Breeding guppy or the propagation is not difficult – not for nothing the guppy is also called «million fish“.
Here you can find out what needs to be considered when breeding / propagating and what typical questions need to be answered in this context
If you have any questions or suggestions, just write them in the comments.
At what age do guppies give birth?
Guppies can have young at the age of 4 to 6 weeks.
How guppies mate
The male inserts his gonopodium into the female’s genital opening. The male releases a packet of sperm. The female may store sperm packets as a reserve for times when no male is available.
The female carries eggs in her abdomen. There the eggs are fertilized. There is no direct connection between the mother and the young. When the young hatch, the egg shell bursts open.
Only a few livebearers have a direct connection between mother and young.
Comparison of spawning boxes / breeding tanks for guppies:
Fluval Hang On 2 liters
Anchoring at the aquarium?
suction cups and air cushions
suction cups and air cushions
Special feature:
None / Timeless classic
Steady water flow / Large capacity
Special feature:
None / Timeless classic
Recommendation:
Anchoring at the aquarium?
suction cups and air cushions
Special feature:
Steady water flow / Large capacity
Anchoring at the aquarium?
suction cups and air cushions
Recognize pregnant females?
Pregnant females are slightly fuller than non-pregnant females. Most importantly, the pregnancy patch is clearly dark and visible.
The pregnancy patch
The gestation patch is roughly above the anal fin. It is visible from about the third to fourth week. When a female is pregnant, the spot is usually clearly visible. The spot is larger in older females.
In a community tank, guppy females are almost always pregnant from about 4 weeks of age. The stain is therefore practically always visible. The spot is only absent in very young females. Shortly after a litter, the spot is often paler, or small and light-colored. If there are no eggs, the spot is almost transparent.
In some females, small, clear eggs can be seen forming at the site of the spot in the back of the abdomen. After about 10 days, a dark spot can be seen in the eggs, which gets bigger and bigger until there are nothing but dark eggs in the abdomen. The stain also becomes darker and more visible.
How long does a female carry?
The gestation period is three to eight weeks. Most of the time, a fairly regular rhythm sets in for each female. A female always gives birth after 25 days, another after 40 days. On average, a gestation period of four weeks can be assumed.
There are females who have already given birth to their own young at a size of 2 centimetres.
When is the birth imminent?
Shortly before giving birth, some females separate themselves from the other guppies. They hide e.g. B. behind plants or decorative objects. The first young will come within the next few days. If the female is to be placed in a separate spawning tank, now is the time.
Other females show no behavioral changes at all. They even eat and throw at the same time.
Directly before birth, the female’s belly no longer appears round but somewhat angular. The females don’t look quite as thick anymore. A white bulge forms around the anus.
Females with a square belly just before birth:
It is written again and again that shortly before birth the eyes of the boys can be seen through the abdominal wall. When eyes appear at the end of a female’s belly, she usually spawns within 1 to 3 days.
It is also reported that the pregnancy patch sometimes becomes lighter shortly before birth.
Female showing a black spot. Possibly eyes of a boy:
How long does the birth take?
The birth can last from half an hour to several hours. After one day, the birth should definitely be over.
How many young are there in a litter?
In a community tank, about 20 to 30 young are born in a litter. Under good conditions, strong females can also wean 120 to 150 young in one litter.
Young fish after birth?
When caught, the boys are slightly injured.
It is also better to keep the young in the aquarium so that too many young do not get through.
Otherwise, the pool will quickly become overcrowded. With dense plant growth, a few young animals always come through.
If as many young as possible are to think, they can be carefully caught out with a net or carefully sucked out of the tank with a hose.
Tips for targeted breeding
Basically, guppies are bred in exactly the same way as other livebearing toothcarps are bred.
If it is unknown which male fertilized the female, females with a gestation mark are no longer suitable for breeding.
For targeted breeding, males and females must be separated after about 4 to 6 weeks as soon as the