Guppy Questions

How to tell when a female guppy is pregnant?

Will the mom eat them straight away?

etc?

If your female looks to be getting pretty round..and she has darkened near her anal fin...she is probably with babies.
And yep..she will most likely try and eat them. Since they have soooo many...you should have some survivors though. Get yourself some java moss to float at the top of the tank..something where the babies have a place to hide.
They reproduce every 4-5 weeks.
You also can buy a breeding net for the female..and the fry will fall through to safety. Only thing..if you have others in the tank..they'll eat them too...so best to get some plants.

Hi, good question. It has been my experience with them that a female is pregnant when you can see an enlarged abdomen. Later in the pregnancy, you will be able to see a dark/black spot near the anus which will be the eyes of the offspring. I am not sure of the amount of time it takes before you can see these things.

I do not know if the mom will eat them right away, but any other guppies and fish you may have in the tank most definitely will. If you have a heavily planted tank they have a chance. Stores also sell breeding traps that separate the fry from the mom. Personally I do not like them. The small confined area seems to stress the mom to the point that she will not even eat.

Guppies are a rewarding and exciting fish to keep. I wish you the best of luck with them.

I agree about the breeding traps. The fry of guppies and other live bearing fish seem to have a better survival rate if the aquarium is sparsely populated and planted with lots of floating hornwort. It's an easy plant to grow and is an excellent place for the fry to hide. In fact, they must have a natural tendency to stay at the top of the water. I've noticed that when live bearing tanks get crowed, there are fewer and fewer fry; it must be their version of population control.

ok wel thanks everyone ive learnt alot from that i actually have put 4 female guppies ready to lay in a seperate tank with plants but maybe i should put some more in and have something floating at the top so they can hide i thought they would swim to the bottom when they . . .come out and try hide but from what ive heard they are in danger at the moment.

Thanks everyone

Good Luck and let us know how it goes!