William Lynch Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 (edited) I know to most of you this probably isn’t very exciting, but I’m about to have my first guppy fry! Every day I stare at this tank saying “Today is the day!” She’s got to be so close. Less than 24 hours later…. It’s Happened!!!! Unfortunately I wasn’t home when it happened but I just got back and we got babies!! Mother and fry all look to be healthy as well Edited December 10, 2021 by William Lynch 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 Congrats! I hope it all goes well! Post pics! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GameCzar Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 How exciting! Is she an albino red? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 @William Lynch; She's close, but you still have time. When she has them, she'll have them early in the morning, if you want her to have more babies than normal, feed her pureed nightcrawlers. By the way, she has a great coloration, and she looks very healthy. Good luck and I hope the babies have a lot of places near the surface to hide. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Lynch Posted December 10, 2021 Author Share Posted December 10, 2021 On 12/9/2021 at 7:06 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said: Congrats! I hope it all goes well! Post pics! Will do! On 12/9/2021 at 7:10 PM, GameCzar said: How exciting! Is she an albino red? She is. I will post a picture of the males that she mated with. (Thought I was getting a trio with two females, ended up the other way around) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Lynch Posted December 10, 2021 Author Share Posted December 10, 2021 On 12/9/2021 at 7:13 PM, Gator said: @William Lynch; She's close, but you still have time. When she has them, she'll have them early in the morning, if you want her to have more babies than normal, feed her pureed nightcrawlers. By the way, she has a great coloration, and she looks very healthy. Good luck and I hope the babies have a lot of places near the surface to hide. Thank you! Can you tell how close? I have been able to see the eyes of the fry for a few days at this point. I heard that is when she is very close. Also will she give birth early in the morning time-wise or early in the “morning” of the light cycle I have on the tank? As of now the light comes on at 8 am. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Lynch Posted December 10, 2021 Author Share Posted December 10, 2021 @GameCzar exciting times!! 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 (edited) @William Lynch; If you can see the eyes, then she's closer than I thought, but that's OK. She'll start having her babies just before the start of natural daylight and may continue for several hours after daylight, regardless of when your aquarium light comes on. When your lights come on, it will be easier for you to see the babies, but so can she. Your second and third photos show several plants growing to the surface and that's good, when the babies are born, they'll be at the surface hidden among those Water sprite leaves. If you plan to catch them and raise them to adulthood, that's where you'll find them. The males have a beautiful color. By the way, * AM is a good time for lights to come on Edited December 10, 2021 by Gator I wanted to add more info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindabee53 Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Lynch Posted December 10, 2021 Author Share Posted December 10, 2021 @Gator good to know about the lighting. I really appreciate the information. I don’t know if you are familiar with @Dean’s Fishroom breeding basket strategy that allows the small fry to escape out of the basket while keeping the mother inside? I was planning on attempting it but I didn’t know if keeping the female in the basket would stress her out and cause detriment to the birthing process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 probably 1-2 days away. usually the rear of the abdomen will square off a bit more right before they pop. first time is the coolest. be prepared, once they start having them, they dont stop!🤪 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 (edited) @William Lynch; I'm familiar with @Dean’s Fishroom breeding basket and I'm sure it would work very well without stressing the female, but the males are still in the tank, and they will also eat the young. That's something else to take into account. When she starts having her babies, don't mess with her or she will stop and may become what is known as egg-bound though she is a livebearer, being egg-bound is fatal. Edited December 10, 2021 by Gator I wanted to add more info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Lynch Posted December 10, 2021 Author Share Posted December 10, 2021 @Gator I was able to create a makeshift divider in the tank with some needling mesh so the males won’t be able to bother the female. If by tomorrow morning she hasn’t had the babies I’ll put her in the basket with some plants but I definitely won’t disturb her if it’s too late. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 Feed them well, keep them warm and they’ll grow noticeably day to day. Good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Lynch Posted December 10, 2021 Author Share Posted December 10, 2021 @lefty o spot on with that prediction! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 On 12/10/2021 at 3:22 PM, William Lynch said: @lefty o spot on with that prediction! how many did you get??? inquiring minds want to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Lynch Posted December 10, 2021 Author Share Posted December 10, 2021 On 12/10/2021 at 3:13 PM, lefty o said: how many did you get??? inquiring minds want to know. From what I counted there are around 17. The mother could certainly have taken care of a few before I got home. Is that number low for a first drop? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StockEwe49 Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 Congratulations! I was in the same boat a couple months ago with my guppies. Now there are an absolute ton of fry! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 On 12/10/2021 at 4:30 PM, William Lynch said: From what I counted there are around 17. The mother could certainly have taken care of a few before I got home. Is that number low for a first drop? ive seen as low as 6 for a first drop, but common for a first time is 20-24. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Lynch Posted December 10, 2021 Author Share Posted December 10, 2021 On 12/10/2021 at 3:44 PM, lefty o said: ive seen as low as 6 for a first drop, but common for a first time is 20-24. Good to know we are average percentile over here lol. Btw congrats on winning the giveaway! Very well deserved. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Lynch Posted December 10, 2021 Author Share Posted December 10, 2021 On 12/10/2021 at 3:33 PM, StockEwe49 said: Congratulations! I was in the same boat a couple months ago with my guppies. Now there are an absolute ton of fry! Thank you! I find it funny the first time raising guppy fry I worry about losing fry and having the parents eat them, ask me again in a couple months and I'll be overrun!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 @William Lynchyou should expect the number of fry produced to increase with the next 2-3 births then they kind of plateau. Female guppies tend to get big and will dwarf their males. Some advocate for resting the males and females after a couple cycles of fry. The females can become real tank bullies and some will eat their fry or other fishes fry as they really don't have any loyalty to their young. But some guppies are worse about this then others. Hardcore guppy people actually cull the ones that are more interested in the fry then others. Those reds are spectacular, your LFS is going to love taking those off your hands. You should expect more every 28-40 days now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 On 12/9/2021 at 8:50 PM, William Lynch said: most of you this probably isn’t very exciting WRONG. My first guppy fry I sat with my night vision camera every night for an hour for 2 weeks. I hooted when I seen the first fry drop. Hubby came running thinking the tank was leaking. I get crazy as an expectant parent with each new type of fry. I still get all warm hearted every single time I see a tiny little wiggly guppy 🥰. Congratulations I’m very excited for you. Please do updates and post as they grow. Watching guppies grow mine yours or everyone’s never gets old to me. They are one of my favorite fish ❤️ 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minanora Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 Babies are always exciting! ALWAYS! So to me it's very exciting! 😛 Congratulations on your first batch of fry! Mark your calendar. I do this with each batch of my guppy fry, for each mom. My shortest pregnancy was 23 days for one of my guppy females. Marking the calendar makes it so I know roughly when I should put them in a breeder net. I try to catch them at 22 days. Misty being at 23 days was a surprise. I expected to have a few more days before so she could settle in and get comfortable in the breeder net. Looking forward to seeing those babies color up! ❤️ Congratulations again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 @William Lynch; 15 to 25 is normal for any drop, but you can increase that number dramatically by feeding your Guppies pureed Nightcrawlers two to three times a week. Pureed Nightcrawlers provide nutrients, minerals, and possibly roughage to the adults and you can reasonably expect a drop of anywhere between 35 and 50 babies each and every time. One time, I had a female that had 187 babies and she was quite old, unfortunately she died about two weeks later. The embroidery mesh you mentioned is a good idea, but the babies can still swim through the holes in the mesh. I went to a hardware store, bought an eight-foot section of schedule 40, rigid PVC pipe, and eight three-way connections for this pipe, I also bought a caulking gun and a tube of clear, 100% silicon caulk. I then cut four ten-inch sections, four four-inch sections, and four three-inch sections off of the original pipe. I wanted to and did build a box that is roughly four inches tall, roughly five inches wide, and roughly eleven inches long. I dry fitted everything before I glued anything with the silicon, it was actually surprisingly easy to build this box. When I had everything glued together, I decided to use the green embroidery mesh I already had left over from another aquarium project to cut a piece to fit what I had decided to be the bottom. I chose green because I thought that the female Guppy may think she is surrounded by plants like Java Moss, and she may feel more comfortable giving birth. The babies can swim through the mesh to safety as long as there is nothing else in the tank that can eat them, Cories make a good addition as they will not eat the babies. I measured the distance between the center of the pipe sections from one end to the other and from the center of the pipe sections on the sides and cut a piece to fit. The three-way fittings are about 1/8th of an inch above the pipe sections so I ran a bead of caulk down the center of the pipe high enough to be even with the tops of the three-way fittings on each side and the ends, but not on the three-way fittings, I let it dry overnight. The next day, I ran a bead of caulk down the entire length of the pipe on top of what I had done the day before, and on the fittings. I laid the piece of mesh that I had cut to be the bottom on the caulk and pressed the mesh down into the caulk along the edges, the next day I prepped one side, and went through the whole process again. Putting the mesh in place is the process that takes the most time, but it's well worth it. You can place your female and the best looking of your males in the box and keep them there. The box will float, it's open at the top so it's easy to feed your fish, because it's wider and longer than it is high, it's not going to flip over. I keep the water in all of my tanks filled up to the bottom of the ledge my glass tops sit on so the lid closes down onto the box which keeps the box in one particular place and the fish can't jump out. You can tell the difference between a male and female Guppy at six weeks old, so you don't have to wait for them to show color. At six weeks, the males will develop their gonopodiums which is a modified anal fin that looks exactly what it is, a tube meant for the delivery of sperm to the female. It's best to separate the males from the females and raise them separately. If you want to breed show-quality Guppies, breed the best looking male of her babies back to its mother, and the best females of the babies back to their father. You keep doing this and after three generations, you will have those show-quality Guppies. I also agree with @Minanora, keep clear and concise records. Sincerely Gator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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