What are the signs before a guppy gives birth to fry? Keep an eye on these points

Guppies are very beautiful tropical ornamental fish and hold the title of "million fish" because their reproductive capacity is extremely strong. However, when a guppy gives birth to fry, what you need to pay attention to is separating the adults from the fry, otherwise the adults will eat the fry. Knowing the signs that a guppy is about to give birth is crucial. Let's take a look together below!

Breeding habits of guppies

Guppies are ovoviviparous fish with strong reproductive capacity and early sexual maturity. After 3 to 4 months of rearing, the young fish enter the maturity stage and can reproduce offspring. Whether sexual maturity is late or early is closely related to water temperature and rearing conditions. Guppies give birth once a month. Depending on the size of the female fish, each time they can produce 10 to 120 fry, and the annual output of fry is considerable.

How to select and pair guppies

The suitable water temperature for guppies is around 25 degrees. Generally, one female fish can produce 4 to 7 litters in her lifetime, but the chance of producing high-quality fry varies with the female's constitution, age, and health status. That is to say, the F1, F2, and F3 produced by female fish at 3 to 5 months of age are of higher quality. Therefore, at the adult stage, suitable broodstock must be selected.

Although guppies raised to 2 to 3 months can be considered adults, for female fish it is still too early to use them as broodstock at this time. Mating too early will affect the individual growth of the female fish, and the number and quality of the fry produced will not be ideal. If the male and female fish were kept in separate tanks before mating, then generally when mating, it is best to choose a male about two and a half months old and a female about three and a half months old. This is because at this time the male is in a period of vigorous energy, and the female has also matured, so the quality and quantity of the fry finally produced are better.

After giving birth, the female guppy should be kept alone to rest for 3 days, then returned to the broodstock tank, to avoid being chased and injured too early by the male, which would affect the quality of subsequent reproduction.

When breeding guppies, note that broodstock kept from the same litter should not exceed three generations, to avoid continuous inbreeding causing breed degeneration, making the offspring fish smaller and smaller with shorter tail fins. It is best to introduce fish of the same breed for purposeful distant hybridization, to prevent degeneration of the sub-breed and achieve the goal of breed improvement.

Signs that a guppy is about to give birth to fry

1. The female fish's gravid spot becomes larger and blacker. The female fish itself has a gravid spot. When not pregnant, the gravid spot is very small, fine, and dense, and really cannot be seen without careful observation. But as the female's due date approaches, the gravid spot becomes large and black and looks very obvious (for albino guppies, the gravid spot is orange-red).

2. The female fish swims irregularly in the water. This situation also occurs when the female is about to give birth, as the enlarged body affects the guppy's swimming.

3. The female fish will find a hidden place to hide, mainly for safe delivery.

4. The female fish does not eat feed and has poor appetite. Not eating feed during the pre-birth period is very normal.

5. The female fish's external color is more vivid than usual.

6. Swimming along the line of the fish tank with the tail against the bottom of the tank. Due to the growth of the fry inside the belly, the female fish's belly becomes heavier.

7. Part of the female fish's belly is close to square shape. The fry inside the body are arranged regularly, hence the square shape.

8. The female fish's anus protruding is a sign that it has reached the delivery period.

9. Two days before giving birth, guppies like to be alone, and will chase and bite fish that come near it. This is to protect the fry.