guppies??? pics included!?

Question

i want a small cute fish. r guppies easy to take care of??? i would have them in a small tank with only a filter max. i would like 2 feed them flake food. what type of fancy guppies r easiest 2 take care of? i like these pics of them, plz tell me if these types r easy to take care of.
http://www.bennyng.digitalgalleryhosting.com/albums/album59/Y1W5681ER.jpg

http://www.guppywest.com/GreenMoscow_BryanChin_PhotoBryanChin.jpg

http://www.grizzlyrun.com/Files/Images/Image_Gallery/fancy_guppy.jpg

i like the 1st one best but they r all cool!!!!!!!

would black and white mollies be easy?????

how about platys??????? r those easy???

Answer 1

All three species you list are livebearers and all have similar requirements. Which you should get would depend on the size of the tank you'll be keeping them in - you don't want to overcrowd the tank!

I would suggest you start with guppies or platies, because they stay smaller, and would do better in a smaller tank, If your tank is larger you can always add some others at a later time.

The biggest "secret" to successful fishkeeping is to start properly, and keep up with maintenance/water changes. Before you even get any fish, I would suggest you read this link about the nitrigen cycle and cycling your tank: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm The mistake most new fishkeepers make is to try to add too many fish at one time when the tank can't handle them. Basically, what I mean by this is that when you add fish to a new tank, there aren't any bacteria present to break down their wastes. One waste that your fish will produce is ammonia, and ammonia is toxic to fish - if there's enough of it present, the fish will die from ammonia poisoning: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/ammoniapoison.htm You can cycle your tank with a few hardy fish, or entirely without fish, and the link will explain that and how to do each. But once you have the bacteria, the ammonia will be converted to nitrate, which is non-toxic in moderate amounts. So you only want to add a few fish each week.

When you get your fish, float their bag in the tank for 15 minutes so the temperature adjusts. Then open their bag and pour about 1/4 down the drain (never add it to your tank!) and replace it with water from your tank, and wait a few minutes. Do this about 3-4 times so the fish get used to your water gradually in case there are differences in chemistry from what they were kept at in the store. After the last time, net the fish and add them to your tank.

If you want both males and females, get 2-3 females for each male. Don't be surprised when you start getting baby fish though - all these will give birth to live young on average every 28 days. I keep plenty of plants (they don't have to be real ones) so the babies have a place to hide from the adults so they don't get eaten. You can also use a breeder net, or remove the fry to another tank to raise them.

You only want to feed your fish what they can eat in 2-3 minutes twice a day. It's best to give them a variety of foods, so you can feed flakes at most meals, but give them some "treats" occassionally - an algae-based flake, frozen bloodworms, or frozen daphnia are all good choices.

Another trick for keeping livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, or mollies) is to add some salt to their water - about 1 tablespoon for every 5 gallons. They seem to do a lot better when that have some salt than when they don't. It's best to use salt that doesn't have iodine (kosher salt, rock salt, canning salt, aquarium salt).

Every week, clean the inside of the glass with a scraper made for aquarium use, then use a gravel vacuum to siphon out 1/4 of the water, cleaning down into about 1/3 of the gravel - switch what section gets cleaned each time to keep gunk from building up in the gravel. This also gets rid of the nitrates fron the wastes (which are an algae fertilizer) and adds back some minerals that your fish can use. If the water level drops between changes, add back pure water (salt doesn't evaporate), but when you do changes, you'll need to keep track of how much water you take out and replace both the water and the salt. I keep a 5 gallon bucket that I use to mix salt and water for changes, and another bucket for dirty water I take out of the tank.

Here are some other links that can help you with your new tank - good luck with whichever fish you choose!

Answer 2

Guppies are actually both easy and difficult to keep ... if you have never had fish before, then I'd recommend you get an 'easier' fish, like a 'fancy tailed goldfish' or two. You say you would have your fish in a 'small tank' ...but don't give a 'gallonage' ... You'd need at least a 15 gallon tank to keep a school of guppies properly ... and since guppies are 'schooling fish' you need to have at least 6, up to 50 fish. The ones you have pictures of are 'fancy guppies' ... if you can keep your goldfish alive for six months, I'd start with a 'small school' (6-12) of 'regular' (blue) guppies, and if you can keep them alive for a year, try the 'fancies' ... meanwhile, you'll need to do RESEARCH on what to feed them, how often to feed them, and about what a 'fish tank' for guppies NEEDS. I'll tell you that you WILL have 'all of the fish' for a very long time, if you know what you are doing, so don't think that you can 'flush the goldfish' when you get your first guppies ... you'll love it far too much by then, and you'll soon be an 'aquarium fancier' like I am ...

Answer 3

Most guppies are easy to take care of. Just make sure ou feed them and clean their tanks regularly. Oh and be careful about putting them in a tank with other types of fish. The other fish might eat their tails.

Answer 4

Your guppy looks pregnant. My guppy have been given so enormous whilst she became pregnant that her physique began to arch. make certain you purchase a separate breeding field so as that different fish contained locally (such via fact the mother) do no longer consume the babies.

Answer 5

guppies are good starter fish but no fish r easy to take care of. these fish die easily so u must feed them twice a day and clean there tank roughly every month

Answer 6

For the record...all kinds of fish ARE NOT easy to take care of. The person that posted that is a douche! I mean that!

some fish are very delicate creatures and have to be tended to DAILY. Others you can purchase and put them in a container with filtration feed them and they will be fine. Notice I say FINE and not PERFECT or even HAPPY!

I suggest going to the store and purchasing a feeder fish FIRST...feeder fish are generally found in One large tank and are used to feed other fish and animals that eat meat.

they are cheap and generally very hardy creatures as they stay in large groups most of their lives. the life you will provide will be amazing compared to the future that fish would have lol.....after all he's like a bigmac!

do not get a tropical fish! salt or freshwater because they will need a water heater. In fact, alot of fish need water heaters!

ie, the common BETA is out! They keep them in those little tanks and put them on shelves so that they will display their colors. they are VERY territorial. some are ok with other fish. Personaly, Mine is over two years old and He's eaten, attacked or completely destroyed all other life besides his marine plant that i have put in that tank. he is perfectly happy alone!

just start with a feeder fish to get the hang of it. experiment with ways to care for it ...

you will have to set out water 24-48 hours in advance at least. I purchase bottled water for my fish. You need to let it distill...to allow the chemicals to evaporate out.

then you need a cheap water conditioner from the pet store to put a few drops in!

I suggest the filter as you've have stated but also a small light to go over the tank

walmart has a tank system for 30 bucks that comes with a filter, air pump, light, tank, and one plant! it is PERFECT for the bigginging fish lover!

once you fill the tank, place the fish (in the bag still) in the top to float until BOTH the water and his water in his bag are the same temperature.

you can get a water testing kit for cheap at the store (1-5 dollars) to check the acidity to make sure things are ph balanced


sure most fish are easy to take care of if you do the bare minimum...but it isnt fair to an animal to purchase it with the idea ALREADY in mind that you will neglect its needs simply because it will survive on minimum attention~

Answer 7

All fish are east to take care of. I like the middle one

Answer 8

all fish is easy except for the big ones

Answer 9

guppies can be kind of nasty fish, they reproduce like crazy, produce an excessive amount of waste, and they eat their babies

Answer 10

not too small a tank, 5 gal minimum.