Baby guppies!!! need assistance

[tjmonet74]

Ok, we have a 30g tank with 3 guppies, 3 platies, pleco, 2 neon tetras, 2 danios and a snail.

I thought potentially 2 of our fish were pregnant and so I purchased a 10g tank and set it up 2 days ago. I put some of the water from the 30g tank into the new tank and got the filter and heater running. So it has not cycled yet!!!

I woke up this morning to wee babies in the 30g tank. The Mama guppy quietly laying on the bottom of the tank, looking like she's working hard. What is the best option??

1) leave Mama guppy in the 30g tank with the babies she's already birthed and hope there are enough hiding places that they don't all get eaten.

2) move Mama guppy into the 10g tank and allow her to continue to birth in the new tank (even though it hasn't cycled yet) and then remove her once she's complete. Leaving the babies on their own in the new uncycled tank?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[tjmonet74]

one more question???

if I crush up the food for the babies, how do I ensure they get it? or do I just sprinkle it in the tank like normally?

[touchofsky]

I wouldn't suggest moving the mother in the middle of giving birth.  I would suggest netting out as many of the babies that you want to keep and putting them in the 10 gallon.  A few others may survive in the 30 gallon if you have lots of hiding spots for them. 

I would also suggest putting a bit of filter media from the cycled tank into the 10 gallon filter.   Adding some media from a cycled filter to an uncycled filter will really help to kickstart the new filter.  What kind of filter do you have on the 30 gallon?

Baby guppies will survive on the tiny infusoria that grows on live plants, tank decorations, etc.  They also will take finely crushed flake food and various foods that can be purchased for livebearer fry.

I hope this helps, and I am sure you will get lots of other suggestions from other members.

[tjmonet74]

I have an aqua clear filter in the 30g. Sorry, really new here. How do I take some of the filter media and put it into the 10g? do you mean, just take a piece of the filter and put it into the other filter?

In the 10g, I have put water from the other tank, some plants and a few decorations also. Tests show, no ammonia, but are showing a bit elevated nitrites and nitrates. I have been doing water changes every 2-3days. Is that too much or too little?

[touchofsky]

Do you have any fish in the 10 gallon?  If you don't, you would have to use either fish food or ammonia to do a "fishless" cycle.

I have found adding mature filter media to a new tank will avoid most cycling problems.  If you have an AquaClear on the 30 gallon, I would cut off a piece of the foam and add that chunk of foam to the 10 gallon filter.  Add back a new piece of foam to replace the chunk you took off the foam in the 30 gallon.

Also, a handful of gravel from the existing tank put into the new tank will help in the cycling process.  Most of the beneficial bacteria live on the gravel, decorations, walls of the tank, etc., and not in the water.

I hope this helps and don't be shy about asking questions

[touchofsky]

Another thing I should mention, is that baby guppies are born with a yolk sac that they live on for the first 3 days or so, so you shouldn't feed them until after that point.  They won't eat the food and it will just pollute your tank.

[tjmonet74]

All great and useful info!!! thank you so much!

I had 2 danios in the tank for the last two days. But I moved them into the big tank this morning when I thought I'd be moving the fry and the Mama into the 10g.

I may try as you suggested and scoop some of the fry into the 10g. But they are currently hiding out in the plants and a small little house that is too small for the bigger fish to get them. I think we've already lost quite a few of them and I suspect this round may be not so fruitful. But this info will be useful for the next time around.

We just moved last weekend and the 30g is now showing a bit elevated on the nitrites and nitrates; although no ammonia. So I'm just trying to stabilize everything and make sure everyone survives. We had a death this morning, but that fish came with a batch of 3, that have all died. None of my others seem to have been affected.

I'm also pretty sure one of my platies is pregnant too, she's huge and pretty relaxed lately.

Are there any of the fish that won't eat the babies that I could put into the 10g with the fry, to help with the cycling? e.g. danios or tetras? they are pretty small.

thanks, didn't know that about the yolk sac.

[touchofsky]

You have disrupted the cycle during the move and the bacteria that convert nitrite into nitrate (which is harmless to fish at low levels) has been compromised.  It should come back fairly quickly.  You will have to keep a close eye on the nitrite level, since that is pretty detrimental to fish.

Most fish will eat baby guppies or platies.  If they can fit in their mouths, they will eat them.  I think about the only thing that wouldn't eat your young would be a bottom feeder like a bristlenose (ancistrus) or rubbernose pleco.  However, with a new tank, you don't have any algae, and would have to feed them since they are algae eaters.

Next time, if you want to move the mother, I would move her a few days before she gives birth. 

Do you have any floating plants in the tanks?  Fine stuff like java moss or guppy grass work well to prevent the young fish from being eaten.  I think you can buy an artificial breeding grass, too.

[Nerine]

I have always left all the guppies together...just make sure the tank is heavily planted and the babies will be fine it will save you from culling later....I hate that bit!

[touchofsky]

I can remember my young daughter running around the house screaming and crying because the baby guppies were being eaten.  I would be frantically trying to net the babies out to calm her down    My husband and I still laugh about some of those episodes.  It was chaos!

[tjmonet74]

I don't have any real plants in there, but I do have 3 fake ones. The fry that have survived, are chilling out between this little house thing and the plants. While the other fish are kind of hanging out together in a group on the far end of the tank. Kind of strange. All the fish seem to be acting a bit weird today, so I'm a little worried. I did a water change yesterday, as the levels are a bit high still...but I think that is just normal due to the move and upsetting the cycle. Prior to the move, all was at zero or really low.

Now, I can find less than a handful of the fry I know this is normal, but as it's our first  batch I guess I was hoping to save more. Our tank still has a pretty low stock considering it's size so I don't mind keeping some around. She's not looking so good. Hasn't had any babies since earlier today and is still just chilling out at the bottom and panting like a dog...ok you know what I mean

I think this time around, I will just worry about getting the cycle completed in both tanks and then next time around try and figure out how to keep some fry.

My 4 yr old son doesn't seem overly upset by it. We've discussed lots about fish dying and how bigger animals eat smaller ones. And I tried to explain that Mommy is still learning and maybe next time we'll be able to save more of the babies

Thank you everyone for all your assistance and knowledge today. It's great!

[touchofsky]

My daughter was around 8 or so, and at that age where things like baby guppies being eaten can seem so tragic. 

You may have more fry than you think, because they can also hide down in between the gravel when they are really young.

It is quite stressful for the female guppy to give birth and sometimes they even die afterwards, especially if stressed by other factors or harassed by other fish.  Just make sure to keep your water quality high, and do water changes if you find either ammonia or nitrite creeping up.

Good luck and please keep us updated.

[tjmonet74]

You were so right!!! There were a whole bunch still left, those sneaky little critters were tucked away all over the place.

So curiosity got to me and I went on the hunt for the fry...I was able to scoop up more than 20 of them and put them in the 10g tank. So they are in there by themselves now. I am hoping that because the tank is so new and not cycled they will be ok in there. I will keep monitoring the water and continue to do regular water changes There are more plants in the small one and way more hiding places for them.

I've added some of the rocks from the big tank (not much, but some) and a chunk of the filter from the 30g also. Could I put my pleco in there to help with the cycling? I think you said earlier that he would be unlikely to eat them. As it's a new tank, I could supplement his feeding with the algae pellets I have. Thoughts?

On a sadder note, I think Mama isn't doing so well. She's still on the bottom panting (it's been an all day thing). I'm really hoping she survives. *sigh*

[Laura]

Congrats on the babies.

If the fry made the transfer to the new tank alright, and you've seeded the filter with material from your old filter,  then I would leave them without adding your pleco.

If you need to add anything to deal with uneaten food, a snail is good. Either pond snails or a brig if you see one. Plecos are big waste producers and he'll do more harm knocking off your cycle than good.

If you are using a hang on back filter (HOB) like an Aquaclear,  get a fllter sponge,  cut a big X in it and slide it over the intake so the fry don't get sucked up.

Do regular water changes (10% every couple of days or so) so you don't stress them with new water conditions, don't overfeed them, and if you have an HOB, suck your water from there so you don't suck up fry.

If you have any plants like guppy grass that they can nibble on the critters that live on it, put that in too.

They will eat crushed flake, or if you want to try some live food, PM me for microworms.

Best of luck with them.

[sylros]

I can remember my young daughter running around the house screaming and crying because the baby guppies were being eaten.  I would be frantically trying to net the babies out to calm her down    My husband and I still laugh about some of those episodes.  It was chaos!

Well I can attest to seeing them being eaten alive...didn't enjoy as it was also my first batch. But I did such a good job with the next batch, that now I'm invaded, couldn't even count how many. I ended up using a breading tank that fits into the bigger tank...that deal with my first batch...then I put lots of marbles and some plants in my other small tank...now that worked really well as the fry can hide everywhere.

[tjmonet74]

Thank you, I have to admit I'm a wee bit excited about the babies. But sad, because Mama died tonight. Oh, the cycle of life.

I do have the HOB, it's a Marineland bio-wheel. But I'm currently only using the Penguin filter, not the bio-wheel which is on order. Sorry it's only 2 days old, I don't know all the details of it.

I don't have any live plants. Would it be a good idea to purchase some? I had intended to just crush up the flakes and feed them that, but if you think the microworms would be better, than I can get some of those.

I have a snail in my 30g tank, but I can add him in the 10g to keep things nice and clean.

[touchofsky]

I hate to see the wee ones eaten, too, and always tried to save as many as I could.  My daughter is now grown, and has tanks of her own, and keeps platies, and has a little tank of platy fry in my granddaughter's room ... so the saga continues  

I am so sorry to hear about your mama guppy.  The poor little thing.  It is very stressful on them.  

[Laura]

I do have the HOB, it's a Marineland bio-wheel. But I'm currently only using the Penguin filter, not the bio-wheel which is on order. Sorry it's only 2 days old, I don't know all the details of it.

I don't have any live plants. Would it be a good idea to purchase some? I had intended to just crush up the flakes and feed them that, but if you think the microworms would be better, than I can get some of those.

I have a snail in my 30g tank, but I can add him in the 10g to keep things nice and clean.

Regardless of the type of HOB, the sponge stuck on the intake will stop the babies from getting sucked up.

I think tanks are always better with plants. The mini auctions are a good place to get them, or someone on the forum probably something appropriately low-light you can acquire.

Crushed flake is okay, but frozen BABY brine shrimp I don't think would be too large for them, and is easy to buy. Microworms are a live culture that you get from other aquarists rather than a store.

As for the snail,  I would say it depends on the type. I've never seen nerites go after anything but algae on the glass. If you have a brig, that would be great. Pond snails are fine if fry tanks too, but lots of people don't like them.  If you link to an image of what sort of snail you have, we can narrow it down for you.

[tjmonet74]

Thanks for the info!

I definitely need to get some plants. I have started asking around and may have to check with my local pet store in the meantime, as the tank is still pretty sparce. How do I find out when the mini auctions are? I've tried looking at the calendar and didn't see anything.

I've attached a pic of my snail. I have no idea what kind it is. I was just told only to have 1 or they would mass reproduce.

As for the microworms, is that better for the fry than the flakes? So much to learn, but I'm really finding this new adventure quite interesting

[touchofsky]

OVAS holds meetings on the 4th Monday of the month.  You will find info about the meetings on this website.  At some of the meetings, there are mini-auctions.