A Pair Of Guppies In A 5.5-gallon? :3

[Amberleaf]

Hi, all.

Wells, I am thinking of setting up a purely experimental tank to see what kind of guppy babies and strains I could potentially make.... But it will be a 5.5-gallon. ^^;

Would it be better to put just a pair in there, to get the best breeding results or whatever (I'm probably talking crap; I know XD), or should I get 3? ^^;

It would be either 1 male and 1 female, or 1 male and 2 females, soooooes....

Any tips/advice? Would 3 guppies even *fit* in a 5.5-gallon tank? ^^;

 

[aly_starh]

I personally wouldn't put guppies in 5.5g,
Some places say 10g although some do say 5g.

What will you do with all the fry? And also is the tank cycled?

 

[Amberleaf]

There is no tank yet.

Idk.... The fry will probably either be eaten by the parents, *OR* I will just use the 30-gallon I want to get and put all of the fry in theres. XD (The 30-gallon doesn't exist, yet, *eithers*.) DX

 

[OldMan47]

If you are going to get serious about selective breeding of guppies to improve the strains, you will need at least a dozen tanks for each line that you want to work with. Because it is possible to keep a pair of guppies in a 5 gallon, it is almost a must, because it takes so many tanks and few people have the room for that many 20s. When doing carefully selected breeding of fish, it makes good sense to use a single female with a well known background for that kind of breeding. We seldom recommend putting a single female with a male as hobbyists because of the possibility of stressing the female. When you are doing selective breeding, you will only leave a pair together long enough to be assured that the fry come from a particular pairing and will then remove the male, so it is not that important to worry about ratios to protect the female.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

What will you do when all the fry grow larger and breed with each other and have babies? I don't think sticking a couple guppies in a five-gallon just because it sounds like a neat idea is necessarily the right sort of plan UNLESS you have the proper set-up for breeding and know of specific fish stores who will take the extra fish. For example, I found a fish store nearby who takes in fish babies and sells them for the hobbiest (but does not pay that person). Basically, they provide a way for the babies to go to new homes!

 

[helterskelter]

If you are going to get serious about selective breeding of guppies to improve the strains, you will need at least a dozen tanks for each line that you want to work with. Because it is possible to keep a pair of guppies in a 5 gallon, it is almost a must, because it takes so many tanks and few people have the room for that many 20s. When doing carefully selected breeding of fish, it makes good sense to use a single female with a well known background for that kind of breeding. We seldom recommend putting a single female with a male as hobbyists because of the possibility of stressing the female. When you are doing selective breeding, you will only leave a pair together long enough to be assured that the fry come from a particular pairing and will then remove the male, so it is not that important to worry about ratios to protect the female.

Your not going to develop much with just one tank. Guppy breeders working with well developed line already use around a dozen tanks.
Each female has her own tank to drop fry in. As soon as males are seen they are placed in their own rearing tank
The best couple of virgin females are then placed with the very best male, remembering each female has her own tank.
Course some females look good but carry the wrong gene's, this is why u keep them separate. If the fry are wrong then the lot are dumped. and then it's back to selecting another virgin female that looks the part.

The best thing u can do is build a shed and get 40 small tanks LOL that what i will do one day again.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

The best thing u can do is build a shed and get 40 small tanks LOL that what i will do one day again.

The other day while browsing online, I found a small article about a breeder. He has HUNDREDS of tanks!

 

[Amberleaf]

Well, screw that, then; I might just keep a pair of something *not* livebearers. Thanks! ^^;

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Well, screw that, then; I might just keep a pair of something *not* livebearers. Thanks! ^^;

Yep! When I first brought home my guppies (both male), I was obsessed with the idea of breeding them with females. After about a week, I realized that it would be too challenging (and costly) to set up all the necessary equipment. I do have both pygmy cories and rasboras and do not know which are male/female. I'm pretty sure that of the pygmies, I have a female! They're sharing a tank with guppies. If the guppies don't eat the eggs and/or the babies do survive, I do have a larger tank for them, but most likely will take them to a pet store (and not expect payment).