Guppy breeding questions

[Daniel Morrow]

My guppies have litters seemingly randomly between 2-4 months and they still
produce enough babies for me to take in a load of guppies to the lfs to
prevent overloading the bioload of the tanks. Despite the lag time between
the litters it is superior to when I was a kid as I couldn't get my guppy
pair to breed at all and to my knowledge they never bred in my captivity
here. I think the biggest reason for that is temperature. I had kept those
previous guppies at a temperature of about 68 degrees fahrenheit because I
mistakenly thought my hornwort needed cool temperatures in order to grow
fast. Remember that was a long time ago when I was a kid. Now I keep all of
my guppies at a temperature of about 80 degrees fahrenheit and I have had
awesome reproduction. I guess sometimes you just gotta wait. You could try
putting the female guppy in a hospital type tank with a breeding trap when
you think she is due and the immersion into different water more often than
not triggers the female into giving birth. Guppies are wonderful. That's
great you got guppies that are of good breeding, I myself started out with
plain fancy guppies from a chain store over a year ago and now have a
variety of types of fancy guppies which I am very happy with. Enjoy your
fish.... Later!
"Elaine T" > wrote in message
.. .
> I've never actually TRIED to breed guppies before - it has always just
> happened in community tanks. This time I bought a pair of bicolor red
> delta show guppies at my local aquarium society from a well-respected
> breeder intending to breed thim.
>
> I put them in a 10 gallon tank with a big clump of java moss, floating
> and planted watersprite, rotala, baby's tears, and various other plant
> clippings. Bright light and silicates from the Flourish substrate led
> to a bit of algae so I added a cleanup crew of small critters that I
> don't think eat baby guppies.
>
> Current inhabitants:
> 3 otos (The breeder says they're fine)
> 1 mystery snail
> 1 red ramshorn snail
> Caridina shrimp - 1 Amano and 5 bumblebees
> 2 five week-old guppies from the fist litter. (siblings are elsewhere)
>
> Water quality is fine. 0/0/4 ammonia/nitrite/nitrate (from tapwater), pH
> 7.6, 250 ppm hardness. Weekly 50% water change. Temps are 78F at
> night, up to 82F during the day. Not much I can do to help that since I
> don't have A/C. I've propped the tank lid open to allow some
> evaporation and I'm hoping the mystery snail and shrimp don't take a
> stroll. I have a sponge over the filter intake to protect the babies.
>
> The female was virgin and 29 days after I bought the pair, the first
> batch of babies was born. I started looking for the next batch 3 weeks
> later and there are still no babies after five weeks. The female looked
> ready to give birth Thursday and is smaller today, but her gravid spot
> is still very dark and no babies anywhere.
>
> So I have two questions. First, is there anything living in my tank
> that might have eaten an entire litter of baby guppies? Second, is it
> possible that I have a slow female who gives birth less often? I've
> never seen a well-fed guppy go longer than a month between litters, but
> stranger things have happened.
>
> --
> Elaine T __
> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
> rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Elaine T]

I've never actually TRIED to breed guppies before - it has always just
happened in community tanks. This time I bought a pair of bicolor red
delta show guppies at my local aquarium society from a well-respected
breeder intending to breed thim.

I put them in a 10 gallon tank with a big clump of java moss, floating
and planted watersprite, rotala, baby's tears, and various other plant
clippings. Bright light and silicates from the Flourish substrate led
to a bit of algae so I added a cleanup crew of small critters that I
don't think eat baby guppies.

Current inhabitants:
3 otos (The breeder says they're fine)
1 mystery snail
1 red ramshorn snail
Caridina shrimp - 1 Amano and 5 bumblebees
2 five week-old guppies from the fist litter. (siblings are elsewhere)

Water quality is fine. 0/0/4 ammonia/nitrite/nitrate (from tapwater), pH
7.6, 250 ppm hardness. Weekly 50% water change. Temps are 78F at
night, up to 82F during the day. Not much I can do to help that since I
don't have A/C. I've propped the tank lid open to allow some
evaporation and I'm hoping the mystery snail and shrimp don't take a
stroll. I have a sponge over the filter intake to protect the babies.

The female was virgin and 29 days after I bought the pair, the first
batch of babies was born. I started looking for the next batch 3 weeks
later and there are still no babies after five weeks. The female looked
ready to give birth Thursday and is smaller today, but her gravid spot
is still very dark and no babies anywhere.

So I have two questions. First, is there anything living in my tank
that might have eaten an entire litter of baby guppies? Second, is it
possible that I have a slow female who gives birth less often? I've
never seen a well-fed guppy go longer than a month between litters, but
stranger things have happened.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[NetMax]

"Daniel Morrow" > wrote in message
...
> My guppies have litters seemingly randomly between 2-4 months and they
> still
> produce enough babies for me to take in a load of guppies to the lfs to
> prevent overloading the bioload of the tanks. Despite the lag time
> between
> the litters it is superior to when I was a kid as I couldn't get my
> guppy
> pair to breed at all and to my knowledge they never bred in my
> captivity
> here. I think the biggest reason for that is temperature. I had kept
> those
> previous guppies at a temperature of about 68 degrees fahrenheit
> because I
> mistakenly thought my hornwort needed cool temperatures in order to
> grow
> fast. Remember that was a long time ago when I was a kid. Now I keep
> all of
> my guppies at a temperature of about 80 degrees fahrenheit and I have
> had
> awesome reproduction. I guess sometimes you just gotta wait. You could
> try
> putting the female guppy in a hospital type tank with a breeding trap
> when
> you think she is due and the immersion into different water more often
> than
> not triggers the female into giving birth. Guppies are wonderful.
> That's
> great you got guppies that are of good breeding, I myself started out
> with
> plain fancy guppies from a chain store over a year ago and now have a
> variety of types of fancy guppies which I am very happy with. Enjoy
> your
> fish.... Later!
> "Elaine T" > wrote in message
> .. .
>> I've never actually TRIED to breed guppies before - it has always just
>> happened in community tanks. This time I bought a pair of bicolor red
>> delta show guppies at my local aquarium society from a well-respected
>> breeder intending to breed thim.
>>
>> I put them in a 10 gallon tank with a big clump of java moss, floating
>> and planted watersprite, rotala, baby's tears, and various other plant
>> clippings. Bright light and silicates from the Flourish substrate led
>> to a bit of algae so I added a cleanup crew of small critters that I
>> don't think eat baby guppies.
>>
>> Current inhabitants:
>> 3 otos (The breeder says they're fine)
>> 1 mystery snail
>> 1 red ramshorn snail
>> Caridina shrimp - 1 Amano and 5 bumblebees
>> 2 five week-old guppies from the fist litter. (siblings are elsewhere)
>>
>> Water quality is fine. 0/0/4 ammonia/nitrite/nitrate (from tapwater),
>> pH
>> 7.6, 250 ppm hardness. Weekly 50% water change. Temps are 78F at
>> night, up to 82F during the day. Not much I can do to help that since
>> I
>> don't have A/C. I've propped the tank lid open to allow some
>> evaporation and I'm hoping the mystery snail and shrimp don't take a
>> stroll. I have a sponge over the filter intake to protect the babies.
>>
>> The female was virgin and 29 days after I bought the pair, the first
>> batch of babies was born. I started looking for the next batch 3
>> weeks
>> later and there are still no babies after five weeks. The female
>> looked
>> ready to give birth Thursday and is smaller today, but her gravid spot
>> is still very dark and no babies anywhere.
>>
>> So I have two questions. First, is there anything living in my tank
>> that might have eaten an entire litter of baby guppies? Second, is it
>> possible that I have a slow female who gives birth less often? I've
>> never seen a well-fed guppy go longer than a month between litters,
>> but
>> stranger things have happened.
>>
>> --
>> Elaine T __
>> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
>> rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com


Temperature is good (gestation period is actually shorter), no predators
(fry are typically born near the surface in plants and I think the
newborn are not heavier than water, so the bottom dwellers wouldn't even
see them). The problem (if you could call it that) is that you have only
one male (probably smaller and slower than the female), so the
probability of insemination is much smaller. These females are used to
outrunning more than one suitor at a time, so your singleton better be
working hard. On the other hand, the limiting size of the aquarium can
give the males an advantage.

If you are keen for it, drop the female in a breeding trap. For Guppies
I use a multi-chamber model from Penn Plax which is connected to an air
pump. It pulls water out from under the female, and draws the fry into a
separate chamber floating on the side. If you are patient, then let them
be (in the tank) and allow for skipped months and some predation.
Personally, I use the breeding trap for the first litter or two, to
protect my investment ;~).
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Scott]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
...
> "Daniel Morrow" > wrote in message
> ...
>> My guppies have litters seemingly randomly between 2-4 months and they
>> still
>> produce enough babies for me to take in a load of guppies to the lfs to
>> prevent overloading the bioload of the tanks. Despite the lag time
>> between
>> the litters it is superior to when I was a kid as I couldn't get my guppy
>> pair to breed at all and to my knowledge they never bred in my captivity
>> here. I think the biggest reason for that is temperature. I had kept
>> those
>> previous guppies at a temperature of about 68 degrees fahrenheit because
>> I
>> mistakenly thought my hornwort needed cool temperatures in order to grow
>> fast. Remember that was a long time ago when I was a kid. Now I keep all
>> of
>> my guppies at a temperature of about 80 degrees fahrenheit and I have had
>> awesome reproduction. I guess sometimes you just gotta wait. You could
>> try
>> putting the female guppy in a hospital type tank with a breeding trap
>> when
>> you think she is due and the immersion into different water more often
>> than
>> not triggers the female into giving birth. Guppies are wonderful. That's
>> great you got guppies that are of good breeding, I myself started out
>> with
>> plain fancy guppies from a chain store over a year ago and now have a
>> variety of types of fancy guppies which I am very happy with. Enjoy your
>> fish.... Later!
>> "Elaine T" > wrote in message
>> .. .
>>> I've never actually TRIED to breed guppies before - it has always just
>>> happened in community tanks. This time I bought a pair of bicolor red
>>> delta show guppies at my local aquarium society from a well-respected
>>> breeder intending to breed thim.
>>>
>>> I put them in a 10 gallon tank with a big clump of java moss, floating
>>> and planted watersprite, rotala, baby's tears, and various other plant
>>> clippings. Bright light and silicates from the Flourish substrate led
>>> to a bit of algae so I added a cleanup crew of small critters that I
>>> don't think eat baby guppies.
>>>
>>> Current inhabitants:
>>> 3 otos (The breeder says they're fine)
>>> 1 mystery snail
>>> 1 red ramshorn snail
>>> Caridina shrimp - 1 Amano and 5 bumblebees
>>> 2 five week-old guppies from the fist litter. (siblings are elsewhere)
>>>
>>> Water quality is fine. 0/0/4 ammonia/nitrite/nitrate (from tapwater), pH
>>> 7.6, 250 ppm hardness. Weekly 50% water change. Temps are 78F at
>>> night, up to 82F during the day. Not much I can do to help that since I
>>> don't have A/C. I've propped the tank lid open to allow some
>>> evaporation and I'm hoping the mystery snail and shrimp don't take a
>>> stroll. I have a sponge over the filter intake to protect the babies.
>>>
>>> The female was virgin and 29 days after I bought the pair, the first
>>> batch of babies was born. I started looking for the next batch 3 weeks
>>> later and there are still no babies after five weeks. The female looked
>>> ready to give birth Thursday and is smaller today, but her gravid spot
>>> is still very dark and no babies anywhere.
>>>
>>> So I have two questions. First, is there anything living in my tank
>>> that might have eaten an entire litter of baby guppies? Second, is it
>>> possible that I have a slow female who gives birth less often? I've
>>> never seen a well-fed guppy go longer than a month between litters, but
>>> stranger things have happened.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Elaine T __
>>> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
>>> rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com
>
>
> Temperature is good (gestation period is actually shorter), no predators
> (fry are typically born near the surface in plants and I think the newborn
> are not heavier than water, so the bottom dwellers wouldn't even see
> them). The problem (if you could call it that) is that you have only one
> male (probably smaller and slower than the female), so the probability of
> insemination is much smaller. These females are used to outrunning more
> than one suitor at a time, so your singleton better be working hard. On
> the other hand, the limiting size of the aquarium can give the males an
> advantage.
>
> If you are keen for it, drop the female in a breeding trap. For Guppies I
> use a multi-chamber model from Penn Plax which is connected to an air
> pump. It pulls water out from under the female, and draws the fry into a
> separate chamber floating on the side. If you are patient, then let them
> be (in the tank) and allow for skipped months and some predation.
> Personally, I use the breeding trap for the first litter or two, to
> protect my investment ;~).
> --
> www.NetMax.tk
>

In addition, just because there is a male and a female - it doesn't mean
that they are going to reproduce. You may need to try a different male,
although with prolific breeders you would not expect this to be a problem.
Obviously. females choose mates on their own species criteria in nature -
why would it not happen in your fish tank?

Another thing that I noted in a recent article I read in Tropical Fish
Hobbyist about breeding scatterers - and I assume the same would apply to
live bearers - is that a CHANGE in water chemistry can be significant in
starting the breeding process.

I don't know much about it, but the article I read had a lot of interesting
info and may help. (Tropical Fish Hobbyist, May 2005)

---scott

[Elaine T]

Scott wrote:
> "NetMax" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>"Daniel Morrow" > wrote in message
...
>>
>>>My guppies have litters seemingly randomly between 2-4 months and they
>>>still
>>>produce enough babies for me to take in a load of guppies to the lfs to
>>>prevent overloading the bioload of the tanks. Despite the lag time
>>>between
>>>the litters it is superior to when I was a kid as I couldn't get my guppy
>>>pair to breed at all and to my knowledge they never bred in my captivity
>>>here. I think the biggest reason for that is temperature. I had kept
>>>those
>>>previous guppies at a temperature of about 68 degrees fahrenheit because
>>>I
>>>mistakenly thought my hornwort needed cool temperatures in order to grow
>>>fast. Remember that was a long time ago when I was a kid. Now I keep all
>>>of
>>>my guppies at a temperature of about 80 degrees fahrenheit and I have had
>>>awesome reproduction. I guess sometimes you just gotta wait. You could
>>>try
>>>putting the female guppy in a hospital type tank with a breeding trap
>>>when
>>>you think she is due and the immersion into different water more often
>>>than
>>>not triggers the female into giving birth. Guppies are wonderful. That's
>>>great you got guppies that are of good breeding, I myself started out
>>>with
>>>plain fancy guppies from a chain store over a year ago and now have a
>>>variety of types of fancy guppies which I am very happy with. Enjoy your
>>>fish.... Later!
>>>"Elaine T" > wrote in message
.. .
>>>
>>>>I've never actually TRIED to breed guppies before - it has always just
>>>>happened in community tanks. This time I bought a pair of bicolor red
>>>>delta show guppies at my local aquarium society from a well-respected
>>>>breeder intending to breed thim.
>>>>
>>>>I put them in a 10 gallon tank with a big clump of java moss, floating
>>>>and planted watersprite, rotala, baby's tears, and various other plant
>>>>clippings. Bright light and silicates from the Flourish substrate led
>>>>to a bit of algae so I added a cleanup crew of small critters that I
>>>>don't think eat baby guppies.
>>>>
>>>>Current inhabitants:
>>>>3 otos (The breeder says they're fine)
>>>>1 mystery snail
>>>>1 red ramshorn snail
>>>>Caridina shrimp - 1 Amano and 5 bumblebees
>>>>2 five week-old guppies from the fist litter. (siblings are elsewhere)
>>>>
>>>>Water quality is fine. 0/0/4 ammonia/nitrite/nitrate (from tapwater), pH
>>>>7.6, 250 ppm hardness. Weekly 50% water change. Temps are 78F at
>>>>night, up to 82F during the day. Not much I can do to help that since I
>>>>don't have A/C. I've propped the tank lid open to allow some
>>>>evaporation and I'm hoping the mystery snail and shrimp don't take a
>>>>stroll. I have a sponge over the filter intake to protect the babies.
>>>>
>>>>The female was virgin and 29 days after I bought the pair, the first
>>>>batch of babies was born. I started looking for the next batch 3 weeks
>>>>later and there are still no babies after five weeks. The female looked
>>>>ready to give birth Thursday and is smaller today, but her gravid spot
>>>>is still very dark and no babies anywhere.
>>>>
>>>>So I have two questions. First, is there anything living in my tank
>>>>that might have eaten an entire litter of baby guppies? Second, is it
>>>>possible that I have a slow female who gives birth less often? I've
>>>>never seen a well-fed guppy go longer than a month between litters, but
>>>>stranger things have happened.
>>>>
>>>>--
>>>>Elaine T __
>>>>http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
>>>>rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com
>>
>>
>>Temperature is good (gestation period is actually shorter), no predators
>>(fry are typically born near the surface in plants and I think the newborn
>>are not heavier than water, so the bottom dwellers wouldn't even see
>>them). The problem (if you could call it that) is that you have only one
>>male (probably smaller and slower than the female), so the probability of
>>insemination is much smaller. These females are used to outrunning more
>>than one suitor at a time, so your singleton better be working hard. On
>>the other hand, the limiting size of the aquarium can give the males an
>>advantage.
>>
>>If you are keen for it, drop the female in a breeding trap. For Guppies I
>>use a multi-chamber model from Penn Plax which is connected to an air
>>pump. It pulls water out from under the female, and draws the fry into a
>>separate chamber floating on the side. If you are patient, then let them
>>be (in the tank) and allow for skipped months and some predation.
>>Personally, I use the breeding trap for the first litter or two, to
>>protect my investment ;~).
>>--
>>www.NetMax.tk
>>
>
>
> In addition, just because there is a male and a female - it doesn't mean
> that they are going to reproduce. You may need to try a different male,
> although with prolific breeders you would not expect this to be a problem.
> Obviously. females choose mates on their own species criteria in nature -
> why would it not happen in your fish tank?
>
> Another thing that I noted in a recent article I read in Tropical Fish
> Hobbyist about breeding scatterers - and I assume the same would apply to
> live bearers - is that a CHANGE in water chemistry can be significant in
> starting the breeding process.
>
> I don't know much about it, but the article I read had a lot of interesting
> info and may help. (Tropical Fish Hobbyist, May 2005)
>
> ---scott
>
>
Thanks for all the suggestions.

I think I'll use the breeding trap next time the female looks ready to
pop to be sure I get some more gold fry - the pair is recessive gold.
I've always used a cheap net and some watersprite for guppies, but I'll
look into the Penn Plax gadget.

As for water chemistry changes, I've seen stress cause livebearers to
give birth (sometimes prematurely) but I have't heard of chemistry
changes as a true trigger for Poecilidae the way it is for egg
scatterers. Live bearers are quite sensitive to water chemistry and I
wouldn't want to subject my only pair to that sort of experimenting.

Speaking of food, I'm feeding a good mix of food, but I'm going to try
feeding a larger proportion of bloodworms and blackworms and less
prepared flakes and pellets. I may hunt down some beef heart as well.
According to an article on the IFGA site, the extra protein is supposed
to make the females drop bigger litters.
http://www.ifga.org/articles/feeding6.htm

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[NetMax]

"Elaine T" > wrote in message
om...
> Scott wrote:
>> "NetMax" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>>"Daniel Morrow" > wrote in message
...
<snip>
>> Another thing that I noted in a recent article I read in Tropical Fish
>> Hobbyist about breeding scatterers - and I assume the same would apply to
>> live bearers - is that a CHANGE in water chemistry can be significant in
>> starting the breeding process.
>>
>> I don't know much about it, but the article I read had a lot of
>> interesting info and may help. (Tropical Fish Hobbyist, May 2005)
>>
>> ---scott
> Thanks for all the suggestions.
>
> I think I'll use the breeding trap next time the female looks ready to pop
> to be sure I get some more gold fry - the pair is recessive gold. I've
> always used a cheap net and some watersprite for guppies, but I'll look
> into the Penn Plax gadget.
>
> As for water chemistry changes, I've seen stress cause livebearers to give
> birth (sometimes prematurely) but I have't heard of chemistry changes as a
> true trigger for Poecilidae the way it is for egg scatterers. Live
> bearers are quite sensitive to water chemistry and I wouldn't want to
> subject my only pair to that sort of experimenting.
>
> Speaking of food, I'm feeding a good mix of food, but I'm going to try
> feeding a larger proportion of bloodworms and blackworms and less prepared
> flakes and pellets. I may hunt down some beef heart as well. According to
> an article on the IFGA site, the extra protein is supposed to make the
> females drop bigger litters. http://www.ifga.org/articles/feeding6.htm
>
> --
> Elaine T __
> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

I don't know what IFGA might have to say about it, but using water chemistry
changes to induce spawning is *not* something I would be too enthusiastic
about trying with livebearers. The fundamental difference is the
vulnerability of an egg vs a newborn fry. Other than a couple of degrees in
temperature change, or dropping the hardness by a few ppm, anything more
would (I think) begin to increase infant mortality significantly. Compared
to their parents, all fry are *extremely* sensitive to water parameter
changes, and eggs are not. jmho
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Scott]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
...
> "Elaine T" > wrote in message
> om...
>> Scott wrote:
>>> "NetMax" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>
>>>>"Daniel Morrow" > wrote in message
...
> <snip>
>>> Another thing that I noted in a recent article I read in Tropical Fish
>>> Hobbyist about breeding scatterers - and I assume the same would apply
>>> to live bearers - is that a CHANGE in water chemistry can be significant
>>> in starting the breeding process.
>>>
>>> I don't know much about it, but the article I read had a lot of
>>> interesting info and may help. (Tropical Fish Hobbyist, May 2005)
>>>
>>> ---scott
>> Thanks for all the suggestions.
>>
>> I think I'll use the breeding trap next time the female looks ready to
>> pop to be sure I get some more gold fry - the pair is recessive gold.
>> I've always used a cheap net and some watersprite for guppies, but I'll
>> look into the Penn Plax gadget.
>>
>> As for water chemistry changes, I've seen stress cause livebearers to
>> give birth (sometimes prematurely) but I have't heard of chemistry
>> changes as a true trigger for Poecilidae the way it is for egg
>> scatterers. Live bearers are quite sensitive to water chemistry and I
>> wouldn't want to subject my only pair to that sort of experimenting.
>>
>> Speaking of food, I'm feeding a good mix of food, but I'm going to try
>> feeding a larger proportion of bloodworms and blackworms and less
>> prepared flakes and pellets. I may hunt down some beef heart as well.
>> According to an article on the IFGA site, the extra protein is supposed
>> to make the females drop bigger litters.
>> http://www.ifga.org/articles/feeding6.htm
>>
>> --
>> Elaine T __
>> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
>
> I don't know what IFGA might have to say about it, but using water
> chemistry changes to induce spawning is *not* something I would be too
> enthusiastic about trying with livebearers. The fundamental difference is
> the vulnerability of an egg vs a newborn fry. Other than a couple of
> degrees in temperature change, or dropping the hardness by a few ppm,
> anything more would (I think) begin to increase infant mortality
> significantly. Compared to their parents, all fry are *extremely*
> sensitive to water parameter changes, and eggs are not. jmho
> --
> www.NetMax.tk
>

LOL, like I said, it is not something that I know a lot about - it was just
an article I happened to notice a couple of weeks ago. I have never had any
fish breeding in my tanks - livebearers or otherwise.

---scott

[NetMax]

"Scott" <smaxell1{at}hotmail.com> wrote in message
...
>
> "NetMax" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "Elaine T" > wrote in message
>> om...
>>> Scott wrote:
>>>> "NetMax" > wrote in message
>>>> ...
>>>>
>>>>>"Daniel Morrow" > wrote in message
...
>> <snip>
>>>> Another thing that I noted in a recent article I read in Tropical
>>>> Fish Hobbyist about breeding scatterers - and I assume the same
>>>> would apply to live bearers - is that a CHANGE in water chemistry
>>>> can be significant in starting the breeding process.
>>>>
>>>> I don't know much about it, but the article I read had a lot of
>>>> interesting info and may help. (Tropical Fish Hobbyist, May 2005)
>>>>
>>>> ---scott
>>> Thanks for all the suggestions.
>>>
>>> I think I'll use the breeding trap next time the female looks ready
>>> to pop to be sure I get some more gold fry - the pair is recessive
>>> gold. I've always used a cheap net and some watersprite for guppies,
>>> but I'll look into the Penn Plax gadget.
>>>
>>> As for water chemistry changes, I've seen stress cause livebearers to
>>> give birth (sometimes prematurely) but I have't heard of chemistry
>>> changes as a true trigger for Poecilidae the way it is for egg
>>> scatterers. Live bearers are quite sensitive to water chemistry and
>>> I wouldn't want to subject my only pair to that sort of
>>> experimenting.
>>>
>>> Speaking of food, I'm feeding a good mix of food, but I'm going to
>>> try feeding a larger proportion of bloodworms and blackworms and less
>>> prepared flakes and pellets. I may hunt down some beef heart as
>>> well. According to an article on the IFGA site, the extra protein is
>>> supposed to make the females drop bigger litters.
>>> http://www.ifga.org/articles/feeding6.htm
>>>
>>> --
>>> Elaine T __
>>> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
>>
>> I don't know what IFGA might have to say about it, but using water
>> chemistry changes to induce spawning is *not* something I would be too
>> enthusiastic about trying with livebearers. The fundamental
>> difference is the vulnerability of an egg vs a newborn fry. Other
>> than a couple of degrees in temperature change, or dropping the
>> hardness by a few ppm, anything more would (I think) begin to increase
>> infant mortality significantly. Compared to their parents, all fry
>> are *extremely* sensitive to water parameter changes, and eggs are
>> not. jmho
>> --
>> www.NetMax.tk
>>
>
> LOL, like I said, it is not something that I know a lot about - it was
> just an article I happened to notice a couple of weeks ago. I have
> never had any fish breeding in my tanks - livebearers or otherwise.
>
> ---scott


no problemo, newsgroups are for sharing info : ) and catching wayward
assumptions ;~).
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Scott]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
.. .
> "Scott" <smaxell1{at}hotmail.com> wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "NetMax" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> "Elaine T" > wrote in message
>>> om...
>>>> Scott wrote:
>>>>> "NetMax" > wrote in message
>>>>> ...
>>>>>
>>>>>>"Daniel Morrow" > wrote in message
...
>>> <snip>
>>>>> Another thing that I noted in a recent article I read in Tropical Fish
>>>>> Hobbyist about breeding scatterers - and I assume the same would apply
>>>>> to live bearers - is that a CHANGE in water chemistry can be
>>>>> significant in starting the breeding process.
>>>>>
>>>>> I don't know much about it, but the article I read had a lot of
>>>>> interesting info and may help. (Tropical Fish Hobbyist, May 2005)
>>>>>
>>>>> ---scott
>>>> Thanks for all the suggestions.
>>>>
>>>> I think I'll use the breeding trap next time the female looks ready to
>>>> pop to be sure I get some more gold fry - the pair is recessive gold.
>>>> I've always used a cheap net and some watersprite for guppies, but I'll
>>>> look into the Penn Plax gadget.
>>>>
>>>> As for water chemistry changes, I've seen stress cause livebearers to
>>>> give birth (sometimes prematurely) but I have't heard of chemistry
>>>> changes as a true trigger for Poecilidae the way it is for egg
>>>> scatterers. Live bearers are quite sensitive to water chemistry and I
>>>> wouldn't want to subject my only pair to that sort of experimenting.
>>>>
>>>> Speaking of food, I'm feeding a good mix of food, but I'm going to try
>>>> feeding a larger proportion of bloodworms and blackworms and less
>>>> prepared flakes and pellets. I may hunt down some beef heart as well.
>>>> According to an article on the IFGA site, the extra protein is supposed
>>>> to make the females drop bigger litters.
>>>> http://www.ifga.org/articles/feeding6.htm
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Elaine T __
>>>> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
>>>
>>> I don't know what IFGA might have to say about it, but using water
>>> chemistry changes to induce spawning is *not* something I would be too
>>> enthusiastic about trying with livebearers. The fundamental difference
>>> is the vulnerability of an egg vs a newborn fry. Other than a couple of
>>> degrees in temperature change, or dropping the hardness by a few ppm,
>>> anything more would (I think) begin to increase infant mortality
>>> significantly. Compared to their parents, all fry are *extremely*
>>> sensitive to water parameter changes, and eggs are not. jmho
>>> --
>>> www.NetMax.tk
>>>
>>
>> LOL, like I said, it is not something that I know a lot about - it was
>> just an article I happened to notice a couple of weeks ago. I have never
>> had any fish breeding in my tanks - livebearers or otherwise.
>>
>> ---scott
>
>
> no problemo, newsgroups are for sharing info : ) and catching wayward
> assumptions ;~).
> --
> www.NetMax.tk
>

Regardless, the article still has nice information that I ASSume would apply
to any species to a point. Regarding setup of the tank, and male/female
combination.

;)

---scott