Guppy fry

SeaFields

I had an interesting start into my first venture into tropical fish in years. Got the tank set up and let it cycle for two weeks after plants were added and a biological supplement to help along the cause.

Initially 6 guppies were added. Two weeks later I had 30+ fry in the tank and bought a hatchery tank. Scooped up all the fry and there they have lived happily for about three weeks (apart from one day when it sank!).

Whereas I lost some of the fry to 'natural causes' over the three weeks in the last few days several died so I figured they must be getting to big for the hatchery tank. I released them, at a good deal bigger than there were born at. However, several frantic minutes occurred when the adults, particularly one of the pregnant females, had a nice feast of my fry! So fry once again scooped up, well ten survivors, and back to the hatchery tank.

SO anyways my question is, where do i go from here? How long should I leave them in the floating hatchery tank? (they are nearly a month old now) One of the females is going to have more fry in next week or so so what will I do with them to ensure greatest survival?

Thanks

peterk19

I use a 30 litre shrimp tank for my guppy fry at the moment and just add the fry to the main tank after they are too big to fit in the adults mouths

If you dont want to go down that route maybe get another 2 floating hatcherys tanks and put half the fry between 2 tanks then keep the other floating tank for transferring fry to when too much dirt builds up in the hatchery tanks as i find the dirt that builds up is what kills the fry rather than the amount you have in them

fungun

yeah when i used those floating hatcheries i make sure to lift it out of the water a bit and then push it back in to flush the dirt out of it - you will be amazed how much dirt those tiny things create!
The other thing would be to have an area of your tank that is densely planted and release the fry there

LawlessBoy

Just wondering what are you planning on doing with the fry? i remember years ago my uncle use to sell them back to the fish shops.Do people still do this?

(Sorry for going off topic:))

fungun

most shops dont take them any more, i have sold some fry to shops but tend to swap them for other things more often than not

SeaFields

peterk19 wrote: »

I use a 30 litre shrimp tank for my guppy fry at the moment and just add the fry to the main tank after they are too big to fit in the adults mouths

If you dont want to go down that route maybe get another 2 floating hatcherys tanks and put half the fry between 2 tanks then keep the other floating tank for transferring fry to when too much dirt builds up in the hatchery tanks as i find the dirt that builds up is what kills the fry rather than the amount you have in them

Thanks Peter. I might have a look around over the weekend and see if i can get a small tank for them as I have another female who is going to have fry in the next short while. I dont want my new tank to be taken up by floating hatchery tanks. It'll ruin the view!:)

fungun wrote: »

yeah when i used those floating hatcheries i make sure to lift it out of the water a bit and then push it back in to flush the dirt out of it - you will be amazed how much dirt those tiny things create!
The other thing would be to have an area of your tank that is densely planted and release the fry there

Thanks. That's something I never thought of. I have plenty of plants and they are starting to spread but will need some time yet before they'll offer thick cover for the fry.

LawlessBoy wrote: »

Just wondering what are you planning on doing with the fry? i remember years ago my uncle use to sell them back to the fish shops.Do people still do this?

(Sorry for going off topic:))

No prob. Its something I was thinking of myself. My brother who has a tank also said that once you get them big enough a pet shop may swap for something i.e. ten guppy fry for a nice gourami or something. He wasn't sure either tho. The rate I'm going I'll have guppies everywhere shortly!