Pregnent Fish

Question
My name is Becca and My tank is 29 gallons big, been set up with great water since the 28th of December.I had 3 guppies and 4 platies but now I have 3 guppies 4 platies and 12 babies. How do I know what type they are, Whose the mom and what they should be eating? How many are usually in 1 or 2 batches of babies?

Answer
Hi Becca;

Welcome to the fun hobby of fish keeping!

The new babies will simply eat crumbled up regular fish food. Add live plants to the tank too. Elodea, also known as Anacharis is a good one. Java Moss is good too and they both look pretty. They have small areas for the babies to hide in and they will feed on tiny microorganisms that live in the plants. They are very good for all your fish. It also helps your tank with "New tank Syndrome" by adding beneficial bacteria colonies. These "good bacteria" cling to the plants and will eventually grow on all the surfaces of your tank and filter to process wastes. Here is a link to my article on new tanks to help you through;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

It is very difficult to tell which fish could be the mother of the new babies. They look very much alike until they get big enough to develop colors and slightly different body and fin shapes. Livebearer fish moms can have anywhere from one to 100 babies at a time. The smaller the mom, the fewer babies they will have. If yours are young they will have a dozen or so each. As they grow bigger and mature more, they will have more babies in each "litter". They can do this every 30 to 60 days or so. That's why guppies are nicknamed the "Millions Fish".

Have fun!

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins