TortoiseBoy1999 said:I got a plant today for the baby's
GeoTerraTestudo said:Tortoise Boy,
You could put the gravid female in another container. I would avoid fishbowl-type containers, because they lack filtration and aeration. However, if you had another small, established tank, that would be okay. You could also buy a small plastic container that goes in your existing aquarium, which serves to separate the mother from the other fish. Also, depending on the container you buy, it can also separate the mother from her own babies once they're born (so she doesn't eat 'em).
However, unless you're trying to get as many babies to survive as possible, it's a good idea to just make sure there's plenty of cover in the aquarium all the time. That could include rocks, caves, fake plants, real plants, and/or floating plants. This allows the mother to hide when she's giving birth, and it allows the babies to hide after they've been born. As Movie Actor mentioned above, this method is nice because it selects for those babies that are fit enough to avoid predators.
Oh, and yes, I would say that female does appear to be gravid. The giveaway is if you see a dark patch at the back of the abdomen, between the anal fin and the spine. That dark spot would actually be the womb with the babies in it.
TortoiseBoy1999 said:Ok! I'll get more plants and a cave (those dummies at PetSmart! They said that the plant would be fine for the babies to hide in lesson learned! Don't listen to PetSmart! )
GeoTerraTestudo said:Well, they're not totally wrong - the plant does help. But let me put it this way: you can't build a house with a single plank. Or to put it another way, it takes a lot of trees to make a forest.
In nature, baby fish hide in a very complex environment, full of weeds, algae, rocks, and crevices. That's how they can hide from all those hungry mouths.
Now, don't overdo it, but they will need some kind of neighborhood to stay in full-time so they can avoid the bigger fish.
TortoiseBoy1999 said:How many babies will one fish have?
GeoTerraTestudo said:Females become mature when they're at least 4 months old. Like turtles, they can store sperm for later use (although not as long). Once they're ready, they can reproduce about once a month, giving birth to broods of 1 - 160 fry at a time.
http://genome.wustl.edu/genomes/view/xiphophorus_maculatus
dannel said:Did you name your snail Shelly???