# Guppy genders.



## Allanira (Mar 28, 2014)

So I went and got my son 8 guppies last night. They stay close together except when I fed them this morning. I was curious because I wanted 6 girls and 2 boys. I didn't mess with them last night because of stress levels after I got them. I acclimated the hem appropriately, and popped them in. This morning I fed them and was looking to see if I got what I wanted. I think I have 6 boys, and 2 girls. Just the opposite of what I wanted. I looked at the fins and 6 of them have the long pointy thing right by their vents, and 2 looked more rounded. They are all about the same size, just several different colors, and patterns. I wanted more girls in hopes of checking any aggression right off the bat. Now I have to watch for aggression. Ugh why, why can't people learn to do their job without being told step by step instructions. Also I had to catch them because the lady didn't know a glo fish from a guppy. I just snagged the first ones I could. I don't like going into that store at all but the only other place to get fish is Walmart. I might stop by my favorite exotics store when I go to El Paso on the 10th and get a few more girls. Even if it's a 1 to 1 ratio it would lower aggression. I just don't want these silly fish killing each other for a girl. It would make my Boogaboo sad because they're his fish.


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## henningc (Apr 17, 2013)

You are crrect 6 boys 2 girls and the boys are hyper harmonal teenages. They will chase the females relentlessly. If they won't leave them alone, bring back all but two and demand a trade. If per chance one of the females is ready to drop fry, you need a breeder net or something as the males will chase just her and it can be fatal..


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## Allanira (Mar 28, 2014)

I will call my exotics guy tomorrow and ask him to hold 6 girls for me. That way I'm covered if by chance I'm wrong lol. I have a Marineland c-160 on it and will be doing 25% changes a week so they should stay healthy. I'm still seriously thinking of setting up a 55 gal for endlers though. I won't put guppies in it.


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## Donna120 (Dec 7, 2013)

If you put 6 more females in you better have rehoming plans or you will need a lot of 55 gallon tanks! I have only one guppy and found about 20 fry. Probably had more that were eaten or got sucked up in water changes. If you have 8 females you could a hundred or so babys each month for the next six months from just one breeding. It might be wise to return all the males.


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## pepe (Nov 11, 2013)

Unless you have lots of space I'd remove the females and keep an all male tank. I don't see why you think keeping Endlers would be any different. If I understand your original post you netted the fish you purchased,got home and didn't like what YOU caught and this is someone else's fault O.K.


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## Allanira (Mar 28, 2014)

I'm probably going to stop the endlers dream for a few years and get Texas Cichlids again. They love live food. I fed my last pair the guppy frys I had grown out and they went ballistic on them. So 55 might just be a cichlid tank again. I have a couple 20 longs I had for ball pythons and can make one or both grow out tanks. What ever the cichlids don't eat I can sell back to the store I bought the parents from. I'm one of those people on fish if they have babies cool if not cool. If these guppies die off then I can hopefully revisit the endlers dream. I really hope they don't because my oldest likes them. PEPE yes I did have to catch them because the chick didn't know what she was doing. I just caught the first 8 I could catch. If it turns out the 2 I think are girls are boys then that's fine. I know to look for a pointed fin right behind their vents for boys and a rounded one for girls. I did bag some pretty colors though. One has yellowish orange with a red ring on the outside of its tail fin. I might have to use my net to really see the fins. Wish me luck that I got the correct ratio, or they are all boys.


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## Donna120 (Dec 7, 2013)

Ok, I may get some flak for this but I think it's pretty low to just feed them to other fish! Isn't there enough good commercial food out there for them without having to murder baby guppies?


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## pepe (Nov 11, 2013)

The Texas Cichlid can grow to about a foot long and one would need at least a 75 gallon tank for one fish.With a 55 and a couple of twenties go for the Endlers it will be easier then the cichlids. Endlers are usually bought in trios,your females should be pregnant when purchased ,separate those and raise their female offspring as your starting point.The only trick is to keep those female offspring virgin until you get the male you want to breed them with.Livebearers are a great hobby and I've been using this same formula for decades with mollies.It can be as simple or as as detailed as you choose.Good Luck


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## Allanira (Mar 28, 2014)

They wouldn't be babies when they were fed off but seperated between the sexes then fed off as adults. Also I've raised Texas Cichlids. At 10 yrs old mine were under a foot, and healthy all their lives. I raised their fry to a certain age and size and sold them. I know how big they can get. I also know their temperaments. Not all fish of a certain species get to a certain size. The size that is stated is what they can get up to. Also males are supposed to be the larger. My female was about 4 inches bigger. I kept them in this particular 55 all their lives. I even had other cichlids with them without anyone killing each other. Saying you have to do things my way or the highway is a very sure way of getting me to say things sarcastically. Sopplease don't start contradicting me on the 1 fish I love and know more about than the average person. Also we raise rats, mice, chickens and other animals for food. Some we "murder" at a day old. Why are fish sacred and shouldn't be fed off young. Guppies that I breed feed and grow myself are healthier as food then feeder guppies, or goldfish at the store. Yes there are tons of commercial diets out there. Personally I would prefer not to feed my pets chemically produced food. I would prefer them to have a more natural diet. Even my cats and dog get home made foods. If I could make a balanced diet for the guppies I would. I do use frozen instead of flake food. I would gladly breed my own live food for the guppies if I could keep from getting bitten by mosquitoes, and knew that they didn't carry internal parasites. If I could cut out all the processed foods my family eats I would.


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## Allanira (Mar 28, 2014)

Well I do have 2 girls and 6 boys. The girls are pregnant so I will have to get a 2 way breeder net to hang on the tank. I'm going to take 3 of the boys back and see about getting mainly girls. Yes the boys are prettier with the bright colors and long tails but I like the girls better. I'm not sure what breed of guppy they are but they're pretty. Besides I have 2 long finned yellow tailed boys I want to exchange. I want more color. I have a ton of fake plants if I don't catch the girls in time for the babies to hide in. Then until I get my 55 set I can sell the babies. No I won't sell them until I know for sure they are healthy, and big enough. I'm not a monster contrary to one persons belief. If I describe some of my guppies could someone tell me what they are?


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## z1200 (Jan 26, 2012)

Even if you're unexperienced, you can usually tell females because of their lack of color. They usually have color on their tails and neutral colored bodies. They also are almost always Pre-hit (Pregnant) when you get them from a pet store so they will have a more rounded abdomen than males.


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## Allanira (Mar 28, 2014)

I was just grabbing because my goober boy started to do his pee pee dance. My youngest didn't want to be in his carrier anymore either lol. Yes I'm a harried mommy. I have lost 3 of the girls recently. I check water parameters every other day and didn't see ammonia or nitrite or nitrate spikes. I think it was see tress induced or because these guppies were sold as feeders so weren't kept well. I did a 50% water change and made sure everything was clean. I just don't understand why they died. My parameters are
ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate .25ppm.
I've always had some nitrate in the water. I have well water with a ton of caleeche in it. I have a higher PH also it usually runs at 7.7 to 7.8
I have really hard water to. Heck it might have been bullying that killed those 3. Not going to get more till I figure out why those 3 died though.


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## emeraldking (Apr 30, 2010)

z1200 said:


> Even if you're unexperienced, you can usually tell females because of their lack of color. They usually have color on their tails and neutral colored bodies. They also are almost always Pre-hit (Pregnant) when you get them from a pet store so they will have a more rounded abdomen than males.


They don't always look like this...
Nowadays, female guppies can be more colorful on their bodies. So. not just in their fins. And not all females will show a more rounded abdomen;even if they've been fertilized. With these kinds of livebearers a female can be fertilized without being pregnant. If she's just storing the semen, she won't get pregnant to start with. Which shows a slender female guppy in this case...


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