# Surprise! 3 female guppies made a baby.



## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

So, when I bought the Magus Sisters I made sure they were all females (okay, so I asked the fish guy at Petco, but he's actually very knowledgeable so I believed him, plus the males and females were separated), and they are the only fish in my 5 gallon tank.

I was about to turn off their hood light for the night, but decided that I wanted to watch them for awhile. All three of them swam to the front of the tank, and after making some faces I searched for Gary. Only... 

This is what I found:








The little ninja is now in Mace's Petco cup, darting around, and I am FREAKING out. First of all, I don't know HOW I missed this. It's only a 5 gallon tank! I feel like such a terrible fish keeper... ;~; I wonder how many fry there were to begin with... And how did this one manage to last so long?! He/she is pretty developed - fins, organs, etc. I don't know the first thing about taking care of fry...


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

And after doing some very quick research I now think that all 3 of my girls are pregnant. I can see what I'm reading is called their gravid spots behind their anal fins. Mein Gott.


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## MameJenny (Jun 11, 2012)

Guppies and other livebearers can actually hold sperm and spontaneously get pregnant for 6 months after contact with a male, so it's no surprise. I had a virgin platy birth and a virgin guppy birth that way. 

Livebearer fry are about the easiest things to care for. I suggest getting a good micropellet food - Omega One makes a good one. If you can't find that, you can just crush normal food pellets, or obviously feed nicer frozen or live "fry" foods if you have them. Unless you have a very heavily planted tank (and maybe even then), it's probably a good idea to set up the fry in their own tank with a sponge filter and a heater. Doesn't need to be anything fancy - they don't need many water changes as long as you don't overfeed them. You can also buy solid or mesh breeder boxes that you hang inside your main tank.

Don't be surprised if you find a bunch more fry soon. The little transparent things are really hard to see. Congrats on the fry! :-D Livebearer fry are so much fun to watch.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

MameJenny said:


> Guppies and other livebearers can actually hold sperm and spontaneously get pregnant for 6 months after contact with a male, so it's no surprise. I had a virgin platy birth and a virgin guppy birth that way.
> 
> Livebearer fry are about the easiest things to care for. I suggest getting a good micropellet food - Omega One makes a good one. If you can't find that, you can just crush normal food pellets, or obviously feed nicer frozen or live "fry" foods if you have them. Unless you have a very heavily planted tank (and maybe even then), it's probably a good idea to set up the fry in their own tank with a sponge filter and a heater. Doesn't need to be anything fancy - they don't need many water changes as long as you don't overfeed them. You can also buy solid or mesh breeder boxes that you hang inside your main tank.
> 
> Don't be surprised if you find a bunch more fry soon. The little transparent things are really hard to see. Congrats on the fry! :-D Livebearer fry are so much fun to watch.


@[email protected]; This is all so incredibly overwhelming...but also very exciting. The little fry is so small and adorable!

I actually feed my fish Omega One Color micro pellets, so I have that. Someone on Tumblr told me to try Hikari First Bites? But I know their normal fish food has a lot of fillers, BUT then again guppies can digest vegetation and what not, so does that matter then? 

I have a 1.5g QT bowl that I'll be setting up.


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## MameJenny (Jun 11, 2012)

Schmoo said:


> @[email protected]; This is all so incredibly overwhelming...but also very exciting. The little fry is so small and adorable!
> 
> I actually feed my fish Omega One Color micro pellets, so I have that. Someone on Tumblr told me to try Hikari First Bites? But I know their normal fish food has a lot of fillers, BUT then again guppies can digest vegetation and what not, so does that matter then?
> 
> I have a 1.5g QT bowl that I'll be setting up.


The Omega One pellets are great. I don't know anything about the Hikari food, so I can't help with that. You can also give them finely crushed, unseasoned, cooked egg if you want to mix it up. Mine also like mashed frozen foods - I've given both herbivore and carnivore foods to my guppies.  Just be really careful not to overfeed them, especially in a small tank. I give my fry tiny amounts of food twice per day.

The fry are great. I like when they're a couple of weeks old - they start acting like tiny versions of the adults.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

MameJenny said:


> The Omega One pellets are great. I don't know anything about the Hikari food, so I can't help with that. You can also give them finely crushed, unseasoned, cooked egg if you want to mix it up. Mine also like mashed frozen foods - I've given both herbivore and carnivore foods to my guppies.  Just be really careful not to overfeed them, especially in a small tank. I give my fry tiny amounts of food twice per day.
> 
> The fry are great. I like when they're a couple of weeks old - they start acting like tiny versions of the adults.


I was reading about feeding them eggs earlier! I think I'm going to try that tomorrow because BG (baby guppy, lol) has not had the care he/she's needed. If the O1 pellets are good, then I'll just stick with those unless a copious amount of fry pop up (as unrealistic as it is, I'm hoping that BG will be the only one, or maybe only a few more).

I have no idea how old BG is. He/she looks like a more or less full-developed version of the adults, but it's transparent and teeny-tiny. He/she was also foraging through the tank gravel when I found it, and then when I managed to finally get it into the Petco cup, it danced and darted around until lights out a bit ago.


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## SunnyCydUp (Aug 31, 2014)

Congrats Schmoo!! 

I'm in the same boat as you - discovered of the 4 guppies I have, 3 are female, 1 male. (He's got himself a nice little harem) From all outward appearances, _all_ 3 females are pregnant. Just waiting on the babies to start popping out.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

SunnyCydUp said:


> Congrats Schmoo!!
> 
> I'm in the same boat as you - discovered of the 4 guppies I have, 3 are female, 1 male. (He's got himself a nice little harem) From all outward appearances, _all_ 3 females are pregnant. Just waiting on the babies to start popping out.


Yay, I'm not alone! xD Congrats to you, too!


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## SunnyCydUp (Aug 31, 2014)

How's the little ninja doing? My girls haven't popped yet - well, that I can tell, that is.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

SunnyCydUp said:


> How's the little ninja doing? My girls haven't popped yet - well, that I can tell, that is.


Phillip (my husband named him/her, lol; either after Phillip J. Fry from Futurama or Phillip the nickel from Fairly Oddparents xD) is doing well! S/he is still in a Petco cup, and gets a 100% WC every day (I'm using betta water from the store), as well as Hikari First Bites, which s/he seems to love. I keep Phillip's cup on our bookshelf to avoid the cats.

Phillip's also solidifying! S/he isn't as see-through. c: I'm not noticing a whole lot of growth, but that could be because I stare at him/her every day, sooo...

My girls haven't popped, either. =/ One, for sure, it showing her gravid spot, so I'm a little confused and anxious because I keep expecting to find more wee fry in the tank, but nope.


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## SunnyCydUp (Aug 31, 2014)

Couple of tips I picked up ... 1) Take a flashlight and shine it on the guppy's belly - if you see "eyes" reflecting back, it won't be long before they start popping out; and 2) the female's belly will "square off" about a week before she's ready to pop - from a side view, you can see it take on a squarish/rectangular shape, as opposed to roundish/oval. 

Two of my 3 look like they could have them at the same time. That will make it a fun time in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood (the community tank). I have a breeder's box all ready to go. The girls just need to get going.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

I read about their bellies squaring off. One of my three definitely has, and the other two may have... I never looked into any of this before, so now I can't rightly remember how their stomachs were shaped prior to this madness, lol. And trying to get them to hold still long enough to try the flashlight trick just isn't going to happen. xD They're constantly all over the place, especially when I'm near (because then they think they're going to get fed).


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## SunnyCydUp (Aug 31, 2014)

So... one of my girls was ready to have her babies last night, was holed up in one of the betta's floating logs - even think she was starting. Then one of the tank mates - a balloon (pot belly) molly invaded her space and started picking on her - eating everything in the log, too. She abandoned it, and hasn't yet had any babies. I even put her in a breeder's box, but she was just too stressed, so put her back in the regular tank.

This molly is such a PITA, I've banished it from the tank, and gave it to one of the neighbors' kids for their tank.

Meanwhile, it looks like one of the other females had hers (as she's skinny again), but there are no signs of any fry. :-(


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Oh no! D: That mean old molly! I hope that doesn't cause any issues with your one girl...

My three are all skinny again, too, but no more fry have popped up in my tank, either. I read that if you don't catch it soon enough, they'll eat them... :c


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## Rosalinds (Feb 15, 2014)

Schmoo said:


> Phillip (my husband named him/her, lol; either after Phillip J. Fry from Futurama or Phillip the nickel from Fairly Oddparents xD)



Oh man, I love the names that your husband thinks up!  I was a big fan of The Admiral, and now Phillip. Really cute and exciting.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Rosalinds said:


> Oh man, I love the names that your husband thinks up!  I was a big fan of The Admiral, and now Phillip. Really cute and exciting.


I'll be sure to tell him! :] And thanks! Phillip has definitely been a learning experience. I admittedly didn't know much about guppies when I bought the Magus Sisters, but having Phillip has made me research. I saw that there was a guppy forum just like this one, and had to resist joining so hard... Between this one and that one, I'd never get anything done! xD I'm on here so much.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

I attempted to sex Phillip the fry last night, and I believe that it's a girl!  I'm very relieved if this is true because that means the fry can eventually be put in with the Magus Sisters, and I won't have to worry about more fry in the future.


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## kevinap2 (Apr 3, 2014)

Maybe, maybe not. Livebearer fry usually appear female for a few months. My platy fry was not able to be sexed until he was about 2.5 months old.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

kevinap2 said:


> Maybe, maybe not. Livebearer fry usually appear female for a few months. My platy fry was not able to be sexed until he was about 2.5 months old.


That's why I said attempted. ^_^ 

The fry's fins seem to be more or less fully developed, and it definitely has an anal fin, as opposed to a gonopodium. Phillip also has not colored up, which I read male fry will do around this age (it's three weeks today ). We'll see, though. I'm not holding my breath, but I am hopeful that this is an early, welcomed indicator because otherwise I'm not sure what to do with Phillip.


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## SunnyCydUp (Aug 31, 2014)

Schmoo, I went to clean the community tank late this morning - lo and behold, saw little critters darting around the surface... BABIES!!! and a lot of them - ~30 or so, born sometime in the past 2 days, from the looks of it. 










Hoping some of the little guys make it past being merely alien-eyed fries.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

OMG, finally!  They're so cute I could pinch their little non-existent cheekies! What are they in with? Looks like they have a nice little hiding place there. :3 I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for them!


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## SunnyCydUp (Aug 31, 2014)

Well one week later, i could only find 2. They were in the regular tank - its pretty dense with plants, provided a lot of hiding places. I've seen a couple darting around the bottom, but have no idea how many are actually left. Eat or be eatrn. I did move the 2 (temp named ben & jerry) into a breeders box. I know theyll be safe there. Feeding them first bites. Little alien eyes not so huge anymore.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

SunnyCydUp said:


> Well one week later, i could only find 2. They were in the regular tank - its pretty dense with plants, provided a lot of hiding places. I've seen a couple darting around the bottom, but have no idea how many are actually left. Eat or be eatrn. I did move the 2 (temp named ben & jerry) into a breeders box. I know theyll be safe there. Feeding them first bites. Little alien eyes not so huge anymore.


First Bites has worked really well for Phillip, but boy does it stink! >__< 

I hope you're able to find more of your babies and reunite them with Ben and Jerry (love those names btw).


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