# Pregnant Guppy?



## babysteps (Feb 9, 2009)

Hi all! New here and before I get to my question, I just want to say that this is a great site (been lurking and reading for a couple weeks before I finally decided to join), with great people and a lot of really great information! So.. HI!!  lol

Now, back on topic. I picked up 4 guppies from BA's (mississauga) yesterday. I didn't notice it yesterday (but to be honest, I wasn't really looking for it either), but today one of the guppies has (what appears to be) a dark black gravid spot. Now, I'm unsure if this is a sign of pregnancy or just happens to be black coloring on the guppy that I didn't previously notice. The other three that I got at the same time have no black on them at all anywhere.
Since I am fairly new to the hobby, I have never had breeding fish before. Therefore, I really don't know how to tell if they are pregnant or not other than the few things I read online. I have heard that guppies breed fairly easily and often, so any help would be appreciated. I have attatched pictures (not of very good quality, sorry. Had to take them with my phone but hopefully they show the black spot well enough) and would like to know if she is definately pregnant or if it is just coloring. And if she is pregnant..WHAT DO I DO??? lol
I do know guppies are livebearers and the fry will probably be eaten by the guppies, mollys and platys that I have in the tank, but if possible I would like to save as many as possible, so how do I do this? And how long do guppies stay pregnant?


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## babysteps (Feb 9, 2009)

Also, as a side note, she seems to be EXTREMELY active today. Flying from one side of the tank to the other and up/down. She's not staying still at all (made it VERY difficult to take the pics lol).


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## Katalyst (Jul 29, 2007)

Female guppies are prepetually pregnant, or so it seemed when I had them. If you'd like to save some babies you can put her in a drop tank and remove her once she gives birth. You can add lots of plants and things for babies to hide in as well. But judging from that gravid spot I'd say you are correct that she is pregnant. 

Welcome to GTA!


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## NewBKaeK (Jan 23, 2008)

From the picture, that black dot doesnt seem to be in the right place. The gravid area should be near the anal fin. It is possible that the spot is something you just didn't notice before.

http://www.aquariumhobbyist.com/guppies/pregnancy.html
There is a picture showing where the gravid spot should be at that site.

Generally speaking guppies are pregnant for about 30-45 days before the fry are released. They will get fat, sometimes to the point where their belly area almost looks rectangular.

As for saving the fry, there are a couple of options:
1. Have lots of plants for them to hide in.
2. Move the pregnant guppy into a seperate tank with lots of plants, remove after she is done releasing the fry.
3. Scoop the fry out and place them into a seperate container. This is hard to do, and you have to be present when the guppy is giving birth. My guppy just gave birth and I only managed to save 4 this way. 
4. Breeding boxes: place pregnant female in, let her do her thing, let her out when she is done. Personally I think this freaks the guppy out and may induce an abortion, but some people have had success this way.


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## babysteps (Feb 9, 2009)

Thanks guys. And yes, it's very possible that it's just a black coloration that I didn't notice before. I just wasn't sure, so that's why I asked. She is a little fatter than the other three, but not by much. 
I will keep an eye on her for a few days and see if anything progresses or changes.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

This is a male guppy in the picture. A female guppy is always pregnant as long as a male guppy is around


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

If you need a female guppy, let me know.


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## NewBKaeK (Jan 23, 2008)

This might be a good thing to remember too, with lighter coloured guppies the gravid spot won't be black, it should be pinkish if I remember correctly. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.


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## babysteps (Feb 9, 2009)

conix67 said:


> This is a male guppy in the picture.


 Really? Wow, I thought I had done a pretty good job at differentiating the males and females. Guess I need a little more practice lol. And thanks for the offer of a female guppy, but I do have 6 in my tank now and I can clearly tell that there are both males and females. Guess I just have to figure out wich are which now lol. I thought the females had smaller fins and not much color (which this one is like). I guess I didn't check the ventral fin close enough.
Thanks for the help


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## babysteps (Feb 9, 2009)

*Uh oh!*

Ok, I just did a really close study of all 6 of my guppies (not easy, they move fast! lol) and have come to the definate conclusion that somehow I now have 5 males and only one female. And the female is one of the two I bought today.. so... I think I really need to get a couple more females so the males don't all pick on the poor girl. How many females would be best to accomodate 5 males?


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

Normally guppy tanks don't have females in them, if you're buying them from a store. 

Females guppies, those I've seen, never have any fancy fins (including tail). They are usually larger than males, but do have some pattern/color in their fins. The gravid spot is always dark (blackish), and very obvious right from the beginning (few weeks old fry shows this already).


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## NewBKaeK (Jan 23, 2008)

General rule of thumb is 2-3 females for every male in the tank. This is so the males don't chase the female to death. Obvious exception is that your tank is a really dense forest, so your female can hide whenever she feels like it.

When you buy females from a store, usually the tank is labelled as "Female Guppies". If you bought it from a tank thats labelled "Fancy Guppy" or something like "Leopard Tux Guppy" they most likely males.

And on a second look, yeah it does look like a male. Usually females don't have spots on the middle of their bodies.


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## shrtmann (Feb 15, 2009)

lol i had a guppies tank once. I started with like 3 or 4 i think with a few shrimpin a 20G tank and they bred like it was nobodies business. Have fun once they start breeding they dont stop.


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## Forgotmynamesorry (Apr 11, 2009)

I've just started a guppy tank, and already there seems to be a larger guppy (the belly is bigger than it was when I bought him/her). I have been trying to breed males and females, but I just got them a week ago. Should they be pregnant this soon?


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

Guppies/mollies/swordtails/platys are always mating and always pregnant. By the time the females are old enough to be pregnant, if there are males around, they will be pregnant. Males spend their time looking for food and trying to impregnate females. usually via the 'sneak attack' method.

If you have at least one male and one female of any of the above, at some point, likely repeatedly, you will have babies.

As mentioned, a ratio of 1 male to 3 females is best.. unless you have super dense plants or a monstrous tank of 100 gallons +

For the guy with 5 male guppies, you'll want about 15 females, which unless you have at least a 35 gal, is going to be way too many guppies.. Especially when they breed. Something like 2 or 3 males and 8 females seems more reasonable to me.

Other than that don't overheat your guppies, they don't really need it, as mentioned, and do regular water changes and feed them a good staple food and that's it. They're the closest thing to a pet rock with fins.

Pet shops are not a good place to get female guppies. Just post on the forum here or on www.pricenetwork.ca that you want X number of large female guppies. You'll probably get them for free or maybe $1 each


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## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

Forgotmynamesorry said:


> I've just started a guppy tank, and already there seems to be a larger guppy (the belly is bigger than it was when I bought him/her). I have been trying to breed males and females, but I just got them a week ago. Should they be pregnant this soon?


Look at her in the morning. Their bellies usually bigger after daytime feeding.


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## Forgotmynamesorry (Apr 11, 2009)

igor.kanshyn said:


> Look at her in the morning. Their bellies usually bigger after daytime feeding.


Well, I checked, and her belly was somewhat smaller, but still bigger than what the others' bellies are.


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Curious but can guppies cross breed? Say you have two different fancy guppies in a tank will they only breed with thier own color/species like red cherry and crystal red shrimp does?


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## Forgotmynamesorry (Apr 11, 2009)

I've been doing a bit of research on the subject, and from what it seems, they can cross-breed. I'm also starting to think that my female guppy is pregnant.


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## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

AquaNeko said:


> Curious but can guppies cross breed? Say you have two different fancy guppies in a tank will they only breed with thier own color/species like red cherry and crystal red shrimp does?


Yes. This is how different guppies appear in this world


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

There always seems to be at least one preggers in my community tank. Have only ever seen one fry at a time though.....not enough hiding places I guess.


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