[GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy]

I have a trio of albino red lace snakeskins in a 5.5g tank together, pretty planted. One of the females is giving birth and the other female is eating the fry.

I put the one giving birth (1/2 done already, sadly) into one of those transport containers they hang on the side of the tank at the LFS to put your fish in, except I have it inside the tank. There's no air holes for water exchange.

I filled the top portion of it with a thick weed grass thing and the bottom portion has stem plants... There's a bit of room for her to swim in the bottom part.

IDK how long it'll take her to calm down or resume giving birth... There's one fry in the tank that is hiding really well, the rest darted straight into the substrate and were eaten by the mean female.

How long can I keep her in there? I would use breeder boxes but all of mine disappeared a while ago.

 

[Oceangirl]

I took a tupperware and cut the side off and superglued cheese cloth to the side. Water flow, safe babies. You can also punch holes in the bottom with an awl, I would start adding more plants and moss in the tank. So that the next time the females give birth, they might have a better chance. I saw the video of your tank, I would take a bunch (like 7 large plants) and tie them together in a large ball, or plant them all together in one corner. Making sure to have the corner, floating, and Bunched plants. That way when the female hides in that corner and gives birth. Baby guppies are kind of weak, and they need a lot of cover to recover from birth. I had a trio of black Neon tetras that would hoover at her tail and eat them as they were birthed and chase the female out of the hiding so they could eat the fry. This is not a large tank, she most likely doesn't have enough room to escape and give birth in private. I would move her to another tank the week of her next birth or plant just like I suggested. Then scoop the fry. I will admit it looks ugly, but it will save your fry.

Make sure to mark the calendar she will give birth in 30 days exactly from the date she starts giving fry.

 

[AGUILAR3]

I unexpectedly had to set up a 10g a week ago with a few plants and no substrate, heater, or filter and 4 days later I found 5 fry swimming around the 7 guppies my son brought home. I'm guessing one of the females was already pregnant and gave birth. Im sure a ton were eaten but the few that survived are going about their business without a care in the world.

If you want to keep her in that container, just do daily small water changes.

 

[GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy]

Thanks for the quick replies!

I was able to run and get a breeder box. I found one baby in the tank and I put it in the bottom part of the breeder box, then put the mom above the divider. I think she still have a few more in her. The other female should give birth in a few days...

 

[AGUILAR3]

I took a tupperware and cut the side off and superglued cheese cloth to the side. Water flow, safe babies.

Great idea.

 

[lauraleellbp]

I strongly recommend putting some plants in both with the mother and fry portions of the breeder box. This will reduce stress by giving the fish places to hide as well as probably provide some infusoria for the fry to feed on.

Guppy grass (Najas guadalupensis) would be a great choice, and carries the common name because it's so easy to use for this very purpose.

 

[GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy]

Since I put her in the box, she's had one more... She hasn't had any more for 3 hours. So there's a total of two, but this is her first batch and most got eaten so she probably would have had 8.

How do I know when she is done so I can remove her? Will it stress her too much being in that box?

 

[lauraleellbp]

At this point I'd probably leave her overnight and pull her tomorrow if she hasn't had any more.

Typically the black gravid spot and the belly will shrink pretty noticably.

Sidenote- make sure you feed the fry at least 3 times a day. Fish that small have quick metabolisms.

 

[GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy]

At this point I'd probably leave her overnight and pull her tomorrow if she hasn't had any more.

Typically the black gravid spot and the belly will shrink pretty noticably.

Sidenote- make sure you feed the fry at least 3 times a day. Fish that small have quick metabolisms.

She's albino, harder to tell... It went back from an orangey to a peachy color.

Can I just crush flakes into a powder and feed them, as well as put plants in the box? In my community tank, my guppies breed like rabbits and nothing eats them, not even the puffers. They grow fast and I don't feed them... So IDK how to raise the babies in a box lol.

 

[lauraleellbp]

Crushed flake is probably fine.

Does your box circulate water well with the main tank? You want to make sure that you don't end up with stagnant, polluted water in there.

A few small snails in the box too can help clean up leftover food.

 

[GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy]

She hasn't had any more babies, I think she may be done but not sure. Total of 3 saved.

She's kinda going nuts in the box... Should I move her out before I sleep?

 

[JustJen]

I'd move her out if she hasn't had any more.

In my experience, all the strains of albino guppies are particularly brutal about eating their babies. I don't know if it has something to actually do with the lines or if it's just the fact that the light colored babies are easier for them to see and grab, but even heavily planted tanks haven't managed to save my albino fry. I have to put the mother in a breeder box loaded down with hornwort, and even then, I pull babies just as soon as I see them.

 

[HUNTER]

I got my guppies 3 days ago and I've seen babies. They're hanging at the top catching flake food between the moss, they're quick to get away from other fish.

 

[GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy]

I left her in and woke up to a total of 10 fry this morning! I was satisfied and her stomach looked pretty much flat, so I moved her out. Plus she was trying to eat them...

I guess the albino ones don't exist in the wild since they brutally murder their babies.

 

[AGUILAR3]

If you keep separating the mom/tank mates from the fry, you will have hundreds of juvies within a few months. If you aren't planning on selling Guppies, just let nature take its course and be happy with the 2-5 that survive. Chances are, one of the females will give birth within the next 4 weeks anyways.

A few of our Betta club members only keep male guppy display tanks for that exact same reason.

 

[GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy]

I got one of those breeder net things and put the babies in there, which frees up the breeder box for the other female. Now I just have to catch her with that giant next box in the tank when the start having babies... That won't be easy. -.-

I wanna grab a 2.5g at the dollar per gallon sale and set it up as a fry tank... When fry are born, can I just put them into it without acclimation or whatever? Or would it kill them? I'd set it up now and let it cycle for a month with plants and stuff.

I have a 34 gallon in the works of dry start now. I might either put a trio in there, or use it as a male tank and the 5 gallon as a female tank so I can selectively breed.

 

[AGUILAR3]

Dollar per gallon doesn't apply to under 10g tanks. 10 to 55g only.