# Fry's Eyes



## lukealletson (Sep 6, 2010)

Hi all 

All fry are healthy and just over a week old. Surprised that already some colour is coming through!

I've got another pregnant mother that I _think_ is very close to dropping.

I was just looking closely at the mother's gravid and noticed that I can see the fry's eyes and they're moving quite a lot. 

Just on the fact that the fry are moving quite a lot inside, could anyone give me an idea of how long left? 

Thanks


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## Pandapop (Dec 29, 2009)

Just like in a human mother's belly, the baby will often kick around in the later stages of life. The same thing applies to any other sort of creature (unless they lay eggs). The fry will wiggle around inside the mother, but it doesn't always determine when she will drop. 

One way to roughly tell when she'll have her fry, is if she's looking like she's about to pop, and her belly has squared-off (looks like a box from above or below). When she's squared-off, it means the fry are beginning to push their way out -- but it could be anywhere from a week to a couple days until they're actually born. It all depends on the conditions of the tank... if it's too crowded or not suitable enough, she'll hold off as long as possible, for fear that it'd be too dangerous to have her fry there.

What you should do is remove her and place her into a nursery tank... then just wait it out. Add some fake or live plants for the babies to hide in once they're born, if you plan to save them from being eaten. Unless you're there during the time of delivery, some will almost always be eaten by the mother -- but with the plants in there, you have a much better chance of saving them. 

Pregnant guppies may start to give birth, then finish off later that day, or in a couple of days (this could be from stress, improper conditions as mentioned above, or not all fry are fully mature and need more growing). 

I've raised guppies for a while now, but every other time, my preggo gups throw something new at me... so really, it's all just a waiting game. Wait and watch.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Any day now, maybe today or tomorrow or next tuesday, but very soon. If you do move the mommy to a birthing tank full of plants today, then it will be tomorrow. Moving them sets them right off when they're this close.


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## catchandkeep (Nov 23, 2010)

*i don't believe that the gravid spot is the babies eyes*

Last night, unfortunately, one of my pregnant females died so I decided to carefully dissect her in hopes that the fry were developed enough to make it. What I discovered was that while the fry were very underdeveloped and apparently died overnight with their mother, they were on the other side of her stomach, towards her head, and where the gravid spot was, there was a black pouch that resembled iodine, and when I punctured it, it resembled squid ink.

Mind you, this was a large guppy and I used an exacto knife, and exercized extreme care in first filleting, then dissecting her, so I am 100% certain of the above details.

I have looked all over the internet for anyone "reputiating" (to quote sarah palin) the believed theory that the gravid spot was the babies eyes, but found nothing, which leads me to believe that most people believe that, having read it on numerous other threads.

Anyway, that lead me to joining this forum and posting, and I would appreciate any knowledge of a) what the black pouch where the gravid spot was is, and b) if anyone else has dissected a guppy and found similar results.

Thank you in advance


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

The gravid spot is caused by the skin getting stretched very thin over the chorion ( the black membrane ) which lets you see through it. The fry are inside that little "womb," and when it too gets stretched thin enough, you can see the little eyes inside it.
The gravid spot is not made of eyes, therefore, but simply lets us see them.


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## catchandkeep (Nov 23, 2010)

*I wonder then, if it is possible.....*

that the guppies i saw in a different section of her belly were the ones closer to being born, and the black "squid ink-esque" section where the gravid spot was, were fertilized eggs that would possibly be born in a months time or something like that?

Also, I also have a guppy with a very dark gravid spot but it has a male anal fin (i think it is called mono podium or something like that)

I am aware that guppies can change sexes. is it possible that this guppy did so after getting pregnant? and if so, will he/she still be able to give birth, or will the fry be absorbed into him/her? ( i named it butch).


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

gonopodium. 

My guess on the "squid ink", and its just a guess, is congealed blood. Bleeding is a common complication of all pregnancies and since the fish died, she could have been bleeding internally. Old blood gets very dark and it could have accumulated where fry normally do just before birth.


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