I recently purchased a guppy and I feel that it's quite fatter and stomach is bulged compared to other fish.
Is it pregnant? How could I tell whether a guppy female is pregnant or not?
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1Yep, it's pregnant. I would congratulate you for the pregnancy but if you leave a female guppy alone with a male guppy, nature bounds to happen :)– LFlareCommented May 9, 2016 at 5:15
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By the way how much fry do you think she would deliver?– JeffCommented May 24, 2016 at 8:44
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2For first-delivers, it's usually around 10-20 frys but experienced guppy mother overlords can deliver upwards of 50-100 at one go. Keep an eye though, she would usually eat most of her frys– LFlareCommented May 24, 2016 at 13:22
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3 Answers
Yes definitely pregnant. As Dalton says, you may want a birthing chamber to put her into.
From experience I would also look into sexing guppies if you want to keep your tank population in check. Guppies breed like rabbits. You can generally sex the fry (baby fish) at around 3 weeks.
I didn't learn this process quick enough when I was a teenager and went from 1 tank with 5 guppies in it, to 5 tasks with 600 guppies in less than 6 months! My parents were less than amused...
Good luck with your new hoard of little breeders.
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I want all my guppy fry to survive. What do I do if I end up with many guppy fry? My friends and pet shops don't accept any fish here.– JeffCommented May 24, 2016 at 8:46
LFlare is right. You have a pregnant female guppy there. It's a fuzzy pic, but it looks like she's got a while before she pops. What you need to look into now are live birthing chambers to keep her from eating the babies and deciding whether you'll let them into the main tank to take their chances or put them into a separate baby tank for a few months. I've done both. You have more control and loose less with the separate tank, but you can end up with stronger fish the other way. Guppies will cannibalize the babies.
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In addition, I would like to add that if you don't plan on breeding guppies, only a constant total of guppies, just let the pregnant guppy do population control itself :) Delicious.– LFlareCommented May 20, 2016 at 4:15
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We don't get these fry birth chambers in my place. Is there any homemade alternative?– JeffCommented May 24, 2016 at 8:44
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Sure. You can make something. The most basic version of this, to keep other fish from eating the babies is simply a plastic cube with netting on the outside. You may have to worry about the mother eating the babies, but not the other fish. You could glue straws or sticks together and put cheese cloth on the outside. You simply hang it on the side of the tank. You could also take a plastic container like some fruits come in, add some slits, poke some straw segments in the sides and bottom for standoffs and wrap that in cheese cloth. The fry will slide through the slits and be safe in the cloth.– DaltonCommented May 25, 2016 at 13:07
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The easiest way, though, is to have a baby tank. It has to be cycled just like a regular tank, but you can really speed that up by using the water you take out for your weekly change. You don't have to put any gravel in, just a bunch of plastic plants for the babies to hide in. When the mother is done birthing, move her back to the main tank. Put a piece of cheesecloth or panty hose over the filter intake and rubber band it in place. Fry are really week when they're little and can get sucked against the intake or even into it and killed. Let me know if you need any more help.– DaltonCommented May 25, 2016 at 13:10
Here you can see 4 signs of guppies during pregnancy until birth (source). The gravid spot does not need to be completely black, in lighter colored fish it could also be a kind of gray.
Fish in general do not get "fat bellies" like humans could. If they got lots of food, they will growth nearly equally on all ends. This said, a big belly is nearly always a sign for pregnancy.
answered May 3, 2021 at 5:09
