two Guppie questions

Cammie · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 42

I am crossposting this with alt.aquaria and also freshwater.misc........

I just got a trio of guppies for my 5 gallon bow front as I heard you should
have 2 males to every 1 female to cut back on stress from the constant
chasing to mate. One female is turquoise and black, the other female is
purple and black. The male is purple and black too. One female already has
a small black gravid spot, I'll estimate her at 1-2 weeks along.

My questions are I read gestation is 3-4 weeks, most saying 4 weeks. One
site had a comment that this timeframe depends on the temperature of the
tank. Is this true and how would temperature make the difference and what
is the difference? My tank is 80 degrees.

The second thing I read was that if your tank has brighter light or even
grow lights, this speeds up their mating and they can have fry as soon as
2-1/2 weeks. True?

Also, I plan on keeping these babies and I have a breeder containment to
put in my 10 gallon when I think the time is getting closer. Having guppies
in the past I know they usually get very large, sort of bursting before they
actually release the fry. So I hope I time it right. If anyone has any
tips please do tell.

Archived from group: alt>aquaria

Cammie · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 42

I just remembered another question. On yet another site, this one (
http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/1998/archives/26/roadtests/others?p=2737 )
it says the lifespan is 12 months. I have had other species of fish live
years and year, is 12 months really accurate?

Jim Brown · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 177

midposting

Cammie wrote in message$564.648@news02.roc.ny...
> I am crossposting this with alt.aquaria and also freshwater.misc........
>
> I just got a trio of guppies for my 5 gallon bow front as I heard you
should
> have 2 males to every 1 female to cut back on stress from the constant
> chasing to mate. One female is turquoise and black, the other female is
> purple and black. The male is purple and black too. One female already
has
> a small black gravid spot, I'll estimate her at 1-2 weeks along.

Probably better to get 2 females to one male. He then has to split his
chasing among two targets.

> My questions are I read gestation is 3-4 weeks, most saying 4 weeks. One
> site had a comment that this timeframe depends on the temperature of the
> tank. Is this true and how would temperature make the difference and
what
> is the difference? My tank is 80 degrees.

At 80ºF, the gestation will be 26-28 days. Cooler, and the time can expand
to about 35 days.

> The second thing I read was that if your tank has brighter light or even
> grow lights, this speeds up their mating and they can have fry as soon as
> 2-1/2 weeks. True?

Lights on for 24 hours just gives the males more time to go after the
females. It has from absolutely nothing to just the tiniest effect on
gestation.

> Also, I plan on keeping these babies and I have a breeder containment to
> put in my 10 gallon when I think the time is getting closer. Having
guppies
> in the past I know they usually get very large, sort of bursting before
they
> actually release the fry. So I hope I time it right. If anyone has any
> tips please do tell.

Females will usually look 'squared off' under the chin just prior to
delivery. As to how full she looks, that depends on many factors such as
her genetics, his genetics, strain of guppy, food during pregnancy, water
conditions.

Your other posted question about lifespan. Guppies can be considered to be
a two year fish, as are many of the common aquarium fish. Depending on how
the aquarium is maintained, and other such factors, after one year they
should be slowing down in the reproduction mode. A female can usually have
her first drop of fry at the 90 day age.

For your third posting, 4 babies is a small number for even a first drop. I
would imagine she may still be dropping a few more in with the males. If
she ate some fry, which is likely, her droppings will look black. Unless
the tank is absolutely dark, no light whatsoever, males will find a just
delivered female to be quite appealing, and will be after her big time. A
rest period of 24 hours would do her a lot of good. The fry may not be
premature since you find them active. Guppies are not that prone to
premature delivery.

Hope that helps.

Jim

Cammie · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 42

Thank you for all your answers Jim, very helpful. I heard that it is not
good to put the babies of their parents in the same tank, it's not good to
interbreed. Do you know why and what will happen? I only had plans for
one guppie tank for now. By the way, the four babies are doing well,
eating and swimming. I"m sure this is no big deal to you and guppy breeders
out there, but I'm excited.

"Jim Brown" wrote

Jim Brown · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 177

Inbreeding happens all the time in community aquariums with guppies. It can
be a useful tool for fixing desirable characteristics, yet it can also
magnify genetic defects. For the casual aquarist, neither situation will
likely be seen in your population.
Since neither of these will be of importance to you, don't worry about it.
You have a genetic pool going with the two males, and should you ever come
across another male or female that appeals to you, that will through some
new genes into the mix.

Jim

Cammie wrote in message$Mq6.86@news01.roc.ny...
> Thank you for all your answers Jim, very helpful. I heard that it is not
> good to put the babies of their parents in the same tank, it's not good to
> interbreed. Do you know why and what will happen? I only had plans for
> one guppie tank for now. By the way, the four babies are doing well,
> eating and swimming. I"m sure this is no big deal to you and guppy
breeders
> out there, but I'm excited.
>
>
> "Jim Brown" wrote
>
>