Guppy Questions?????????

Question

Do guppys breed with other fish in the tank as well as them?whats the diffrence between fancy guppys and feeder guppys? Should you have floating vegitation at the top of the tank or large rocks at the bottom for the babies to hide in? or should I consider a breeding container?

Answer 1

Gpuuies will breed with only other guppies. The females are capable of storing sperm for up to six months or 5 batches of fry. Breeding containers cause the fish a lot of stress and will delay the birth of fry. Try adding a lot of both rooted and floating plants. You will need at least three inches of gravel for the roots and possibly CO2 for healthy plants. dying plants pollute the water and will cause the guppies to get sick.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?N=2004+113779&ref=3969&subref=AA&cm_mmc=LiveAquaria_DFS_Links-_-Fish_Supplies-_-LiveAquaria_Gen_Page-_-CO2_Regulators
A

Answer 2

Actually, the first two answerers are incorrect - guppies have been known to breed with other livebearers, especially mollies. The offspring, when they do actually manage to survive, are called "muppies" or "gollies". Also, they are commonly paired with Endler's livebearers as well. The result is usually not good. The fry don't live very long, and any that do manage to survive are very weak, fragile, and likely unable to reproduce.

Also, contrary to popular belief, they do not require salt. I have successfully bred mine in my community tank in 100% fresh water. In fact, I currently saved a now-day-old guppy fry yesterday after I noticed him hiding in the corner during a water change in my 55-gallon tank. Even though we knew the mother was ready to drop, I had no other place to put her (my quarantine tank is holding a neon and two African dwarf frogs we just bought a week ago until we know the frogs don't have chytrid fungus and can be added to the other community tank), so I let her have the fry in the tank thinking they would all get eaten. I was wrong. So little Miracle is happily swimming in the breeder box until she either gets bigger or we get one of the other tanks we have sitting around cycled (and that's the last thing we need is another fish tank). Also, I could be wrong, but I believe ideal brackish conditions are achieved using marine salt, not aquarium salt (or any other form of salt). See source link for brackish tank preparation if you choose to go this route, however, if you have other fish in the tank that are considered "scaleless" (tetras, cories, etc), you cannot use brackish water, as the salt will cause burns.

Fancy guppies are exactly that - they're fancy. They usually, the males especially, have brighter and longer tails, as well as more coloring on their bodies. Feeder guppies, on the other hand, tend to be rather plain and boring-looking.

Honestly, if I were you, I'd set up a ten-gallon tank or bigger just to breed the guppies in if you want to keep them all. The hiding spots are all well and good, but depending on how well-stocked your current tank is and how determined the other fish are to eat the babies, they may do nothing at all. Whereas if you have them in a separate tank and remove the mothers after they're done giving birth, you'll have a greater chance of all of them surviving. I use a breeder box in my quarantine tank to keep the mother and the fry separated until I can get the mother out, and then I release the babies into the tank.

Answer 3

Guppies cannot breed with other fish in the tank unless they're other guppies.

The difference between a fancy guppy and the feeder guppies is that the fancy guppies are selectively bred to have very bright colors and large tails that one would not normally find on them in the wild. This makes them slow-moving, and the bright colors can deter some fish from consuming them.

Feeder guppies are more like what you'd find in the wild. They aren't bred to have bright colors or large fan-like tails. They're quick, hardy, and inexpensive---so they make ideal choices to feed to other carnivoric fish.

Really the difference between them is like the differences between a feeder Goldfish, and a fan-tail goldfish---one is bred to be fancy with intentions to be kept as a pet and the other isn't.

If you intend to breed, you should have large rocks that offer plenty of places for the babies to hide. You could also consider breeding grass (very effective and inexpensive at Walmart). Personally, I wouldn't use a breeding container---I let nature take its course, so to speak. The strongest babies survive---just like they would in the wild. And while I do realize guppies kept in an aquarium aren't wild and so that doesn't apply, I like to mimic their natural life cycle as closely as possible. Additionally, it prevents your tank from becoming overcrowded by continuous breeding and babies.

Hope that helps!

PS: Guppies require brackish water conditions to successfully breed. This means they need 1/2 tsp. of NON-IODINE SALT per gallon of water. Table salt with no iodine or any other chemical treatments is sufficient and only about $1 @ Walmart.