. It's a ratio of 1 male to 1 female at the moment so the males were hassling the females. I figured it was better to take the males out and give the females space to drop when they need to.


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