Guppies are very interesting and entertaining fish to watch, but sometimes you might start to notice some strange behaviors from them, like staying at the top of the tank and sometimes very close to the tank filter. This happens so frequently, if you have female guppies, then you must have noticed this. If you are reading this article, it could only mean that you want to find out why your female guppy is at the top of the tank. In this article, we will enlighten you about it.
Why is my pregnant guppy staying at the top of the tank? Pregnant guppies normally stay at the top of the tank when they are about to deliver their babies.
Now you know one of the reasons why your female guppy is at the top of the tank.
If you have this type of fish and start noticing it or some of them going to the top, then you will need to check if they are male or female.
If they are female, then check if they are pregnant, although male guppies could hardly stay at the top of the tank, so if yours do, then it is a she.
She is going to the top because, she is pregnant and wants to deliver, but if you are not sure and want to be sure she is pregnant, then check her body.
Her body will become squared off.
If you look, even when she’s pregnant, her body from the head to the gravid spot is still rather curvy, at this point then she is about to drop her fry.
It is believed that some people can see the baby’s eyes in the gravid spot just before the mother drop them.
This is very true because, as the gravid spot becomes much larger the closer the guppy is to dropping.
Again she might stop eating, or eat very little.
So these are some of the signs you need to be sure that your fish is pregnant and about to drop, and that’s why it is hovering at the top of the tank, maybe for a long time.
One thing about guppy fish is that they normally eat their young ones.
So if you notice yours is pregnant and is about to deliver, relocate her to a birthing tank of 10 gallons that is planted.
Put in place a plastic birthing container you can buy. It’s around 5″x3″ or maybe a bit larger.
It’s designed to hand on the inside of your tank, the bottom has two plastic parts that create a funnel down to a slot at the bottom, this is for the fry to drop into so they can be safe below the mother.
This is if you want to save the fry from the mother from eating them.
So, the reason why your guppy fish is staying at the top of the tank for a little while is that she is pregnant and about to drop.
Another reason why she might decide to stay at the top of the tank is that she is seriously sick.
Guppy fish, both male and female do this a lot when they are very sick.
The reason why this is different from the former is that the fish is not pregnant, based on the fact that both the male and the female guppy could decide to stay longer at the tank top because they are sick.
So, if you notice yours do this and it’s not a female, neither is it showing any signs of pregnancy as elaborated above, then your fish is sick.
On this website we don’t give medical advice, so contact a veterinarian doctor if you notice any sign of sickness in your pet fish for medical advice, etc.
Why Are My Female Guppies Staying At Top Of Tank?
Let’s say, you have a school of guppy fish, and you always notice that all of them, or many of them, especially the females go to the tank too regularly, you may be wondering why.
Why are my female guppies staying at top of the tank? Guppies are naturally topwater fish. They swim all over the tank and go back to the bottom. Again they stay at the top sometimes for more oxygen.
There is a difference between when a single female guppy stays at the top of the tank and is sometimes motionless for a long time and when a group of them swim about all over the tank, including at the top.
You should be very concerned when just one of them stays at the top for a while, maybe without moving, etc then when many do it.
So, naturally, guppies, especially the female guppies will swim in every corner of their tank, including at the top.
Why Is My Pregnant Guppy Swimming Up And Down?
Sometimes you might notice that your pregnant guppy is restless by swimming about in the tank. If you have noticed this before, you may be wondering why.
Why is my pregnant guppy swimming up and down? A pregnant guppy fish may be swimming up and down in its tank because it has given birth.
As we explained above, these fish naturally has the habit of feeding on their little ones, so when they drop their fry, they often dive to eat them.
But one astonishing thing about these fish is that they release a hormone that stops them from eating their babies for 6 hours.
So, when you notice your pregnant guppy move about, then you need to check if she has dropped her babies and try to prevent her from getting access to them with the tool we mentioned above.
So, your fish is restless because she has delivered.
How Can You Tell When A Guppy Is About To Give Birth?
If you notice that your guppy fish is pregnant and you want to know when she will give birth, it’s very simple to guess.
How can you tell when a guppy is about to give birth? A pregnant guppy will start going to the tank top and be staying, sometimes motionless for a while. Also, the gravid spot will be curvy and bloated.
So with these, it’s very easy to guess when this fish will be able to deliver her babies by merely looking at her and her behaviors.
Sometimes the eyes of the babies will become slightly noticeable, if you notice this, then she could start dropping them at any time.
So by isolating herself by staying at the tank top or among plants at too, or even at tank corners sometimes, one could easily know she is ready to give birth.
When Should I Isolate My Pregnant Guppy?
As we all now know, guppy do eat their babies and other fish do eat them too, so, if she shares a tank with some other fish, you might want to know when to isolate your pregnant guppy.
When should I Isolate my pregnant guppy? Once you start seeing some signs that your pregnant guppy is about to give birth, take her to another tank where she will stay alone and deliver her babies.
Apart from other fish, the mother herself is the main threat to her fry, so once she gives birth or even before she does, you might want to get a mesh.
This will separate her from the fry so, she will not cannibalize on them.
This is because she needs nutrition and will get it from the fry, so it’s dangerous to keep them with their mother.
But before then, you must get a different tank for the mother alone.
