Guppie babies

Question
I justbought 2 guppies yeaterday and the female ave birth vernight the wast is already adding up in the bottom of the tank and i will needto clean t very soon how do i safly get the bbies out to clean and will mom and dad et the babies so far they do not ven try to eat them the pretty much act like the babies are not even there.

Answer
Hi April;

The parents can eat the babies so provide plenty of hiding places for them if you don't have another tank. You forgot to include details about your tank so I don't have much to go on, but having them for only one day and they are producing a lot of waste may mean you are overfeeding. Or, the tank is too small for them. Just for two guppies you need at least a 2 gallon tank with a filter. Now that there are babies, you will have to get a larger tank to accomodate them too. Figure on one to two gallons per fish. If you could tell me more about the tank setup I can help you with that more.

All filtered tanks need a 25% water change every week anyway so start there. It is really stressful for the fish to remove them to do water changes so just be very careful and avoid the babies as you do it. However, if your tank doesn't have a filter you will have to remove all the fish and change all the water at least once a week. Just get a little fine-mesh fish net to catch them and put them with a little tank water in a well-rinsed jar or a plastic bag with an air bubble for oxygen. Basically just like you were bringing them home for the first time.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins