How to Care for Your Guppy When She is Having Fry
So you figured out how to tell when your pregnant guppy is in labor, and now the big day has finally come! But now you have to know how to care for your guppy when she is having babies.
First off, get her away from other fish. As you now know, adult guppy fish eat baby guppy fish, so if your pregnant guppy drops her fry in a tank with other adult guppies, there is little hope unless you have a LOT of live plants and hiding spots.
This is my strategy for guppy births: I use a breeder box that has two main compartments; an upper compartment where the mamma guppy goes and a lower compartment where the guppy fry drop down into once born. The floor of the upper compartment is shaped like a “V” with a slit down the very bottom. The slit is too small for the mamma guppy to go through, but it is perfect for baby guppies. You see, when guppy fry are born their swim bladders are not filled with air yet, so unless they swim really hard they will just sink down to the bottom. That is why the “V” shape is great because the newly born baby guppy fish will slide down the slope to the opening and fall through to their own little area.
You have three options for breeder boxes here. You can buy a breeder box with an open bottom and put the box (with the mamma in it) into a baby tank (this is what I usually do) so that the babies once born can fall through the slit and down into their very own little baby tank. This method does not need special ventilation or oxygenation because the water in the tank can circulate in the box.
You can also get an enclosed breeder box so that when the guppy fry are born they fall down into a separate area below that is closed off from the rest of the tank. If you use this method you can put the breeder box in a tank with adults because the babies can not get out and the adult guppy fish can not get in. This type of box comes with an aeration hookup that also works as a pump so the fish inside get oxygenated water. Usually the air pump is sold separately so remember that.
Lastly, you can buy a breeder net. A breeder net is a little square or rectangular frame with netting around the outside. You can put your mamma guppy inside it, but there is no separate compartment for the guppy babies to drop down into, so you need to take the mom out within a few hours of her giving birth to all her fry or she might eat them (See Are Guppy Fish Cannibals?). You can put a breeder net in the same tank with adult guppy fish because the netting is too small for them to get in or out. You also do not need to aerate a breeder net because the tank water can flow through the netting.
When the mamma fish is in labor, make sure your temperature is warm; about 80 degrees is what I use for my mamma fish. This will help her muscles relax and her birth will be a bit easier.
Remember that a pregnant guppy fish is extremely susceptible to stress when she is in labor. Keep the tank environment as calm as possible, don’t move her about a lot, and try your best not to startle or scare her by making vibrations or approaching the tank quickly. An itty bitty pinch of aquarium salt can be helpful to calm her, just make sure you read the dosage on the aquarium salt container.
Now you know what to do and how to care for her when your pregnant guppy fish is in labor. By keeping your fish from becoming stressed and providing a quiet, safe place for her to drop her fry, you are doing everything right to ensure a healthy batch of guppy fry and a flourishing guppy mom.
source form: fancyguppyfish
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