It's no secret that keeping fish at home is the most unpretentious task. It helps to get rid of stress and tension. In addition, it is aesthetically beautiful. Guppy species are the most common inhabitants of home aquariums. They are unpretentious and easy to maintain. But what if you notice that the fish is pregnant? What is the gestational age of the guppy and does it need special conditions during this period? Let's try to figure it out together.
What kind of guppies are they?
This type of aquarium inhabitants is considered the most common, as they are inexpensive and easy to care for. In addition, there are individuals of unprecedented beauty. In appearance, females differ significantly from males. When buying, you should not choose only beautiful fish with large and bright tails, since this way you will get only males. Females are mostly gray and nondescript, but more impressive in size.
Attempts to systematize the varieties of these fish were not particularly successful, since they are very unpretentious and love to mix with each other. Breeders distinguish them by the shape of the tail:
- round;
- lyre;
- radish;
- one sword;
- two swords.
The color of the fish can be completely different and include at least all the colors of the rainbow at the same time. In size, males and females are different. On average, the length of their body without a tail is about 2 cm. However, the females are larger, they can reach 3-4 cm.
Life span
They live quite a long time, usually the life cycle is 5 years. But it is worth considering the fact that the warmer the water in which they live, the shorter the life expectancy. This is because metabolism is accelerated in warm water. It also affects reproduction. Guppy's pregnancy lasts from 25 to 40 days.
How to care?
These fish are often bought when the child starts asking parents to get someone. They are very easy to care for, and therefore they can train a child to take care of someone. Even if he will forget to feed them, they will survive even a week without food.
Different species can easily get along in one aquarium and give offspring. However, they have the property to feast on their own fry. As for the neighborhood with other species of fish, the guppies are very friendly here and get along with everyone. But they themselves can become good prey. Therefore, it is not necessary to hook large and aggressive fish to them, such as cockerels, barbs and macropods.
Conditions of detention
Many use compressors and aerators to fill the tank with oxygen. For this type of fish, the presence of plants in the aquarium, even a minimal number of them, is sufficient. You can also opt out of using a water filter. For keeping 5 fish, for example, an aquarium of 30 liters is enough. Of course, you need to take into account the fact that they multiply and there will be little space for them. No need to use all kinds of expensive lights in the aquarium. Guppies have enough of a regular table lamp.
Nutrition
Guppies are omnivorous and always hungry. In principle, you can feed them with any ready-made fish food. Only the brightness and intensity of their color will depend on this. It is recommended to periodically change the producers and the composition of the feed, and in the summer generally give them live feed.
The amount of food that must be given at a time varies from the number of fish. But they should eat it in about 20 minutes. If after this time the food remains, then it is necessary to reduce the portion, otherwise the fish will be fattened, and the water may deteriorate in their aquarium. Since the guppy's pregnancy lasts a little over a month, the fish need a good balanced diet during this period. This will help her stock up on spawning.
Reproduction of the species
Guppies are viviparous species. This means that instead of caviar, they give birth to their own kind of individuals, only smaller. A feature of this species is also that nutrients do not enter the body of a pregnant fish fry. They feed on what is in the egg before fertilization. These stocks are not replenished.
Guppy breeding and pregnancy of females also depends on the maturity of males. Fertilization occurs during the introduction of sperm into the female. For this, the male uses his anal fin, which is specially formed in a special way and is called "gonopodia". The peculiarity of the structure of this organ is that it consists of three front rays of the anal fin folded into a tube. Gonopodia is very mobile and therefore can be adjusted for fertilization.
After the introduction of sperm into the genitals, the female spermatophores, which are containers with sperm, fertilize the eggs of the fish. They also have the ability to maintain their viability within the female's body for up to several months. Therefore, one term of the guppy's pregnancy can end in spawning, and a new one begins immediately. Because of this, it can be difficult to define the "father of the family." Such litters can be from 6 to 11 per fertilization.
If you are going to breed fish of this species, then you may have a question about how much a guppy pregnancy will bring fry. The answer to this question depends on the age and body weight of the female. For the first spawning, usually 10-20 fry are obtained. With further reproduction, their number can reach up to 60 individuals.
Pregnancy Guppy Females
First you need to accurately determine the presence of pregnancy in the fish. If you notice that the female guppy has recovered, then this does not mean that she is in an "interesting position". It may also signal overeating or an imminent death. Those who are not the first to encounter this type of fish can already determine the presence of future offspring and know how long the guppy's pregnancy lasts. And what about those who brought these pets for the first time? How to determine the pregnancy of a guppy fish, and how long will it last?
Initially, you need to know exactly the age of the female. Usually, the fish is ready for bearing fry and procreation after 2-3 months of life. At this moment, she becomes sexually mature. Naturally, now everything is possible in nature, so the guppy may be ready to become a mother before the specified time.
Further it is necessary that the male guppy is involved in the case. He must impregnate the female. From this moment until the birth, the female passes about a month. However, the gestational age of guppies depends on many factors. First of all, this is the temperature of the water in the aquarium. The higher it is, the faster the pregnancy and the development of fry. The hereditary factor also affects. However, it is not possible to trace the pattern with the naked eye, an experienced specialist is needed. Nevertheless, the period of gestation of the fry by the female guppy still remains within 25-40 days.
Signs of an approaching birth
When the guppy's pregnancy is nearing its end, it is necessary to determine when to wait for the appearance of fry. You can see the condensed abdomen of the female. It also changes its shape. During pregnancy, it was round and elongated, and a few days before giving birth it becomes more rectangular in shape, becoming like a "suitcase". The head of the fish in this case seems much smaller. Another harbinger of the early delivery of the female is the so-called "prenatal spot." It is located near the anal fin. If this spot increases in size, it means that most likely the female will soon give birth to fry.
Rules for keeping pregnant and giving birth to females
During the breeding of guppies and pregnancy of females, they need special living conditions. Firstly, a pregnant female needs to be transferred to another aquarium. For this, a capacity of 15 to 30 liters is suitable. It is necessary to take into account the fact that no matter how carefully you try not to harm the expectant mother, dropping the female can become a stressful situation for her. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully monitor its behavior. If she stops eating and gets into a corner, she most likely does not like the new living conditions.
Many women are pregnant pregnant women in three-liter jars. It is absolutely impossible to do this. So you can deliver even more discomfort to the fish. Using too large tanks for sowing is also not recommended. In this case, it will be difficult to care for the pregnant woman or the fry.
Soil in the "maternity hospital" is not worth putting. Of the necessary devices, a filter and a compressor are used. It is important to use them around the clock to maintain the purity of the water and its saturation with oxygen. Another point that needs to be organized in the jail is a shelter for future fry. Guppy fish tend to eat their fragile offspring. Therefore, it is necessary to take care of its protection.
The first thing you can do is run the plants in the aquarium. It can be, for example, a pistol or a long stalk. Fry prefer the upper layers of the aquarium, so plants must first reach these places. Another option is to delimit the aquarium. To do this, you can use a fine mesh, a homemade plastic cage or grid in the middle of the aquarium. The main condition is that there should be enough space for both the female and the fry.
Possible diseases in guppies
How long the guppy's pregnancy lasts, we decided. Now we will raise the issue of diseases of this species in order to protect the remaining inhabitants of the aquarium in time. If a fish is unhappy with something, then it will start to behave in a certain way. For example, she may begin to itch on stones. Also, they stop eating the feed norm given to them, and their activity decreases sharply. In critical situations, there is a sudden death of one of the fish.
When observing one of these conditions, it is necessary to add ordinary table salt to the water at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 10 liters of water in the aquarium. The fish can be cured. If you notice a clouding or darkening of the eyes, frequent movements or protruding gills, then the fish should be isolated from the rest. Then buy in a pet store a special solution, which, according to the instructions, is added to the water with a sick fish.
To avoid infection of the fish when buying new ones, you need to hold them separately for some time and watch them. Only then plant in a common aquarium.
Content Tips
As we have already said, the gestational age for guppies ranges from 25 to 40 days. After the fish marked the fry, they are kept in a separate tank. They should not be very large so that the fry can quickly find food. If the number of fry reaches 60 individuals, then the aquarium should be at least 45 liters.
Fry should be fed a feed that contains protein. This accelerates their growth, and after 4-5 months you will receive an adult individual capable of reproduction. Change the water in the aquarium once or twice a week. But do not change all the water at once. So you can lose half of the fry, and adults can cause stress. Change should be 30-50% of water. In addition, the water should be at room temperature and previously settled.
To maintain cleanliness, you should also clean the bottom of the aquarium from fish excrement once or twice a week. Feeding fish produce several times a day. If a fish does not throw on food as soon as you have poured it, then it has not been hungry yet, and in the future one of the feeds can be skipped.