Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Guppies

Guppies have become one of the most popular freshwater fish. They are very hardy, beautiful, and easy to breed. Though, what many people don't realize is how easily they breed on their own. If you walk into a large chain pet store and buy a pair of Fancy Guppies, chances are that in a month you could have 50. If you buy Guppies at a pet store where they do not take care in separating sexes of the guppies, then I can almost guarantee that it is pregnant. About two weeks in to a female guppy's pregnancy she will develop a gravid spot. The gravid spot is a dark blotch toward its rear. If your guppy has this, then yes, she is pregnant. The incubation period takes around 4 weeks, but it can take up to 40 days. When the mother is ready to deliver, her stomach will box up which means that her birth canal has dropped. She will also stop eating. You may notice that she will eat but then spit it back out. She also might be searching around in the gravel for a place to deliver. At this point, you would want to add her to a breeder net to save the babies. The mother guppy has a hormone that will stop her from eating her offspring for 48 hours, but to be safe you should add her to a different tank to recover. At this point she will be very hungry, so feed her. Feed the fry livebearer flake and newborn brine shrimp. When they get big enough you may choose to sell them to a local pet store or invest in a large tank to raise them.

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