can i do this? is it a bad idea?

Question

i want guppies, but i know they breed like crazy. i wouldn't mind baby guppies. like, if it happens, it happens. but i don't want to risk anything with mating. i also don't know if i would be able to separate males and females. 
could i just buy a pregnant female? or one pregnant female and one not? or maybe one male and one female, and then just put the male in a bowl if she gets pregnant? i am not going to actually try to breed, i am in no way trying to imply or suggest that, but my homeroom tank had guppies, and they have about 7 babies. we left on Friday, and when we came back Monday, there were 7 babies. or that as how many survived, in the end. . .i cant remember. 
i just think baby guppies are really cool, and to be able to say i have that kind of experience, and all that. . .it would open me up to so many opportunities! i just really love guppies, they are beautiful. i have several friends and teachers and family that could take them. 
okay, i know this isn't really straight; it is all over the place and sending mixed signals.
i love guppies. i want babies, but only if it happens. i am not going to try to make anything happen. i would be willing to buy a pregnant female, but only if i am confident i am not doing anything that will make her or the babies suffer or anything. i am willing to buy one female and one male, but not many more, if possible, as any ones that have to be separated will likely be in large bowls. 

does that make sense? not really.


please bare with me, i have been doing research all day and my brain is a little frazzled, right now.
 

could i buy a pregnant female? 
could i buy one male and one female, two females max?
could i put in a couple mollies?
what do you recommend i do, since i have a 10 gallon tank?

? · Accepted Answer

OK. Here's the most important thing: NEVER EVER BUY 1 FEMALE AND 1 MALE. The female will get chased my the male and get tired and die of stress. I'd recommend a pregnant female and another pregnant/non pregnant female. That way, they won't fight. I really don;t reccommend even numbers though. Try 3 females or 2 females and 1 male. Yes, a couple mollies would be alright. They might even cross breed. I have a 10 gallon tank with 2 males and 5 females. That's be a good number. Adding a few mollies instead of more gupies will also be okay. Just keep in mind that guppies can have 50-200 babies at once! That's a lot to take care of so you'll need a way bigger tank than just 10 gallons.


Hope I helped!

? · Answer

I would go with either 3 males OR 3 females. I wouldn't get both genders or your tank can get overcrowded REAL fast. Only males, you will have no babies. Only females, it usually depends, but you probably won't have as many babies than if you got both genders. I worried about the same problem. I have 8 Platies in a 30 gallon right now and they are ALL females. 4 of them were babies that my original 4 had. Lol I know how you feel about your guppies. I've never owned them, but I do LOVE my Platies like they were my babies. They each have their own little names and everything (Miami, Cheeto, Bloo, Pixie, Athena, and so on and so forth. Haha)

Hope this helps! Good luck!

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can i do this? is it a bad idea?

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