# Oh the joys of guppies...xD



## Phaedre (Aug 10, 2013)

_Bought 4, ended up with 16 less than 24 hours later..._


I bought a trio of girls and a lemon cobra male and as soon as they settled in at least one of them started dropping fry.

I left the store 24hours ago with 4 fish, now I have 12 new baby fry on top of that. I'm actually kind of grateful since they didn't have anything except orange and yellows(and one half back female I grabbed right up) when I was there. I'm hoping for some new colors if these little ones survive.

Currently feeding decap BSE and crushed flakes since I wasn't expecting fry for another 3 weeks or more and it's all I have on hand.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Live plants,anacharis and hornwort will help the fry survive(hiding spots) and provide some food for them.They should do well with decap shrimp eggs(I use them) and the flakes.Crumble the flakes up good and make sure to change water regulary as this helps fry grow as much as good food.
Enjoy!


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## Phaedre (Aug 10, 2013)

I managed to separate them and they're in a separate container(inside the same tank) until I can get some more plants/hiding spots. They survived through the night in it and did a water change this morning after feeding them.

I went to Walmart last night(only place within walking distance I can go to on short notice) and they didn't have any plants(well, they had two but they were long dead/past saving). So it'll have to wait a couple days till I can get across town.

I have a large-size kritter keeper, about 2-3 gallons I think, and I may wash that out and move them into that until they grow a little(more room that the little container they're in now).

About what age can I sex them/move the males into the main tank? I want to separate the females into another tank to keep them from getting pregnant until I pick the right male/s for them and I hear they can get pregnant as early as 3 weeks old.


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## skiffia 1 (Oct 3, 2012)

A 2-3 gallons I think will be fine to hold the fry for the first 2 or 3 weeks. Males usually start to sex out around 6 weeks you should see and notices that the anal fin has starting to develop it is at this stage when you need to remove them from females by 8-9 weeks the male gonopodium should be developed, by the age of 3 months most guppy’s would have reached sexual maturity .

male guppy not yet developed showing very little colour, individuals can colour up or sex out at different stages a male same age and from same brood with a developed gonopodium and more colour still to come through,


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

Fun thing about female guppies is that they can hold onto sperm from various males for up to 10 months! In the wild, males only live 3-4 months. That means that even if a male guppy dies almost a year before, the female can still produce fry fathered by him


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## skiffia 1 (Oct 3, 2012)

Why do male guppy’s only live 3 or 4 months in wild ?


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## Phaedre (Aug 10, 2013)

Came back from the store today with 11 new fry in the main tank. 
For lack of another place to put them, they're with the (now) two week old fry.
The two week old fry /look/ big enough to not be eaten so I might move them into the main tank here in couple days(closer to the 3 week mark) to give the new fry room to swim.


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## z1200 (Jan 26, 2012)

Imagine how long you'd live if you lived like a Guppy! Just look for gravids on female fry, If you have a keen eye you can sex them in a few weeks.


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