# "Special" fish



## jamnigh (Apr 24, 2013)

So once again, my female guppy has given birth. I have double checked my dates as I am now keeping track, and once again...20 days. Everything I have read says 28 days between drops, but we now have had 3 drops 20 days apart from each other. Anybody else ever experience this or do I have that one out of a million fish (pun intended haha the "millions fish").

Her first drop was about 47 fry, second drop was 16, and now this one I believe to be about 22 fry.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Someone needs to give her a calendar. 

To be honest I feel they drop them when they feel safe in their surroundings, or the fry are big enough to handle it. Mouthbrooders will hold longer if they feel threatened or release sooner if the temps are a little higher than usual.


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## skiffia 1 (Oct 3, 2012)

There can be many reasons for a difference between drops, a high tank temperature can speed up the gestation period, or diet of food may have a affect ,
it is far more beneficial to feed some live foods and a temperature of 70f-74f


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## jamnigh (Apr 24, 2013)

Well my tank stays steady around 78F and they get flakes twice a week and frozen brine shrimp 3 times a week (both are only once a day and there are 2 days a week they dont get fed). I read also that the older the female is, the sooner she can drop and also the more batches she has that she can drop sooner as well.


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## skiffia 1 (Oct 3, 2012)

A temperature of 78f can speed up the gestation period also a such a high temperature can and often shorten there life span and can have a affect on the numbers of fry a temperature of 70f-74f should slow down gestation period giving the fry more time to develop properly, some times old females can give birth to fewer fry


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## Phaedre (Aug 10, 2013)

47 fry, wow. and I thought my drop of 12 last night was a handfull.


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## skiffia 1 (Oct 3, 2012)

a guppy can have as many as 150 + such high numbers is rare a good size female usually have between 30- 60 fry the most fry I have ever had from one single female is143


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## chrisb01 (Apr 4, 2010)

The older the Guppy, the bigger the drop. A Guppy's biggest drop will be her last one.

Gestation period can go from 20 to 41 days, sometimes as long as 48 days.


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## skiffia 1 (Oct 3, 2012)

It is Not Entirely true that A Guppy's biggest drop will be her last one and also many Guppy's will have less as get older however each brood can Very, the female that had 143 only dropped just over 30 on the following brood,


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## sagespyder (May 21, 2013)

Now I want to say I am not an expert of fish but from what everyone has posted here there isn't a lot of difference when it comes to temp, food, and age from fish to reptiles. I keep fish and if they breed then I work to keep the fry alive but I do breed bearded dragons as a hobby. 

It seems that with fish, as with dragons, the older the female is the larger her "clutch" can be. This would have to do with the maturity of the female and possibly the male. More mature specimen would naturally be able to have more offspring than their younger counterparts. That is not to say that there are exceptional breeders that are able to have more offspring than normal. Cycling, though MUCH shorter for fish, also plays a role. It seems with guppies, and with a few reptiles, they can hold sperm to fertilize eggs as they see fit, ie when the environment is best suited for off spring. If this is the case then your tank must be optimal for her reproductive cycle and she feels she can drop her off spring off early. Broods also vary upon the health and well being of the female and an early first brood may be small while an older female's first brood may be larger. Afterwards it just depends on the health and well being of the female and male that determines the size of the brood. A healthy pair is obviously optimal while a healthy female may have lots of ovum but they won't all be fertilized by a lesser male and vice versa. Temperature also plays a crucial aspect in both fish and reptiles and the warmer it is the faster things develop and when they can be released. It is often shown that reptile eggs hatch faster in warmer temps than in cooler temps, the offspring can also vary by temps in reptiles, those born from cooler temps are more often female and are larger while those born in warmer temps are often male and are born smaller. That is just how things work.

I know it crosses over from fish to reptiles and back but I am just going off of experience and what is posted here by more experienced fish breeders.


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