guppy breeding

Question
Hi, I was wondering what is the best way the seperate the guppy female from the babies while she is giving birth. My tank is 29 gallons. I have used a breeding trap a couple times and a few times it has worked but a few times the female aborted her young in it. What other methods are there for this? thanks. From, Andrew

Answer
Hi Andrew,

The ideal way for maximizing the number of initially surviving fry would be to have a small 'breeding tank' to place the female guppy in. A 'breeding tank' is a small tank, about 5 gallons, where you can place the female temporarily, until she gives birth. For this method, planting some dense plants in the substrate and including some floating plants will help a lot. The breeding tank can also serve as the fry grow-out tank, where there is no chance of the fry being eaten by your other fish.

Another, less expensive method would be to purchase an aquarium tank divider. These see-through tank inserts will not impede water flow, but they act as a barrier between two sides, to prevent any fish from passing. You can 'barrier off' a quarter of the tank, and you can place the pregnant female into the section. This is also a good idea, since no fish can disturb the female. It also prevents stress related to new water acclimation and temperature differences that can possibly occur if using a breeding tank.

For both the above methods, make sure there are plenty of floating plants for the fry to hide in. Also, remember to remove the female after birth. However, make sure she is done birthing! There can be as much as a 12 hour gap between individual fry!

Of course, you could use your breeding trap. However, only do this if you see that she is already dropping, or right before birth. Try putting a couple small plant parts in there to reduce stress.

A slightly better option would be to use a breeding box. These are small mesh-covered boxes which are slightly less stressful than breeding traps.

Finally, last but not least, there's the old-fashioned way of netting fry from the main tank as they come out. This can actually be quite successful, as long as there are lots of floating plants. To remove the fry, I use a styrofoam cup rather tan a net. I use the cup to "suck" in the fry into the cup. Fry can get caught in netting.

Good Luck, and Happy Fishkeeping!