New fry... are the mommies done?

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tracylynne

New Fish
#1
Dec 17, 2005
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#1
Okay... I'm hoping I don't sound TOO stupid, but this is the first time I've had a fish give birth! So, one of my platys and one of my fancy guppies gave birth within the last two days (I didn't notice until last night). I have 2 platy fry and 1 fancy guppy fry (no idea if this is all they had, or if the rest were served for lunch). Both Mommies are still HUGE... is it possible they're not finished birthing? Do they drop their fry all at once?

I think I should add who the occupants of my tank are: 2 platys plus 2 platy fry, 4 fancy guppies plus 1 fancy guppy fry, 2 female bettas, 2 zebra danios and an algae eater.

Another thing... the male fancy guppies are constantly chasing the Mommy fancy guppy around the tank poking at her belly. They're not nipping and not really hurting her, but they just keep poking her belly! Are they trying to help the birthing process along, or just waiting for dinner????

Thanks for the help!
 

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tracylynne

New Fish
#3
Dec 17, 2005
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#3
Thank you for the reply Fish.

I've seen no more fry, and the three that are in there are thriving. They seem to get bigger every day!

Usually, how often to platys and guppies give birth? Can I expect more of the same in future months?

Thanks again!

Tracy
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

Forum Manager
Moderator
#5
May 16, 2003
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#5
they (livebearers) drop more fry probably every 30 days or so...give or take some are more often, some are less often. They'll generally drop all their babies at once (over maybe 10-30 minutes) until next time...so them being fat, is just them being fat :)

With the danios in the tank I'm surprised that even a few have survived.

Its usually best to keep at least 2 or 3 females per male livebearer...so if your tank is large enough you might consider adding some more females...or if its not too big you might consider fewer males (not sure exactly what you have now). The males chasing the females to breed wont ever stop...and can sometimes stress the females to death.
 

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tracylynne

New Fish
#6
Dec 17, 2005
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#6
Thank you so much for all of the information. I'm going to get a new tank this week, so I'll move the 2 female bettas, the 2 danios and 2 of the male guppies into it... I'll go and purchase 2 more female guppies for the one male I'll leave in the current tank. I hope that will work out.

Do the males get really frustrated if there are no females around, or do they do just fine without them?

So, that will leave 2 platys (one male, one female), 4 guppies (3 female, one male), their fry and the algae eater in one tank and 2 male guppies, 2 female bettas and 2 danios (don't know if they're male or female - is there an easy way to tell?) in the second tank. Does that sound alright?

Once again, I'm a newbie at this fish thing, so I sincerely appreciated all the help and comments!

Tracy
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

Forum Manager
Moderator
#7
May 16, 2003
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#7
Platys are livebearers too...so while you're getting some more female guppies you might get another female platy also to get that m/f ratio?

The fish you've said sound fine together (and male guppies are fine on their own)...except that we dont know what size tanks you're talking about so we dont know if we need to tell you that they're overstocked etc. Danios are actually schooling fish and prefer to be in groups of 5+...there's some ways you can tell them apart, but generally doesn't really matter because unless you're trying to get them to breed you probably wont see any fry because they eat their eggs.
 

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tracylynne

New Fish
#9
Dec 17, 2005
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#9
I'm really new at this, so I only have a 10g right now... the owner of our local pet store told me that a good rule of thumb is 1 fish per gallon of water... is that a good rule to follow? Oh, and I'm buying the same tank I have now later this week - another 10g.
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

Forum Manager
Moderator
#10
May 16, 2003
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#10
Eh...you should probably read up on some of the stickies on the beginner forum, particularly about cycling. Did the lfs sell you a product called bio-spira, or tell you about cycling? If your tank hasn't been cycled I would say dont buy anymore fish until you know that your tanks are cycled and safe for fish, as well...that for a 10G tank you really should only have about 10 'inches' of adult fish in the tank, assuming that you do regular water changes and the tank is cycled and you have adequete filtration.

I would also caution you that you probably wont want another 10G. They seem to be a very popular beginner size (I know that was my first tank!) but I really prefer a bigger setup like a 29, and there are many who would agree that that size is easier to take care of and has many more options as far as fish go. If I were you i'd do some more reading around the forums before you make anymore purchases....and of course people are usually willing to help a newbie out on the forums so if you have questions feel free to ask! (might want to start a new thread about it in the beginner forum though...would probably get more responses there)
 

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tracylynne

New Fish
#12
Dec 17, 2005
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#12
Thanks again for all of the info...

I read through the information about a small tank vs. a large tank, and, while I agree with most of it, I just don't have the space in my tiny little apartment for a larger tank! LOL

So, since I want two tanks, I'll have to go with another 10gal. My first one is beautiful, in my opinion, and I get a lot of enjoyment out of it. But, since I don't plan on moving anytime in the near future (I've been in this same apartment for almost 12 years), I'm going to stick with the smaller tanks.

Thanks!
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

Forum Manager
Moderator
#13
May 16, 2003
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#13
ok...fair enough its your place :) Did you get a chance to read any of the threads about setting up a new tank or the cycling process?

With just the fish you have I think I'd split the live bearers up (platys in one and guppies in the other) and then split the danios and the bettas up...that way you have a better chance of the livebearers not overpopulating your tank. Fry are very cute right now, but not so cute when there's 30 of them swimming around and you have to euthenize them or give them to a lfs for feeders or set another tank up. You might think about planning your tank around the fish that you really want to keep. For example if you weren't attached to the platies you might take them back and exchange them for a few more danios.
 

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