# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna >  for the innocent ones

## hwchoy

for those people who has never seen how livebearers give birth  :Grin:   :Grin:   :Grin:  




* note that this is _Gambusia affinis_ and not your regular guppy, but the process basically the same lah  :Wink:

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## juggler

Mr Choy: can't seem to view the pic.

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## hwchoy

hey, don't be a kan-cheong spider  :Grin:  my server a bit flappy lately, try again later.

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## solonavi

> for those people who has never seen how livebearers give birth    
> 
> * note that this is _Gambusia affinis_ and not your regular guppy, but the process basically the same lah


Cool! Any more shots?

JC

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## |squee|

JC, try not to quote unncessarily since it wastes space and time scrolling  :Smile:  

Nice catch Mr.Choy. You planned for this or was it a impromptu shot?

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## hwchoy

just happened to pop this fish in the photo tank at the right time. although I did notice she was going to drop any day because the stomach is bulging on the flanks (see from top).

but at first I thought she was going to sh!t almost decided not to snap  :Smile:  heng ah.

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## baranne

Very nice pic!  :Well done:  

Is the dot marking on her body a natural trait of this fish?

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## hwchoy

yes this fish is slightly spotted.

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## yorky

Very interesting that the fish is not even hiding to give birth!
Great shot!

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## mab

head first! Similiar resemblence ........ to human that is. Any particular time they give birth (in general; not just Gambusia affinis)?

Nice shot by the way.

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## hwchoy

I observed head-first, tail-first and also side-ways i.e. coming out bent like a U-shape  :Grin:

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## benny

Definitely not something that we get to see everyday!! So even fishes also comes out head first like us...

Cheers,

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## BFG

How many fries cme out choy?

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## hwchoy

about 10-12. came back today evening to find she had eaten every single one!

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## baranne

> about 10-12. came back today evening to find she had eaten every single one!


That's sad!  :Knockout:  

Hope they breed again and you have a chance to fish them out before they are eaten.  :Smile:

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## hwchoy

oh and I think we should not forget about the "thing" responsible for the babies  :Grin:   :Grin:   :Grin:

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## benny

Oh my gawd!!! Is so big and long!!!! Can she take it!?

Cheers,

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## hwchoy

> Oh my gawd!!! Is so big and long!!!! Can she take it!?
> 
> Cheers,


Benny, the pix in the first post obviously answers your question  :Grin:   :Grin:   :Grin:

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## hwchoy

BTW the close-up shot of the gonopodium is not, contrary to popular belief, to satisfy Benny's pangs of perversed curiosity, but one of the ways to differentiate between males of _Gambusia affinis_ and _G. holbrooki_.  :Angel:   :Angel:   :Angel:

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## benny

Benny is not perversely curious about the gonopodium.  :Grin:  

And by the way, I've seen even bigger and longer ones. The ribbon type guppies. It seems almost impossible to use it as a breeding tool anymore. And I wonder in a community tank, what's to prevent other fishes from nipping it off.

Cheers,

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## stormhawk

Benny, those ribbon males with the extra-long gonopodiums are basically useless in breeding.

Breeders use their brothers with shorter finnage that have a normal gonopodium.

Nice shot of the birthing mother Choy.  :Well done:

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## lonerboi84

WOW! Never seen such a close up before. Nice interesting picture....

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## lonerboi84

Anyway I have something to add on, why don't you place a breeding net to prevent the mother from eating them?

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## hwchoy

> Anyway I have something to add on, why don't you place a breeding net to prevent the mother from eating them?


well, I wasn't really interested in breeding them, so I didn't really bother.  :Razz:

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