Hello all. I have a 74 gallon tank that was dedicated to rainbows until my daughter spied some guppies in the fish store. I have one male and 4 females, and I believe all the females are pregnant after only two weeks. Very pregnant! I'd heard guppies were prolific, but sheesh! Anyway, I do have a plastic breeder thingy that floats in the tank, but I'd like to set up a plastic 10 gallon tank (one that we normally use for insects and spiders as a birthing tank.) I'd get some java fern and a heater, but I'm not sure what to do about filtration. I'm afraid that anything that'll suck up the water will suck up the fry. I'm not too keen on being overrun with guppies, but I'd like for at least some to survive since birth and babies are so fascinating to the children. Eventually I think I'll move the guppies to their own tank, maybe a 29 gallon, and through in some plants and let nature take it's course.
need help setting up birthing tank
- Thread starter Tansy
- Start date
Dangerdoll
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you could use a small sponge filter or two (one on each side, this is what I had way back when) attached to pump.... you can adjust the flow of air on the pump so it's not too strong or too weak.
I agree with you, the whole birthing process is amazing to a kid, I know I sure was and I've been hooked to the fish ever since
I agree with you, the whole birthing process is amazing to a kid, I know I sure was and I've been hooked to the fish ever since
A 10-gallon tank would be a perfect birthing/fry tank!!!
If I had a spare 10-gallon for a birthing tank, here's what I'd do:
Clean out the tank really well with very hot water, and some oxy clean if you have it, or maybe some vinegar... spiders/lizards may have left behind germs etc...
Plants - Java moss and maybe some duckweed (I think that's what it's called... it floats) - maybe tie a bunch of the moss to a small clay flower pot.
Substrate - Line the bottom of the tank with dark colored marbles or larger, pebble-sized gravel - more hiding spots for the fry, and will make it much easier to vaccum clean
Heater - 50 watts would suffice - tank temp should be ok around 77ish
Filter - Top Fin Power Filter 20 about $15 (you could get the Powerfilter 10 for about $12, but for an extra $3 you'd have better filtration w/ the 20) OR Penguin bio wheel Power Filter 125gph for about $19. Both sufficient for your 10 gallon, I'd lean towards the penguin, only because it has the bio wheel too. Set the flow rate to medium, get a pair of nylon knee hi stockings, and put one on the filter intake tube. That will prevent the fry from getting sucked up!
Other - Hmmm, maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you could get 3 cories for a bottom clean up crew - I'm pretty sure they wouldn't eat the fry... but not 100% sure. Once the guppies give birth, as long as you have plenty of hiding spaces for the fry, leave the mommies in the birthing tank for a couple of days to recouperate. Oh, I'd add some salt to the tank too (table salt is ok), 1 tablespoon (melt it in hot water first, then pour into the filter or directly into the tank if there's nobody in there.
Try to set the tank up asap, especially if the look like they're gonna pop soon (though if worse comes to worse and you see one giving birth, you can always scoop her up into the birthing net thing, let her give birth, take her out as soon as she's done, leave the fry in there while you set up the tank, and then use a turkey baster to suck them up and transfer to the 10... I had to do that once) and though it won't be cycled, you should be ok with those 4 female guppies in there... maybe you can take some filter media or even some gravel from your big tank and put it in the 10 gallon to help the cycle along. Do frequent water changes, and make sure you replace any salt you take out with the water change.
Have fun, good luck!
~Tara
edited to make sense...
If I had a spare 10-gallon for a birthing tank, here's what I'd do:
Clean out the tank really well with very hot water, and some oxy clean if you have it, or maybe some vinegar... spiders/lizards may have left behind germs etc...
Plants - Java moss and maybe some duckweed (I think that's what it's called... it floats) - maybe tie a bunch of the moss to a small clay flower pot.
Substrate - Line the bottom of the tank with dark colored marbles or larger, pebble-sized gravel - more hiding spots for the fry, and will make it much easier to vaccum clean
Heater - 50 watts would suffice - tank temp should be ok around 77ish
Filter - Top Fin Power Filter 20 about $15 (you could get the Powerfilter 10 for about $12, but for an extra $3 you'd have better filtration w/ the 20) OR Penguin bio wheel Power Filter 125gph for about $19. Both sufficient for your 10 gallon, I'd lean towards the penguin, only because it has the bio wheel too. Set the flow rate to medium, get a pair of nylon knee hi stockings, and put one on the filter intake tube. That will prevent the fry from getting sucked up!
Other - Hmmm, maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you could get 3 cories for a bottom clean up crew - I'm pretty sure they wouldn't eat the fry... but not 100% sure. Once the guppies give birth, as long as you have plenty of hiding spaces for the fry, leave the mommies in the birthing tank for a couple of days to recouperate. Oh, I'd add some salt to the tank too (table salt is ok), 1 tablespoon (melt it in hot water first, then pour into the filter or directly into the tank if there's nobody in there.
Try to set the tank up asap, especially if the look like they're gonna pop soon (though if worse comes to worse and you see one giving birth, you can always scoop her up into the birthing net thing, let her give birth, take her out as soon as she's done, leave the fry in there while you set up the tank, and then use a turkey baster to suck them up and transfer to the 10... I had to do that once) and though it won't be cycled, you should be ok with those 4 female guppies in there... maybe you can take some filter media or even some gravel from your big tank and put it in the 10 gallon to help the cycle along. Do frequent water changes, and make sure you replace any salt you take out with the water change.
Have fun, good luck!
~Tara
edited to make sense...
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A large internal sponge filter or what Tara (dwayne??) mentioned with the stocking will work well. Guppies aren't too small when born.
Livebearers take roughly 20-30 days to have their young and yes guppies will ALWAYS be pregnant. They will make good food for your rainbows.
If you want to raise some the 10 will work. Get a bunch of java moss if you can but not crucial. I wouldn't worry about adding any type of gravel or other animals. Bare tank with guppy fry will work, a VERY high quality breeder near me does that.
You can check out his site if you want, www.deltaguppies.com.
Livebearers take roughly 20-30 days to have their young and yes guppies will ALWAYS be pregnant. They will make good food for your rainbows.
If you want to raise some the 10 will work. Get a bunch of java moss if you can but not crucial. I wouldn't worry about adding any type of gravel or other animals. Bare tank with guppy fry will work, a VERY high quality breeder near me does that.
You can check out his site if you want, www.deltaguppies.com.
Captain... guppy fry wouldn't get stressed out being in a bare tank, like adult fish would? I guess since they're so small they wouldn't really know any different... and it would make cleaning the tank easier to do w/out gravel 
~Tara
~Tara
Thanks for responding everyone! I'll hit the petsmart tonight if I can for the set-up, but what are internal sponge filters? I've always used aquaclear power filters -- the kind that have a sponge and a bag of charcoal and hang on the back of the tank.
Also, failing that, just an airline inserted into the sponge from an aquaclear filter works well.
My 10g fry tank has just a dusting of gravel. It was initially set up as a hospital tank. Then she exploded in fry. She still isn't very active and hides all the time, but the fry are well.
Another option for filters is to pick up an aquaclear mini and to slide an extra filter sponge over the intake as a pre-filter. This will keep fry from getting sucked in. Although I'm running an ac mini on mine (since I found the air pump too loud for the bedroom where I set it up) and haven't found any fry sucked up yet.
My 10g fry tank has just a dusting of gravel. It was initially set up as a hospital tank. Then she exploded in fry. She still isn't very active and hides all the time, but the fry are well.
Another option for filters is to pick up an aquaclear mini and to slide an extra filter sponge over the intake as a pre-filter. This will keep fry from getting sucked in. Although I'm running an ac mini on mine (since I found the air pump too loud for the bedroom where I set it up) and haven't found any fry sucked up yet.
My recent observations tend to make me think guppy fry like current. My guppy tank has a lot of plants a few rocks and some driftwood for current breaks and hiding places. the fry like to swim right in front of the output from my penguin 125, which is the most difficult spot in the whole tank when it comes to current. go figure!. This is a 15 g with a 125, and an rfug with a 145gph rated powerhead. That is a bunch of water movement, and I haven't seen a fry stuck to an intake sponge yet.
A sponge over virtually any filter intake will protect the fry. I'm with the penguin 125 for the bio wheel, but any of the above suggestions would work.
A sponge over virtually any filter intake will protect the fry. I'm with the penguin 125 for the bio wheel, but any of the above suggestions would work.