Sunday, August 2, 2009

I have a fish that is pregnant, anything special needed?

I have a pregnant fish and I was wondering if there is anything special that I need for her. This is my first aquarium and I've only had the fish for about 2 weeks, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Answers:
You don't need to do anything about the fish. What you have to do is keep her from eating the babies when they are born. All of the fish will eat the babies including the mother. You can put the mother in a tank alone, and provide plants, real or plastic, that the babies can hide in. You can also go the the fish store and buy what is called a breeding tank. It floats inside the regular aquarium. You put the mother fish in here when she is near her time. You can generally tell this because she will show a dark or black spot near her tail. If you can't tell, just put her in this tank right away. This separates the babies from other fish in the tank, and when the babies are born they fall through a small slot in the bottom into a separate compartment where the mom can't eat them. They have to stay separate from the other fish until they are big enough not to be eaten, and this varies depending on the size of the other fish in the tank. Ask at the aquarium store, they can help.
Are you sure this fish is pregnant and not possibly infected with Bloat?

What kind of fish is it? How big is the tank/aquarium that it is in? How many other fish are in there with "her"?
if the fish is pregnant you need a special division in the tank for the baby's . the other fish will eat them for more research use yahoo search
If she is indeed pregnant, you should go to a fish store and buy a net nursery. Put her in it and when the babies are born you need to remove her, so she doesn't eat them.

Good Luck
ru-487
Nothing, just let nature take it's course. Don't give it any extra food, feed it like normal. My mom has had a fish aquarium as long as I can remember and she never did anything special other than she would buy this special aquarium grass (real stuff) for the babies to hide in after they were born. It is to keep the other fish, including mama, from eating the babies.
Put the eggs, once laid, in a SEPERATE DIVISION OF THE TANK unless you want to treat you fish to some caviar. They will eat their own eggs. Go to your pet store and ask them for further help.
water
No, you do not need anything special for the fish, not at all. There is a definate chance that the baby fish will be eaten, so you may want to monitor the mother, if you want the fish to survive, but there is nothing happening with the mother fish.
Keep in mind only molly, swordtail, platty, and guppys (aka the livebearers) get pregnant. (The rest of aquarium fish lay eggs, and generally don't get visible bigger to novices.) So assuming it's one of the live bearers you should feed the mother freeze dried brine shrimp, and an algae based flake. Also the brine shrimp is great fry food for the live bearer fry. (Which are huge compared to most fry.) I'd add a little salt about 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons. If all fish in the tank are live bearers add 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons for 5 days. (Resulting in a 1 per 1 ratio.)
Dont know I eat fish Not raise them

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