Guppy Fish Overview, Aquarium Setup, Water Conditions, Breeding & Raising Fries, Tank Mates & Diet:
Guppy is from the family of Poecilia reticulate & it is a very famous fish & due to easy care level, it is also called beginners fish. Guppy is from South America. About 300 types of the fish are discovered in Amazon river. Guppy is a live bearer fish & their babies are free swimming when they are born. Male guppy is colorful & have long fins while females are not that colorful & have large bodies.
Aquarium Setup for Guppies:
I would suggest using at least 20-liter aquarium for a few guppies if you are expert otherwise I would recommend using a 40-liter aquarium for 5 guppies. If you want to add more guppies to tank, then it is even suitable for them but would need high maintenance.
I have personally kept a few guppies in a Nano aquarium. I have substrate in the tank, along with plants, a light, & a heater.
Aquarium Filter:
Guppy is a little specie & they do not create too much poop. But still a filter is needed if you are planning to add more to an aquarium. I would suggest adding a sponge filter in aquarium because they do not suck fries & babies can eat the leftover food on the sponges. You can also add massive bio media which produces good bacteria.
Guppy Tank Heater:
Guppy is a tropical specie & would like to live in tank with water from 75 to 80 Degree Fahrenheit which is 24 – 27 Degree in Celsius. Do not keep this fish in cool temperature because it could get diseases. Add a thermostat heater which does not need to be turned on & off manually but it would do this process automatically to make sure required temperature is met.
Tank Lighting:
Every tank needs a light, which both plants & fish need. Live plants will breathe carbon dioxide & expel oxygen in the availability of light & an opposite process will start when light turns off. You will feel more activeness from guppies if your light is working & they will search for their next meal & will get connected with mates.
Aquatic Plants:
Guppies that are in a planted tank are healthy, relax & happier than those kept in aquariums without live plants. They love to hide & rest in plants & plants are very important for guppy fries because they can hide from bullies. This way guppies can have a natural environment like they enjoy in the wild. You can also decorate your tank & add structures which add beauty to your fancy aquarium & provide hiding places for the fish. Plants & structures are a better region for pregnant guppy to give birth to babies. Fries like to eat micro-organism that grow on the plants & they only eat this food but as they are growing they need flakes & other fish food for better growth.
Water Conditions for Guppies:
Guppies love a pH level of 7 or higher. They like hard water with high calcium, magnesium, & important minerals. In case of having soft water, we suggest adding Wonder Shell to tank, which can assist in increasing hardness of water & adding essential minerals in aquarium.
Breeding & Raising Guppy Fries:
If you are planning to breed guppies, then introduce 1 male for every 2 females but remember reproduction happens quickly. A single female guppy can give birth from one to hundred babies. The babies usually show colors in around 3 months & by that time their mother would have given birth to 3 batches of the babies. So prepare for a larger tank if you are planning to breed guppies.
If you have plants in aquarium, then guppy fries can hide in them & it is a good idea to introduce few structures & decorations in aquarium which allow fries to hide from adults that consider them food. If a mother guppy give birth to fries in the aquarium, then there are many chances of saving the young if you have plenty of hiding spots then we recommend separating them from adults by picking up the fries in the fish net. It is however difficult to separate the little ones from bullies because of their small size, they are hard to locate in aquarium.
Aquarists use breeder box for raising fries which allows fries to grow, & they share the same aquarium with adult guppies. It is a nylon box which allows water to pass through it but stops fries from escaping the box. It is very easy to setup a breeder box. Breeder box has a frame & a stylish nylon net is wrapped around the frame. You can keep fries in this box for a temporary period but I would recommend shifting them to another aquarium for faster growth.
It is very easy to raise babies of guppies & no additional maintenance is needed if you have setup a breeder box.
If you have setup a separate tank for fries, then I would suggest adding a sponge filter because babies love to scrap food from the sponges.
Guppy Diet:
Guppies like overeating so aquarists often feed them more, which can cause constipation & health problems. Only offer food to mature guppies once or twice every day, & ensure that your added food is eaten by guppies in a minute. Guppies like all sorts of foods & would even eat algae growing in the tank. Aquarists feed them brine shrimp, flakes, pellets etc.
Guppy Tank Mates:
Guppies are fast & have shiny fins. Due to their flashy fins & fast swimming, you can keep your guppies with other peaceful fish including cory catfish & neon tetras. But avoid adding any aggressive or semi aggressive fish to guppy tank because they can nip guppy fish or swallow them. We would not recommend keeping tiger barbs or bala sharks in guppy tank.
Guppy is a schooling fish & it likes the company of other peaceful fish. If you want to mix up guppies with their own kind, then ensure you add 1 male for every 2 females.
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