my fishs babies, how many

Question
hi i just got 2 guppies about a week ago. Then the male started to chase around the female. and my friend said he was trying to mate. the he stoped and her belly started to become bigger right now her belly is still geting bigger and my mom is going to help me. we are going to get a 2 way breeder if we know she is going to have babies. see i have a one gallon tan :( and i think i need a bigger one. so now i have a couple of questions. how long do ther stay pregnat? how many babies do they have? what should i do with all the extra babies. please e-mail me back ASAP thank you for taking time to read this. from Kristyn  

Answer
Hi Kristyn;

Congratulations! Baby fish are fun to have.

You will need a bigger tank though. Get one that is 10 gallons or so and you will have lots of room for the babies for quite awhile. A female guppy can have anywhere from 6 to 40 babies. Provide plenty of hiding places like live plants  in your new tank. The mom will need to hide while she gives birth and the babies can also hide from both mom and dad, who will both eat them.

A mama guppy will be pregnant for 6 to 8 weeks usually. Her belly will become so fat that it almost looks square shaped. She will be ready to give birth any day by that time. So get ready! The two way breeders don't always work. The mother gets upset by being moved into them and there isn't enough room. They are better off staying in the main tank with places to hide.

Followups Welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

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