Question to a psychologist 

How to understand that the fish is sick. How to distinguish a sick fish from a healthy one. Solving possible problems

How to determine that something bad is happening to the fish in your aquarium and take measures in time to prevent the most negative outcome? Usually we discover problems when it is already quite late - there are clear signs of the disease that are visible to the naked eye, this is actually the phase at which it is too late to do anything. In fact, it is not people who are so inattentive to their fish, but rather the fish are very “cunning”.

The thing is that predators in nature attack weakened fish first, since in this case the chances of a successful attack are maximum, but it’s a different matter with healthy fish. In reality, only a small part of predator attacks are successful, but it is always easier to defend yourself. The protective mechanism of fish provides for this fact and therefore early stages diseases are very difficult to detect, because in wild environment this is the key to their survival.

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Probably all aquarists know how difficult it is to cure sick fish, when we already detect signs of the disease; in most cases, treatment is already useless - the disease and its cause are firmly entrenched. At such a moment we're talking about about whether you will be able and have time to save the rest of the inhabitants of the aquarium. The problem of caring for the health of sick fish in a timely manner has several reasons that make it difficult to save the fish. The main reason is, of course, the lack of a normal system of knowledge about fish diseases, their symptoms and treatment; not much attention is actually paid to this issue; the second reason lies in the fish themselves.

In the wild, regardless of the environment itself: forest, mountains, air or water, predators always strive to attack those victims who show signs of illness; they are much easier targets than healthy rivals. Therefore, fish have learned to mask the first signs of illness and minor injuries, thanks to which fish can reduce the risk of attack by predators. But this makes life very difficult for aquarists who would like to keep their fish healthy, but still these signs can be detected if you are a little more attentive to your fish.

Mainly, you need to know what behavior is normal for your fish, so for example, when preparing to go to work, you can spend 5 minutes over a cup of coffee observing their behavior, during which you can detect some unusual phenomena for fish:

  1. Appetite - perhaps the fish are not behaving as usual when feeding
  2. Breathing - what is the respiratory rate - fast (tachypnea) or slow (bradypnea)
  3. Swimming - how actively do fish swim?
  4. Color - are there any changes in the color of the fish?
  5. Social activity - perhaps the actions of the fish are fraught with something unusual?

Appetite

It is very important to control the behavior of fish during feeding, fish do not have many functions in life while in the aquarium, the main ones are: eat, grow, eat a little more and grow a little more. This is of course somewhat exaggerated, but this is to show how important the energy that fish get from food is for survival. If fish do not receive enough energy, they become weaker and lose their chances of recovery.

So why is a decrease in appetite a sign of significant problems? Lack of food intake causes the body to need to use up energy reserves (eg, liver, muscle and fat mass), which can lead to severe general weakness and decreased overall activity. Lack of new digestible food also results in less energy available to others important functions such as the immune system. Ultimately, this will make the fish much more susceptible to infection.

Sick fish, like other living beings, will instinctively expend more energy to cope with the threat to their life and the struggle for recovery, spending additional energy on this. That's why proper nutrition plays a particularly important role in the life of fish, often fish, without any special health problems, refuse food, most often this manifests itself when the diet for fish is incorrectly selected.

Breath

Breathing for fish, as for other living beings, such as humans, plays an important role. The amount of oxygen absorbed is directly related to various stressful situations and in fact, it is quite easy to notice changes in the breathing rhythm of fish.

It is easy to count the number of times a fish exhales by the number of movements of its gills. The breath of fish is actually one of their most weak points, this is the price to pay for the opportunity to obtain oxygen from water; water and blood in fish move in different directions; this process determines how much oxygen will be received and how many toxins will be eliminated. Any deviation from the norm leads to an imbalance in this balance, and will invariably mean significant problems for the health of the fish.

Among the reasons leading to changes in the frequency of the breathing rhythm include:

These problems stimulate the fish's immune system to produce additional mucus, which is an important natural tool for fighting fish diseases. The problem is in this case The fact is that mucus only worsens the situation; it further clogs the gills, reducing the volume of oxygen entering the blood, since the volume of water entering through the gills decreases. A decrease in the amount of water passing through the gills leads to a decrease in the level of gas exchange, as a result, toxins are not removed from the fish’s body, such as ammonia, for example.

Signs of changes in the breathing rate of fish are an excellent reason to take the condition of your aquarium more seriously and understand what is happening in it.

Decreased swimming activity

The activity of fish is a very important parameter of their health; even how exactly the fish move matters, if, for example, their speed is maintained. At first glance it may seem that most fish swim the same way, but in reality this is not the case. All fish different shapes fins, their size and location differ - each species has its own unique evolutionary path and each species along the path of its development changed the structure of its fins for maximum survival, which means their swimming style is different.

In fact, when we talk about fish swimming, it is also important that, for example, they prefer to be motionless long time, and not at all rushing after each other in the upper part of the aquarium. Any changes in the behavior of fish indicate that there are certain negative factors affecting them; this does not necessarily mean that there will be illnesses or injuries. The behavior of fish is also directly influenced by their neighbors; by the way, injuries to the fins during conflicts between them are quite common and are an excellent springboard for the occurrence of diseases.

If the fish began to behave more passively in response to existing external “stimulants” than usual, this may mean that there is a certain chronic problem, i.e. a problem that has been affecting fish for quite a long time. For example, high level chlorine content in water, or something else. Deviations in the normal behavior of fish are most often an accompanying symptom, which is often accompanied by a decrease in appetite. The common reason for such changes is the general weakness of the fish.

Changes in color

Although lack of appetite or decreased swimming activity is the most obvious sign, changes in the color of fish usually occur in the early stages and if you regularly examine your fish, you will easily detect changes in their color.

The thing is that when fish are subject to severe stress under constant pressure negative factors, the endocrine system of fish, which is responsible for the production of various hormones, is subject to special pressure. For example, such as corticosterone. Corticosterone leads to a weakening of the coloration of fish; maintaining bright, saturated colors requires a lot of energy, and in fish that have to be stressed as a result of the presence of negative factors, a significant part of the energy is spent not on “coloring”, but on survival. Therefore, changes in the color of fish are often the first signals existing problem in an aquarium.

Social behavior of fish

The social behavior of fish indicates a certain level development of intelligence. Each fish in the aquarium builds its own relationships with other animals that live in it with it. Depending on a number of factors, such as size, character or lifestyle, fish can occupy their own territories, react accordingly to other fish or people, and also have other behavioral characteristics. For example, in an aquarium there are always fish that feel like they are the “top of the chain”; such fish will always strive to prove their superiority over others. But this is only an example; for a better understanding, we can give another example, when fish somehow react particularly to a person and his approach to the aquarium, and on some day their reaction suddenly turned out to be passive, i.e. missing in fact.

This is easy to track; often you don’t even have to do anything special, it’s enough to just be attentive at such a moment. If fish show complete passivity in such situations, this in an overwhelming number of cases means that the fish are under severe stress and something is clearly not going according to plan.

Minimizing stress in the aquarium

The first thing that is important to understand is that you cannot completely eliminate stress from the life of fish; it is as normal for them as it is for people. Stress allows fish to survive, it forces them to fight for their lives and forces them to adapt and be prepared for even greater challenges. However, you can and should manage the stress that your fish experience, at least if you want to have an aquarium with healthy fish.

Unlike most other species of animals kept in captivity, fish cannot simply leave the aquarium; it is their permanent habitat; they cannot jump over the aquarium and go for a walk. For them, the aquarium is everything - this is the environment in which everything is decided for them, and you play a decisive role in its well-being. And the most main question For fish in an aquarium, this is a question of water and its quality. The issue of water quality for an aquarium plays a role vital role, almost all problems that begin in an aquarium in fish always have one common root - improper care of the aquarium water.

Unfortunately, many aquarists have a very simple approach to caring for water in an aquarium - just change the water regularly, monitor the temperature and, of course, pour various chemicals into it that make it “suitable”. In fact, the water in an aquarium has several more parameters that need to be monitored, among the main ones: the level of acidity and hardness. Each species of fish has its own preferences in these parameters; keeping fish in water with incorrect constant parameters will easily lead to their severe exhaustion as a result of prolonged stress. It is also important to measure water parameters at different levels, for example, at the bottom, surface and in the middle, since the composition of water at different levels can vary greatly for natural reasons.

Among the other most likely sources of stress are the so-called fish compatibility tables, which do not take into account a huge number of factors. For example, in addition to the parameters of temperature, acidity and water hardness, there are social aspect- behavior of fish when kept with others. Many compilers of such tables forget that they should not keep schooling fish together and single fish or those forming permanent pairs. The reason is simple, the latter strive to capture a certain territory in the aquarium and, as a rule, it is larger than the aquarium, but schooling species, although they do not conquer their territory, they also need it for free movement. As a result, this leads to strong conflicts between fish.

It is not enough to take fish that prefer the bottom, while others top part. Territorial fish capture it not only in the horizontal plane, they will attack all fish that are above them and the aggression in this case will not be much weaker.

Of course, these are not all the factors that lead to severe stress and subsequent problems; it would take a whole book to describe them, and in future articles we will try to cover them as well.

Guppies are beautiful freshwater fish. It is hardly possible to find another breed of fish that has remained loyal to both beginning and experienced aquarists for several decades. The phenomenon is explained not only by the ease of maintenance and unpretentiousness in nutrition, but also by the huge variety of colors, shapes of fins, interesting features breeding.

Guppies have strong sexual dimorphism. The male, unlike the female, has a more graceful physique, elongated fins and is more intensely colored. Guppies reach sexual maturity at the age of 3-4 months. Housing conditions have a significant impact on the reproductive functions and maturation of fish. An increase in water temperature by 2-3 degrees leads to faster metabolism and earlier puberty in guppies.

Some experts warn that stimulation methods such as water changes and increasing water temperature are only needed if labor is difficult or occurs prematurely. A decrease in temperature can significantly slow down not only the development of the reproductive system, but also lead to lethargy, decreased activity, and illness.

These cute fish are viviparous, or rather oviparous. In them, fertilization occurs internally, and fertilized eggs also develop in the female's abdomen. From a single mating, she can produce several groups of fry, so it is necessary to notice the pregnancy in time and place the female in a spawning tank so that other fish or the parents themselves do not eat the babies.

It is necessary to observe “mating courtship” so that one female is not chosen by several males, which will have a bad effect on the condition of the expectant mother and the quality of the offspring. Therefore, the ideal option is a pair of guppies that need to be isolated.

Readiness of fish for fertilization

When breeding purebred guppies or engaging in selection, it is necessary to strictly monitor the crossing of fish and correctly form pairs. And to do this, you need to determine in time the guppies’ readiness for mating.

A sign of readiness for the mating process in guppies is courtship. The male begins to “chase” the chosen one, pressing against her side with his anal fin. At this point, the aquarist must isolate the couple, since the fertilization process has already begun. In the future, placing a pregnant female in a separate vessel can be dangerous for her and her offspring, since she becomes very sensitive to changes in environmental characteristics.

These unpretentious fish can reproduce in a small container, but what better conditions, the more healthy and large offspring you can get. The “maternity hospital” should have enough space for 2 guppies. Experienced aquarists claim that from the moment the couple is isolated, the female’s pregnancy can be counted. Very rarely, a male may need 2-4 days for fertilization.

Depending on age, number of previous marks, water temperature, type of food and other characteristics, the duration of the gestation period can vary from 30 to 60 days. Normally, the period is 30 ± 5 days. A reduction or increase in gestational age may indicate a violation of the conditions of detention or problems with the health of the fish. The interval between litters can be 1-2 months.

A special feature of the livebearers is that the mark is extended over time. A fertilized fish can “give birth” to fry in groups with a time gap between births. Sometimes another male mates with the female who gave birth, and in the next generation babies will appear from both males.

Fertilization process

Sperm are introduced into the female's genital opening using the gonopodium. The formation of the copulation organ begins during puberty. Before this, there are no differences in the structure of the anal fin of the female and the male. With the onset of puberty, the rays in cross-section resemble a triangle, and later a tube.

Stocked muscle fibers the tube rises or falls, which facilitates the introduction of spermatophores - “packets” of sperm into the female’s body. They are partially spent on fertilizing part of the eggs, and a certain amount of seed material is stored inside the reproductive organs of the female for several months. In guppies, as a result of one insemination, from 5-6 to 11 marks often occur.

When the female is completely ready to mate, she releases environment a special secret that attracts males to her. They also have a chemical effect on the mating behavior of females. Copulin secreted by the gonads of males forces the female to take a position that is most convenient for inserting the gonopodium into the genital opening. The female's swimming in an inclined position is another sign of her readiness for copulation.

But such chemical “markers” of readiness for procreation do not replace physical stimulation. The male begins a courtship dance around the female, spreading his fins and sparkling with the bright color of his body, he quickly rushes around the chosen one. Several males can “chase” a female at once.

Interestingly, each male has his own dance, which he repeats in great detail with each mating. This marriage ritual fixed in the genetic memory of males. If he does not “court,” the female will not allow the male to approach her, despite the chemical marks.

The female also chooses a “gentleman” based on the brightness of the color and the length of the fins. The winners are males with red coloring or red spots and long fins. They grow in males throughout their lives and indicate longevity, good health. These qualities are desirable in offspring. Thus, information about his viability as the father of numerous offspring is “encoded” in the male’s appearance.

Signs of pregnancy

Observing behavior and appearance females, you can determine whether she is pregnant. Experienced aquarists note that before the appearance external signs During pregnancy, changes occur in the behavior and appetite of the female. 1.5 weeks before giving birth, there is a sharp increase in the fish’s appetite, so inexperienced guppy owners attribute the rounded abdomen to overeating.

But if you carefully monitor the female’s condition, you will notice that her tummy is getting bigger. Unlike an overfed fish, the belly is enlarged not only in the lower part, but also on the sides. When viewed from above, the rounded sides of the fish are visible. The closer to birth, the “squarer” the abdomen is, and a “prenatal” or maturity spot appears in the area of ​​the anal fin. It can be dark brown, yellowish ocher or black. Through the stretched skin of the abdomen you can see the “grain” of the spot, the so-called “eyes of the fry.”

A few hours before giving birth, the abdomen is already so large that a noticeable hollow forms between the chest and abdomen. A bulge forms in the area of ​​the anal fin. Its appearance signals that there is about a day left before the fry appear. It is worth noting that the degree of severity of the “square” abdomen and “prenatal spot” stage in some varieties of guppies is less pronounced, but the anal bulge must certainly be present.

Before giving birth, the behavior of the fish also changes. She begins to look for shelter or tries to hide among the plants. This is especially noticeable in community aquarium– the males begin to chase the female, but she hides from them. Features are also observed in the movements - the fish hangs motionless at the surface of the water or in the middle layers, it lowers its tail.

When contractions occur, you may notice trembling of the muscles in the anal area and trembling of the caudal fin. Childbirth lasts from 3 to 5 hours. Sometimes the process stretches to 5-7 days. The number of fry in a tag depends on the size, age of the fish and the number of previous births. A first-born mother can give birth to 15-25 babies, and with repeated births their number increases. There is a recorded case where a guppy gave birth to 180 fry in one mark.

The health of the fry and female depends on:

  • living conditions – high temperature causes premature birth and the appearance of non-viable offspring;
  • food – live food contributes to the normal formation of fry and the maintenance of pregnancy. When a pregnant female is fed dry food, the fry may experience scoliosis;
  • the presence of one or more males - they exhaust the female.

Sometimes a young and healthy female cannot give birth. To stimulate labor, replace settled fresh water, increase the temperature to 28-30°C, or add a young male before spawning.

Guppy pregnancy video

Caring for fry and female

After the female has fry, she must be removed or the fry placed in a container for rearing. The fry are active and immediately begin to look for shelter. Their survival depends on this, since guppies have no parental instinct completely. The female perceives large fry as prey. Therefore, pebbles, artificial or live plants are placed at the bottom of the spawning tank - everything that the kids can use as shelter.

An interesting feature of guppies is that they are hermaphrodites - individuals in which the genital organs of both sexes are developed. Self-fertilization is possible in such fish. In addition, spontaneous transformation of a female, even one that has already spawned, into a male occurs. Much less often, a male turns into a female.

Guppies are interesting in terms of breeding. For short period they can produce several groups of fry, which is very convenient for selection. To get healthy purebred offspring, you need to know all the intricacies of breeding these amazing fish.

Aquarium fish are wonderful pets that do not require extensive care. They are distinguished by a wide variety of types and colors, and an aquarium can adequately decorate any home. However, sometimes fish are susceptible to stress and illness. Proper care of your fish and aquarium and the ability to recognize warning signs in time will help you keep your pets healthy and cope with possible problems.

Steps

Part 1

Fish care

    Watch the fish. Pay attention to how they swim, breathe, eat, and interact with other aquarium inhabitants. Know what the norm is so you can recognize deviations from it. Healthy fish have good appetite and actively swim in the aquarium.

    Find out about various types aquarium fish OK. For each type of fish healthy life Certain aquarium sizes, temperatures, care, equipment and food are required. Freshwater and sea ​​fish require different conditions of detention.

    Make sure your fish are not stressed. The best way Keeping your fish healthy means providing them with conditions that do not cause stress. Stress weakens the fish's immune system, which can cause them to get sick. Prevent stress proper care and care to protect your pets from various diseases.

    • Keep an eye on your aquarium and do partial water changes regularly. Change about a quarter of the water in the aquarium every two weeks.
    • Give your fish nutritious and varied food. Most fish remain healthy and even thrive when fed processed food in the form of flakes or pellets. Diversify your pet's diet to ensure they get extra nutrients and dietary fiber by feeding them frozen or dried red worms, live or frozen plankton, and some vegetables.
    • Don't overfeed your fish. Give the fish as much as they can eat in three minutes. Excess food will not only pollute the water, but will also negatively affect the health of the fish.
    • Check that the filtration system is working effectively. Filters remove toxins such as ammonia and nitrites from water.
    • Make sure the fish have enough space to comfortable life. Do not overpopulate the aquarium. Follow the following rule: for every 2.5 centimeters of fish length there should be at least 4 liters of water.
    • Place in one aquarium fish species that get along well with each other. You don't want the fish to compete with each other, fight and eat each other. A peaceful fish will experience stress if it is introduced to aggressive species or those that use a completely different sign language to communicate.

  1. Monitor the water temperature in the aquarium. The temperature must correspond to the needs of this type of fish. Water that is too cold or warm will stress your fish. For example, goldfish prefer temperatures no higher than 21°C, while most species tropical fish a temperature of 23–26 °C is required.

  2. Buy your fish from a reputable pet store. If the fish lived in a crowded and dirty aquarium, then they were stressed all the time, and when they move into your aquarium, they can infect other fish with diseases. It's better to spend a little O a larger amount for healthy fish and be sure that they will not die within the next month.

    • In a store, fish should live in clean aquarium, be active, have a bright color and do not experience stress.
    • The pet store must have a certificate for the fish it sells and provide a full refund if the fish dies within a few days of purchase.
    • Sellers must know everything they need to know about the fish they sell, as well as the rules for caring for the aquarium, its size, inhabitants, diseases, and so on.
    • As a rule, it is better to go to a store that specializes in aquariums and aquarium fish.

  3. Cure other diseases. You can try to combat the symptoms using the above methods. Often, more frequent water changes and careful aquarium care can get rid of the disease within a few days or weeks.

    • If your fish has a swollen belly, it may suffer from constipation. In this case, try using frozen peas. Peel it, defrost it and cut it into tiny pieces. Give a few pieces to the fish, then do not feed it for several days. Instead of peas, you can give your fish fresh, frozen or dried daphnia.

A useful video about treating fish that will help solve the question of what to do with a dying fish?

How do fish sleep in an aquarium?

What is a fish dream?

What do fish look like in a dream?

Briefly about hibernation in winter and summer

How to determine that a fish is pregnant:: pregnant aquarium fish:: Breeding

How to care for pregnant guppies

How does a guppy bear its young?

How do guppies give birth?

Towards the end of the pregnancy, a week before the expected birth, the female can be transferred to a prepared maternity tank by filling it with water from a common aquarium. In such an aquarium there is a dividing wall, so the fry will not be harmed by a hungry female. On the day of pregnancy, the female cannot be transferred to such a tank, otherwise a miscarriage will occur. When the female is ready to give birth, she may swim slowly, or look for a secluded place in the aquarium. During one birth, she will produce 10-60 fry, although some mature females can give birth to up to 200 babies.


How long does labor take? Usually a few days. In 1 day, the female can bring all the fry, but it happens that only one fry per day. If the birth takes place in a community aquarium, make sure there are plenty of bushes of live plants in which the babies can save their lives. Unfortunately, the fry are clearly visible, so they become victims of their parents and their neighbors in the aquarium.

How to determine readiness for childbirth? Before this process, the female’s body trembles, she is inactive, and has no appetite (she may spit out food). If a heater is installed in the tank, the female may be near it. Also, the listed signs may indicate premature birth. During the birth itself, the female's tail trembles, and she freezes for a few seconds. Live and nimble fry emerge from the anus, they immediately swim actively, beginning an independent life.

Watch how the guppy fry are born.

A female guppy can become pregnant again, even just hours after giving birth. She can store male sperm for one year, and up to 8 pregnancies can occur from one fertilization, if conditions in the aquarium are favorable. In one life (3-5 years), a female fish can give birth to 2000 fry or more. The day before giving birth, swelling may appear near the anus; if it is not there, this is an obvious pathology.

After 2 weeks, the babies will mature and grow to 1.5-2 cm in length. At this age, you can sort fish by gender. Young females of this age can be recognized by the first sign of sexual dimorphism - they have a dark spot at the bottom of the abdomen, at the base of the anal fin. You can transplant males and females into different aquariums by pouring in their familiar, “old” water from the previous aquarium. In silver and light breeds of guppies, gender differences are more difficult to determine - in females there will be a barely noticeable mark on the abdomen. white spot, not black. It will be easier to find out the sex of fish at the age of 1.5 months, however, late sorting dates can provoke early pregnancy.

The danger for pregnant female guppies is the disease plistophorosis. Fry can become infected from their mother. The fish looks sluggish and faded, the caudal fin moves down, the female swims at an angle of 45-60o. A sick fish may jump up, trying to return to its original position. normal position body, refuses food. Plystophorosis cannot be treated, so a pregnant fish will not be able to survive. It is destroyed, and all decorations and equipment must be strictly disinfected.

Fry that receive insufficient light and protein may suffer from scoliosis. The causes of scoliosis are not well understood; sometimes this disease manifests itself in tuberculosis. It is believed that the main causes of spinal curvature are stress, injury, pathology of egg development, improper feeding of a pregnant fish, and oxygen starvation.

How to determine if a swordtail is pregnant:: how to tell if a female swordtail is pregnant:: Breeding

How to understand that a betta fish is pregnant:: how to determine the age of a betta fish:: Breeding

How to understand that a betta fish is pregnant

Betta fish are one of the most spectacular species, which delight aquarists not only with their bright colors, bushy tail and fins, but also with their fighting spirit. However, breeding bettas requires special care, because the male will look after the eggs, and the fish become especially aggressive during this period.

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Instructions

1. To breed betta fish, select at least two fish: a male and a female. You can determine the sex of fish by comparison - males are larger, they have a large tail and a rounded fin. They behave more aggressively if you put them in front of a mirror, they begin to inflate their gills and attack the reflection. Females behave more modestly and are painted in paler shades; they always have a white spot on their abdomen. The difficulty is that some males also have a white spot, and some “hens” behave aggressively and can be very rough on the “spouse”.

2. Choose the right pair, preferably one species, for example, a female and a male veiltail. Fish no younger than 3.5 months old, but not too old, are capable of breeding. Before planning spawning, it is better to place them in different reservoirs for a week and feed them with live food: bloodworms or coretra, it contains many nutrients.

3. To determine if your betta fish is pregnant, simply watch it. In fact, the female produces eggs constantly, so we cannot talk about her pregnancy as a temporary period. For an aquarist, such a concept as a cockerel’s readiness to spawn is much more important. The abdomen enlarges slightly, the stripes change from horizontal to vertical and very clear. In light-colored individuals, the eggs may be visible through the abdomen. Behavior also changes: females begin to inflate their gills, flirt and swim next to the male.

5. Please note main role A male cockerel plays in building the nest. He builds a foam nest on the surface of the water, then pushes the female towards the nest, presses on her abdomen and the eggs slip out. He then fertilizes them and places them in the nest. After the “birth”, the male begins to push the female away from the nest - at this moment it is better to put her in another body of water, she will no longer care for the clutch. When the fry hatch and begin to swim, it should also be removed.

Gold aquarium fish

Goldfish: The Beginning

Some general information

Video about goldfish

Fish health

A golden palace for a goldfish!

And the Lord said, “Be fruitful and multiply”

How to understand that a guppy is pregnant:: how to understand that a guppy is about to give birth:: Aquarium fish

How to tell if a guppy is pregnant

Guppy is a freshwater fish that belongs to the Petsiliev family. It is considered quite unpretentious, as well as the most popular of all aquarium fish. It should be noted that every breeder should have an idea of ​​how to determine if a female guppy is pregnant. This knowledge will help to timely create certain conditions for a female expecting offspring.

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Instructions

1. As a rule, a guppy's pregnancy is determined by the shape of its abdomen. The fact is that the female bearing offspring has a rounded, voluminous abdomen, which immediately before birth becomes slightly rectangular shape. Sometimes fry can be observed through the gaps, and closer to labor, the guppies develop a dark birth spot, localized on the abdomen. It is necessary to take into account that the shape of the fish’s head during this period begins to appear graceful due to the voluminous belly. In addition, a pregnant female is distinguished by a peaceful and calm behavior.

2. Often, before throwing fry, the back of the guppies' belly becomes dark. If there are only fish of this family in the aquarium, and there are also many shelters in the form of stones, snags and algae, then the female does not need to be removed. However, when other fish live in the aquarium, guppies bearing offspring in mandatory During the throwing period, you should set it aside, and then launch it back. It is important to remember that the fry must be kept in a separate container.

3. When placing a pregnant female, you need to take into account that she is capable of eating her fry. Thus, it is advisable to take care in advance of purchasing plants with which they can hide from the mother, who is temporarily next to the offspring. The number of fry born to a female directly depends on her age. A young fish can produce up to ten offspring, while an old one can produce hundreds of fry. In order for the offspring to have beautiful colors and develop quickly, they should be fed a variety of foods three times a day.

4. Generally, a guppy's pregnancy lasts forty days. During the first week after birth, the fry live in a nursery. Then they are transplanted into the most spacious containers. Already in a month you can notice distinctive features, allowing you to determine the sex of the fry. In females, a birthmark appears near the anus. At three months, males change the so-called anal fin into a gonopodium. It should be taken into account that in order to prevent the reproduction of guppies, it is advisable to timely distribute young offspring by gender and be sure to keep them separately. IN winter time it is necessary to maintain the water temperature, which should be eighteen degrees Celsius. Such actions will not only help avoid unnecessary spawning, but will also allow the female to take a break from labor.