what in the world does this mean?
- Thread starter laurahammock
- Start date
All female guppies will have a gravid spot. You can usually tell they're actually pregnant when they swim under a bright light, like an aquarium light, and the gravid spot isn't "empty" per se. You can usually see either the tiny eyes of the fry inside, or just a big black mass. If you see it being pink or empty, she is not pregnant, or not far enough along to be seen pregnant. If she is in a tank with other male guppies, or has been at some point, it's usually safe to assume she IS pregnant. The gestation period for guppies is around 28 days, give or take. Remember, fish can get fat just like humans, so just because she's fat doesn't necessarily mean she's pregnant. Hmm, I hope that made sense.
that does make sense, but I know she is/was pregnant. She had a gravid spot for like 3 weeks and now it just looks pink. Her belly is Huge and when I bought her, I specifically asked for a pregnant one. I just want to know why her gravid spot has turned pink when there's no change in the size of her belly.
I see two likely options then:
1. The female guppy had all of her babies, ate them (with some help from the other fish in the tank), and stayed fat for the time being. She'll slim down a bit if she's not holding more fry within the next few days. She could also have just aborted them before they were ready and they could have died or been born still in their little egg sacs and died.
2. She's still pregnant, like ishar said, the babies could be albino...but this is rare in store bought guppies. Usually you'll be able to see tiny tiny little dots for their eyes under an aquarium light. You have to sit there and wait for just the right angle where you can see though.
Depending on what time of day it is, I find that my guppies' gravid spots always look different depending on the lighting in and outside the tank. Some female guppies also won't get much smaller after having fry. If you've never seen fry before, you could also be missing them. They are tiny tiny little things, and hard to spot if you don't know what you're looking for!
Hope that helps.
1. The female guppy had all of her babies, ate them (with some help from the other fish in the tank), and stayed fat for the time being. She'll slim down a bit if she's not holding more fry within the next few days. She could also have just aborted them before they were ready and they could have died or been born still in their little egg sacs and died.
2. She's still pregnant, like ishar said, the babies could be albino...but this is rare in store bought guppies. Usually you'll be able to see tiny tiny little dots for their eyes under an aquarium light. You have to sit there and wait for just the right angle where you can see though.
Depending on what time of day it is, I find that my guppies' gravid spots always look different depending on the lighting in and outside the tank. Some female guppies also won't get much smaller after having fry. If you've never seen fry before, you could also be missing them. They are tiny tiny little things, and hard to spot if you don't know what you're looking for!
Hope that helps.