Pregnant Guppy Fish: A Complete Detailed Care Guide (2022)

Pregnant guppy fish is a common phrase that can be heard in many middle-school science classes, especially during the female's pregnancy.

Guppies are usually not identified as pregnant until they give birth because there are no noticeable signs of their pregnancy. In this article, we will talk about what happens to a guppy when pregnancy occurs, how to identify a pregnant guppy, and what I did when my female guppies gave birth.

Pregnant Guppy Fish Guide

So here, you will learn about the gestation period of guppy fish, and you will also see how you can find if your guppy is pregnant and will see how to take care of guppy fish.

How To Find If Guppy Is Pregnant?

First of all, a female guppy can mate with a male at almost any point in time after she turns three months old. Guppies are live-bearing fish which means that the young develop inside the female's body and are born alive rather than laying eggs like most other fish.

The gestation period for guppies is typically around two to three weeks, with the average number of young being ten. Most female guppies only give birth twice in their lifetime because they produce so many babies that not all can survive in the wild.

Another important fact is that male guppies have what is called a gonopodium which they use to fertilize the female. This organ is usually not visible until a guppy reaches maturity and it only becomes fully developed during the mating season.

• One of the easiest ways to find a pregnant guppy fish is is by looking at her abdomen. The female's abdomen will be noticeably swollen, and it protrudes out more than the rest of her body. There are usually no other noticeable signs of pregnancy, such as changes in behavior, so it usually only makes sense to look for the belly when you think a fish might be pregnant.
• Another way to tell is by looking at the female's genital papilla, which is located underneath the anal fin of the fish. These are usually white or pink in color when they are not being used for mating, but once they are swollen with eggs, they look almost transparent in color.
• The third way to tell is by looking at the female's ovipositor, which means egg stick in Latin. This organ has small one-millimeter eggs that are passed on to the male guppy for fertilization, and it also gets bigger when a female is pregnant.
• A fourth way to tell is by looking at the female's behavior. Most guppies get very aggressive during mating season, so if you notice them acting this way more than usual, it might be a sign of pregnancy.

Things To Do After Guppy Gets Pregnant

The most important thing to do when you find out that one of your female guppies is pregnant is to take care of them! Every two weeks, you need to change at least twenty percent of the water in the tank because their pee, poo, and uneaten food can contaminate it.

It would be best if you also stopped feeding them for a week before they give birth so that they do not accidentally eat their young.

Also Read: Buy 9 Best Types of Freshwater Aquarium Catfish

Things To Do & Keep In Mind For Young Guppies

One thing that you want to make sure of is that the female has a hiding spot because she does not like it when other fish are near her when she gives birth.

The best way to make them feel safe is by picking live plants like java moss or anubias and tying them to rocks or driftwood with a fishing line.

Another thing you want to make sure of is that the female has a place where she can feed her young.

The best way for this to happen is by making sure an area of the tank has lots of plants and hiding spots. When she feels safe, she will be able to go into the open space and feed her young without being threatened by other fish.

When a female guppy gives birth, it typically happens at night or in the early morning hours. They first start out as a dark spot on either side of the mother's abdomen because they are inside their body before the birth occurs.

When they fully emerge from her body, it might look as if there is a black string hanging out of either side of their abdomen.

The length of time it takes for a female to give birth can range from fifteen to thirty minutes, and she will only stop giving birth when all of her young have been born.

The female usually eats the afterbirth so that there is no chance for infection. Some female guppies also eat their young even though it is very rare because they might be hungry and will not be able to find any food besides what is in their small home.

This problem can be avoided by making sure the tank is properly stocked with food and that there are several hiding spots for a mother to feed her young in peace.

If you have a large number of guppies, it can be beneficial to have a divider in your tank. This way, once the female has given birth, she will only have to worry about taking care of her young and not the entire tank.

Also Read: Best Ruby Tetra Guide: Explained in Details

The Size Of The Young Guppy At Birth

Most of the young that a female gives birth to are about two centimeters in length. The oldest of the newborns are only able to survive for up to about three days because there is not enough room in their mother's body for them all to feed, which leaves the youngest not being well nourished.

Some female guppies might have more young than what they can handle, so it is important for owners to take care of the other young and make sure their mother is well fed (Pets, 2013).

How Many Guppy Babies Can You Expect?

The number of babies can vary depending on the size of the tank, the amount of food they are given, and how well they are taken care of.

You might have anywhere from five to thirty guppies in a fish tank, so it is important to have more than one female if you want to have some extra babies.

Caring Of Young Guppies

When the mother gives birth, she needs to be in a calm environment, or else it might stress her out. You should also keep in mind that when she feels threatened by another fish, one of her instincts is to take all of the young with her, so it is best if they are kept in a separate tank until the mother feels safe again.

In about three weeks, you will start to notice that some of the guppies look almost transparent from being see-through. This means that they have either died or have been eaten by their mother, and she is shedding off their skin, so she does not get an infection.

Once all of the young have died or been eaten, it is important to keep the mother's environment very clean. By keeping her home looking good, she will be less stressed and will stay healthy longer.

Water Quality

Having good water quality is very important for the guppies. It will help reduce stress which will lead to healthier fish, so it is best always to keep the water quality high. The pH level of the water should always remain between 6.8 and 7.5.

Also Read: The Best 19 Beautiful Nano Fish For Small Tanks

Guppy Gestation Period

The gestation period for guppies is typically about twenty-two to twenty-eight days. After this time, the female will give birth to anywhere from ten to sixty young guppies. They are born alive and not from eggs.

What If Gestation Period of Guppy Is Too Long?

If the gestation period for guppies is too long, then there are many complications that can occur. One of them is that the mother might become very weak and will not be able to feed herself.

Another problem that can occur if a gestation period lasts too long is the death of the baby guppies. This can happen because there is not enough room for all of them to feed, or they are too sick to stay alive.

What If Gestation Period of Guppy Is Too Short?

When the gestation period for guppies is very short, there can also be many complications. A mother might give birth too soon and not have enough time to make her offspring strong enough to survive. If they are not strong enough at birth, then they will most likely die within the first few days of their lives.

Guppy Gestation Period Change

There are several reasons why the gestation period for guppies might change. The first reason is that it usually depends on the size of the mother's stomach to hold young, so if she gets bigger, it can cause her to have more or less young than what other female guppies typically have.

Another reason that this might happen is if there are more male guppies in the tank than what is recommended. The female will have more young because they are not able to get pregnant again so soon after giving birth which also makes it, so all of their young are born at once

If you have a mother guppy that has taken care of her young for a long time, she might have a change in health that causes her to have more or less young than what is common.

This is usually because the mother's body is not as healthy as it once was, which will cause her to give birth sooner rather than later.

If you notice any of these changes in your guppy's pregnancy, you should make an appointment with a vet who is experienced in treating fish.

Since most vets do not have the knowledge of how to take care of a guppy properly, they can do more harm than good, so it would be best to ask around and see if there is a local pet store that might know someone that specializes in this field.

Lifespan Of Male and Female Guppies

Here you will see Guppy Lifespan and the reason for guppy long and short lifespan.

Guppy Lifespan

The lifespan for a guppy is typically about two to four years. A female usually lives longer than a male because she does not have to fight with the other males.

Short Lifespan Reason of Female Guppy

Some of the causes of a short lifespan for a female guppy include fighting with other females and being picked on by male guppies.

This can lead to serious injuries that could eventually kill her. In this case, it is best to either separate the fish or make sure that there are no males in the tank because this will reduce stress on the female.

Long Lifespan Reason of Male Guppy

While the male guppy usually lives for about two to four years, one of the reasons why he can live longer is that his lifespan is not cut short by fighting. Another reason is that he does not have to take care of any babies as females do, so he is not stressed out as much.

The male guppy does not have to eat as much as the female because of their different lifestyles. It is best for him to eat a diet that is higher in protein and fat but lower in fiber.

This helps with his growth and gives him more energy. He also needs to eat a lot of bloodworms and brine shrimp because they are high in protein.

Conclusion

The guppy fish can come in many different shapes, colors, and sizes. They are a small type of tropical fish that is very popular in households today because they are so easy to take care of.

The gestation period for them is about twenty-five days long, but it can vary depending on the tank conditions. It is best to keep this in mind and use it as a reference for the future.

Guppies are unique and have a lot of different qualities about them that make them some of the best fish to own. If you know how to take care of them properly, then they can live for up to three years which is a long time compared to most other kinds of fish.

The biggest part of owning guppies is knowing when to take them to a vet if they are not doing well. In this article, we talked about the gestation period for guppies, the possible reasons that it might change, what can happen if it is too long or short, and how to care for your pregnant guppy fish in general.