Tell me any helpful tips, information, and personal experience you have had with guppies. I have a 10 gallon and I am putting two guppies in a week until I get to 8. (Leave a little room in case any babies survive.)
2006-10-15 15:47:19 · 5 answers · asked by Jamie J 3 in Pets ➔ Fish
I started out with 2 guppies and now have around 100 and had to buy a new tank just to separate the sexes. Your 10 gallon will become very crowed in no time especially if you buy 2 a week. If you don't want the babies to survive you can only have very little decor, I only had 2 plants and still have that many.
Females can have babies up to 6 times with only 1 encounter with a male. So even after all the females were separated I still had babies.
2006-10-16 03:18:17 · answer #1 · answered by Nunya Biznis 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi! I got some FAQs from http://www.guppies.com/FAQ.html
I hope this will help...
Q. How do I know if my guppy is pregnant?
Female Guppy abdomens have a dark spot, called the gravid spot, at the rear of the female's abdomen. The color is caused by the baby guppies (actually their eyes) showing through their mother's skin. The darker the spot the closer the babies are to birth.
Q. How large a tank will I need for 3 to 5 adult guppies?
10 gals for guppies over 2 months of age. 5 gals for babies.
Q. Do I need to use a filter?
You can use simple box filters inside your tanks with marbles to hold down the filter floss or more expensive outside-the-tank filters..
Q. Do I need to change the water?
Change about 15% to 30% of your water each week with aged water. Most tap water contains chemicals that can harm the fish. If you age the water for a day or two in an open container most of the chemicals will leave the water as a gas (which is why the container needs to be open).
Q. How do I get rid of debris on the bottom of the tank?
Siphon the debris from the bottom of the tank.
Q. Do I need to treat the water?
Age the water at least a day or treat the water with a chlorine/chloramines remover if you have these chemicals in your water supply. Remember to use an open container for the water. In an open container most of the chemicals will leave the water as a gas (which is why the container needs to be open).
Q. What should be the water pH?
The pH should be in the range of 6.8--7.6 (7.0-7.2 is preferable).
Q. What temperature should the water be?
Keep the temperature between 72 to 80 degrees. Hint, breeding is more active in warmer water.
Q. Should babies be in warmer water?
Keep guppies 0-4 months of age at 78-80, 5-8 months at 75-77 and 9-12 months at 72-74.
Q. How much light do they need?
Provide 10-16 hours of light a day and use an automatic timer to turn your lights on and off.
Q. When should I feed them?
Feed them as much as they will eat in two or three minutes at least twice a day.
Q. What should I feed new babies?
Babies should be fed newly hatched brine shrimp once or twice a day and/or grind up adult food between your fingers so they can bite it.
Q. How long do I keep the males with the females when they are young?
Separate male guppies from the females at about 4 weeks of age to avoid fertilizing the females and ruining your stock.
Q. How many guppies can I keep in a tank?
Twenty to twenty five guppies can be kept per ten gallons (fish that are 5-7 months old).
Q. Should I remove the fish I do not want to breed?
Pet shops will always be happy to purchase the fish you do not want or give them away to spread the hobby!.
Q. How do I meet others who enjoy guppies?
Join or start an aquarium club and start a guppy group within the club.
2006-10-15 17:36:50 · answer #2 · answered by adolf 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Add a little aquarium salt to the tank, do weekly water changes of about 25%, they dont do well in a new set up as the high levels of amonia nitrite and nitrate that get your bacteria happening and happy are extremely hard on them so expect a few bodies if your adding them to a new system.
You should be adding one male to two females as one on one the males will stress the hell out of the females (horny little devils) and make sure what your bringing home from the petstore are healthy fish.
2006-10-15 16:00:22 · answer #3 · answered by Snakelady 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If your getting fancy guppies just remember they are inbred and very fragile.
I used feeder guppies to get my most recent tank started and the darn things are still alive after 2 months.
1 male 2 -3 female. (we guys like to fool around)
get a breeding tank for the inside of your tank to put the pregnant female in when she is ready to give birth. it will prevent the other fish as well as the mother from eating them.
feed daphnia and brine shrimp once in a while to make sure they stay healthy.
2006-10-15 17:38:48 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
yeah that should do i had some in my fish pond they breed like rabbits i lots counts had dozens and they where happy.
2006-10-15 15:58:13 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋