Breeding Guppies HELP!

[Kageshi17]

Ok, so I was looking to sell my 4 FEMALE guppies so that my tank was less crowded, (it was filled with 3 corycatfish, 1 snail, and 1 betta I thought hey that might be a little too much with 4 more fish on top of that) so I put them in their own 10g and placed them in the Statesman Journal for someone to take as pets. So this morning I was a bit surprised to find 11 babies chillin in the plants. I scooped em all up and went to Walmart to purchase a net breeder thingy It has worked, by putting a tank divider in the 10g and having them in the net as well to keep them safe from their hungry parents.

The problem is, I don't know how to raise baby guppies. Hahaha so umm...help please? I know that they eat baby shrimp and flakes...and needs to be in like 70-80 degree water. Anything else? Because even though I don't really want guppies, , I still want to raise them and have them have a happy life.

[Damon]

They are the same as thier parents. Just crush up the food you feed them and they will be fine.

[GumboJones]

Also, since the fry don't have a big stomach, its important to feed them several times a day.. Its a pain in the neck but if you want to see them all grow up, you really should make sure to do it. The first time I raised fry i went out and baught some fancy fish food thats ground up basicly into a powder. If you don't feel like spending the money, put regular fish flakes into a plastic bag, then gride the hell of out them with your hands till its as close to a fine powder as you can get, then use the that as baby food.

[Dabaers]

Yes feed frequently 3-4 times a day, and daily water changes because as already stated they have small stomachs and a lot of food ends up on the bottom of the tank.
They should only stay in the breeder box for a week or so then they need to go into something larger like a 5 gallon fry tank.
My fry tank is bare bottom for easy cleaning with a turkey baster or gravel siphon. This also makes daily water changes easy.
They can go into a community tank in a month or so (depending how fast they grow, sometimes longer) when they are large enough not to be eaten by anyone else.

Kath

[Kageshi17]

Thanks alot guys, that helps. I did know about the feedings and I have them in a net right now. I can't even imagine them needing anything bigger, they are SOOOOO small. But hey, ya never know. I will get them a 5g as soon as possible and start the fun!

Thanks again!

[Dabaers]

Its fun as they grow and you can start finding gravid spots on females and then later the colors come out and they change almost daily

Kath

[fish_doc]

as uneaten food accumilates on the bottom of the breeder net you will need to clean it. The easiest way is to use a turkey baster and just suck up the stuff and either put it in a cup or back into the main tank to let the bigger filter take care of it. If you put it in a cup you can check to see you havent accidently sucked up any fry while cleaning.

[Kageshi17]

Haha I just got a 2.5g tank to put them in. I mean, theres only 12 of them after all and they stay in a little bundle! I am a bit worried though...I can only feed them twice a day, not 7 times haha. I mean, I got to work at 1pm and come home at 9pm. So...I hope everything goes good still! And should I do just partial water changes with a turkey baster everyday or every other day? Just clearing stuff up! Oh yeah, my fry don't seem to be that hungry when I feed them. Its like they arent intersted...is this normal? Well, this is the third day and none have dies except the 13th one on the first day because a guppy swallowed him and I made her spit him back out! I think he suffered too much damage though. But 12 is nice, a good number. Hahaha.

[Dabaers]

Try to feed more often when you can, they will just grow more slowly.
You can also crush up some freeze dried bloodworm with a spoonfull of flake, together in a bag, and feed them that. Crushed egg yolk is great too, but tiny amounts as it can foul the water if you put in too much.
Cleaning up the bottom daily, every other is good, keep it up
Sounds like you are doing just fine.
They will get used to the sound of you coming to feed them and start coming to the top soon

Kath

[fish_doc]

They are still young and will quickly learn what that big figure outside their world is doing when it stops by. (Dinner time MMMmmmm!)

[Kageshi17]

Alright awesome. Yeah, I just used a ziplock bag and crushed up the flakes...they seem to like that better because it is ALOT smaller for their tiny mouthes. And also I am feeding them baby shrimp...I think that is suppose to be good but they don't really like it much. But...I was wondering when my 12 babies grow up (in a month right) will a 10g hold them? I mean...thats all I have. But I can also try and sell them before then...and what size tank should I upgrade to as they grow. So far, they are like microscopic organisms and are so tiny for their 2.5g tank. But at what intervals should I upgrade the tank? In a month...or a couple weeks...or what?

Thanks for all of your help!

[fish_doc]

A 10 gallon will be ok as long as you keep up on the maintance of the tank. The trick is you might want 2 10 gallon tanks so you can seperate the males and females. otherwise you will end up with way more than 2 more tanks. LOL

[Kageshi17]

Hahaha I see. And how do you tell male from female? And when will this happen? In a month should I seperate them? Sooner, later? I am just gonna ask away like crazy. Also, my house doenst have a/c and theres no real place I can put the tank other then where it is. It gets really hot during the day, I would say the water is at about 90 degrees. I'm somewhat worried. Any help would be awesome!

[Dabaers]

Hiya,
Here's a link for you.
It has all kinds of information about care and sexing of fry:
http://www.guppies.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=29

You separate the females usually first as you will spot their gravid spot sooner. But you'll read about that above.
My group I can usually pick out females at about 3 weeks depends on their size. My males develop much much later.

As for the heat.. That's to hot at 90 degrees.
Try fans, and I use those frozen blue ice bricks that you use in coolers. They bring down the temp slowly so you don't stress the fish.
You'll probably have to change them out every hour or 2, but they do a great job.

[Kageshi17]

Thanks so much! All if this helped! I will update in the future!