Guppies are beautiful and attractive fish. Guppies are one of the fish species that reproduce by the process of internal fertilization instead of external fertilization. If you have both male and female guppies, you can be sure that some of your female guppies will become pregnant. If you have free time, pay close attention to the behavior and appearance of your fish to look for guppies that are pregnant or about to lay eggs.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Knowing the Signs on the Fish Body
Step 1. Notice the lump on the fish's belly
Like humans, female guppies will enlarge and bulge during pregnancy. However, sometimes this change in body shape is only caused by the air and not due to pregnancy. However, if the lump continues to grow in size after being observed for several weeks, it is highly likely that your guppies are indeed pregnant.
If your female guppy looks very large and boxy, your fish will lay eggs soon. Baby fish take approximately one month to be born
Step 2. Watch for “pregnancy spots” on your fish
The spots, which are located near the guppy's rump, will darken in color within a few weeks. If these spots are darker than their initial color, you can be sure that your guppies are pregnant. At first, these patches are orange or darker in color, but during pregnancy they can vary between the two colors.
Your guppies will lay their eggs immediately if you can see small spots in the "pregnancy spot" area. These tiny spots are the baby guppy's eyes
Step 3. Observe the contractions of the guppy's body
Contractions in the fish's body are another sign that the guppies are laying eggs. These contractions will look like the muscles tightening and relaxing in the guppy's body.
These contractions can occur repeatedly during the fish spawn
Part 2 of 3: Observing Fish Behavior
Step 1. Know the characteristics of a mating guppies
During the spawning process, the male guppies will sneak up behind the female guppies, or chase after them until the female is exhausted.
The spawning process can occur very quickly, and often fish owners are not aware of this process
Step 2. Watch for other signs
While not all pregnant guppies will show it, the following signs are a pretty good benchmark for recognizing a pregnant guppies. Other signs of pregnancy in guppies are as follows:
- Fish shaking or shaking
- Fish rub their bodies against objects in the aquarium such as aquarium walls, leaves, and decorations in the aquarium.
- Fish don't want to eat
Step 3. Notice if the guppies are swimming in place
This is the most common behavioral trait exhibited by guppy fish that are about to lay eggs. The guppies will look like they are swimming, but will stay in the same spot in the tank.
Guppies that will lay eggs will hide or show aggressive behavior such as biting their own fins
Part 3 of 3: Caring for Pregnant Guppies
Step 1. Minimize fish stress levels
Take good care of pregnant guppies, and make sure they don't get stressed. If your guppies are stressed during pregnancy, they are more likely to miscarry. This means that the guppies will not lay eggs.
A stressful environment will harm the unborn guppies and can reduce their chances of survival
Step 2. Provide a special spawning container
Placing pregnant guppies in special containers is a great way to keep the mother fish and the babies healthy. However, you should still be careful because these special spawning containers can stress pregnant guppies. The shorter the time the guppy is in this container, the lower the stress level will be.
- This special spawning container can be a special room in your aquarium that is used to isolate sick, aggressive, pregnant fish, as well as other baby fish.
- These special spawning containers are generally inexpensive and can be used over and over again. These containers are also a good investment to keep your guppies and baby fish healthy and safe.
- Keep the pregnant guppies in these special containers for as short a time as possible, otherwise the fish will experience stress. So, watch for signs the fish is about to lay eggs and transfer them to this special container when they are about to lay eggs.
- If your pregnant guppies have been in this special container for more than 24 hours but still haven't laid eggs, return them to their original tank. You can try to slightly increase the temperature of the water in the aquarium which can help the fish lay eggs.
- Use a fishing net and gently transfer the pregnant guppies to a special spawning container.
Step 3. Feed the pregnant guppies
Provide nutritious and varied feed to guppies who are pregnant so that the fish are not malnourished.
Give feeds such as floating feed, fish pellets, algae, krill, bloodworms, or artemia to the fish alternately
Step 4. Return the guppies
When the baby guppies have grown in a separate spawning tank or 40 liter tank, they can be returned to the main tank, where they were first isolated.
- If you have a lot of chicks, you will need a larger tank, as each of your chicks will be approximately 5 cm in diameter and the tank should not be overcrowded.
- Fish will be stressed if your tank is too full. It can also cause adult guppies to eat their babies.
Step 5. Clean the aquarium regularly
Do not allow fish or baby guppies to live in an aquarium full of bacteria, as this can lead to various diseases that are fatal to fish. The aquarium water may look clean, but bacteria can still grow in it. Bacteria can grow faster if your tank's water temperature is too warm.
- Many fish are susceptible to white spot disease, a disease in which white spots appear on the tail, body and mouth of fish that can kill small fish in just 24 hours, and within a few days in fish that bigger.
- Use a special medicine for white spot disease to kill the bacteria that cause this disease. Use aquarium salt as a measure to prevent parasites from growing in the aquarium.
Tips
- Endler guppies/mixed guppies are easier to care for because they won't eat their babies. Therefore, you do not need to use a special spawning container.
- If your guppies lay eggs without your knowledge, or if you're getting ready to raise baby fish, keep live plants such as pond tongue fern and anubias in the tank. These plants will become hiding places and food sources for fish.
- If your fish lay eggs without your knowledge, (or if you are waiting for your fish to lay eggs), keep live plants in your tank, especially pond tongue ferns and anubias. These plants will become hiding places and food sources for fish.
Warning
- Don't stress your pregnant guppies, or any other fish, by tapping on the glass, touching the fish, or anything else that might disturb them.
- Some argue that transferring pregnant guppies into spawning tanks can stress them out and die. So, provide a box/container that is large enough and fill the box/container with clean water so that the fish can swim freely. To avoid stressing the fish too much, quickly transfer them to this spawning tank.
