# Breeding Guppies



## mileshs95 (Sep 24, 2011)

Hello, i got two guppies today (male and female) and i want to know how to breed them. First, typically how old are guppies when you buy them from the pet store? Mine are about an inch long including fins. I think the red one is the male and yellow is the female but i don't quite remember. Any info on breeding these fish would be appreciated. thanks!


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## platyfishlover123 (Sep 1, 2011)

The yellow is male from the picture, but the red seems also male. You may have bought 2 male guppies, because the females usually do not have color. How big is your tank and how many tanks do you have?


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## mileshs95 (Sep 24, 2011)

they are in a 10g tank and i have another 20g. they were in seperate tanks at the pet store, one tank was male and the other female. ill try and take a better pic of the red one, they just won't stay still, haha


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## mileshs95 (Sep 24, 2011)

here is the red one


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## platyfishlover123 (Sep 1, 2011)

Yep i think the red is the female and the yellow is male. I actually own 3 guppies 2 female 1 male and the females recently gave birth to 25 or more fry. Really you should consider getting another female for the male will only harass the one you have causing a lot of stress on her which could lead to death. BUt when it comes to breeding guppies all you need is a male and female guppy and in a month babies will be plentiful.


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## Ridewithme38 (Oct 16, 2011)

mileshs95 said:


> Any info on breeding these fish would be appreciated. thanks!


You see, when a mommy and a daddy guppy love each other very much, the Fish stocking fairy will come down and place many many fry in the tummy of the mommy guppy...in 2-3 months a wonderful miracle will come and make all the little guppy fry be born


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## Lynxinater (Oct 13, 2011)

Female guppies do to have color.... Every one of my females is orange or yellow... They're just not nearly as pretty was the fancy males. And yes you need two more females, or that one will get picked to death. And honestly.... It's harder to keep these fish from breeding than it is to breed them.... put them in a tank with clean water... and keep good water quality and you'll have babies galore. Be warned though, they do eat their fry, so if you wanna keep them alive have somewhere for them to hide.


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## mileshs95 (Sep 24, 2011)

when do guppies become sexually mature?


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## Lynxinater (Oct 13, 2011)

3months
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## mileshs95 (Sep 24, 2011)

3 months from the time they are born, or 3 months from the time they are purchased in the pet store? if the latter, how old are my guppies if they are 1 in?


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## enthusiast (Aug 8, 2011)

how fast a guppy will grow depends on a few factors including diet and tank size; a good indicator of when they're sexually mature would be when they start to get the color in them to attract the other sex, & make their sex more announced


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## platyfishlover123 (Sep 1, 2011)

Are they both one inch or is one smaller then the other?


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## mileshs95 (Sep 24, 2011)

they are both approx 1in. it is hard to tell because they never stay still!


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## platyfishlover123 (Sep 1, 2011)

Females usually grow larger then males but their full size can range from 1-2 inches but they are probably plenty old enough to have babies.


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## mileshs95 (Sep 24, 2011)

the female is definitely fatter than the male, i just cannot tell if she is longer


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## platyfishlover123 (Sep 1, 2011)

Okay can you see any black spots on the end of them. You should see them on one and not the other. This is called her gravid spot, it is only found on females. Look towards the back of the fish before the tail and there should be a cluster of either pink, black, or gray.


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## mileshs95 (Sep 24, 2011)

i see what you mean, but it looks orange?


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## platyfishlover123 (Sep 1, 2011)

Thats okay it will turn black when the eggs are fertilized.


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## finsNfur (May 4, 2008)

Yeah, you can tell by the gravid spot you have one male and one female. Very pretty fish! As already suggested I'd get another female. As long as your tank is heavily planted, and your filter intake tube isn't overly powerful and capable of sucking up the fry, many of the fry will find places to hide. If you try and save every last fry born you will be overcome with guppies. Trust me, I've been there. :lol:


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## mileshs95 (Sep 24, 2011)

I understand that some fry will have birth defects and must be culled. Do you think a Red Tailed Shark or a Three Spot Gourami will eat them? they are the biggest fish i have and i would rather they eat the fry rather than me kill them. At least if they eat them it will contribute to the circle of life and whatnot. lol.


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## finsNfur (May 4, 2008)

Any fry with birth defects will die on it's own. I've had guppies for years and years and never needed to cull any fry, in fact I rarely see any with birth defects at all. But yes, those fish should eat any fry if you really wanted them to.


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## mileshs95 (Sep 24, 2011)

okay thanks a lot!


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