This seems EXTREMELY unlikely, but so does the idea that my guppy has stored sperm for 5 months. My tank has not had a male guppy for a very long time (5 months) but the remaining female guppy has a large dark spot in the back and is looking very chubby. The only male live-bearer in the tank is a swordtail. There are no other guppies. Period. The male I had in there died and I did not replace him because I put a male betta in there and I was afraid the long tail and fins of a male guppy would make the betta want to fight. The betta gets along fine with the other fish, to my delight! Anyway, the other fish in the tank are either egg-laying types or else swordtails. I've never heard of different species mating, but I've also never heard of a guppy storing sperm that long. Other possibility is that she isn't prego and that the spot I'm seeing is a backed-up colon or some other freaky thing = ) What do you think?
2007-10-13 16:12:57 · 4 answers · asked by pookiemct07 5 in Pets ➔ Fish
Actually guppies can store sperm for 6 months, so I doubt you'll need to do any paternity tests.
2007-10-13 16:19:41 · answer #1 · answered by copperhead 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, it's not fathered by a swordtail...Yes, guppies can and do store sperm for extended periods, as you are finding out! My parents were amateur guppy breeders and this phenomenon was a nuisance to my mother, who was interested in developing an all-black strain of veiltails. She found that to keep the females pure, she had to separate them from the males as soon as they could be sexed. If this was not done, there was a great chance that they would get a sperm-donation from the males even before they were old enough to ovulate, and the sperm would remain alive and viable, inside them, until they were ready!
2007-10-13 16:22:29 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If a guppy and a swordfish could have a baby then that poor mixed lil half guppy half sword fish would have to be called a sworfyguppyfish and he will have powers like speed of light and he will travel and kill with his sword like zelda lil' guy BIG powers!
2007-10-13 16:20:31 · answer #3 · answered by TootsiePop 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No they can't if its pregnant then that happened before you bought them, the females can hold sperm inside them selves.
2016-05-22 07:47:52 · answer #4 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋