Absolute Beginner, Wanting Advise On Guppies!

[Sarah5098]

I have a filter and heater on order and will start cycling as soon as they arrive!
I have decided i really like the look of guppies and betta so can i please get any advise on tank requirements, water conditions, how easy they are to keep etc.
I really love the blue ones (Like 'keenonfish''s picture) can anyone tell me anything about them?
What other fish do they live with?
My tank is 80x30x40cm
Thanks,
Sarah

 

[leeandstacie]

I have a filter and heater on order and will start cycling as soon as they arrive!
I have decided i really like the look of guppies so can i please get any advise on tank requirements, water conditions, how easy they are to keep etc.
I really love the blue ones (Like 'keenonfish''s picture) can anyone tell me anything about them?
What other fish do they live with?
My tank is 80x30x40cm
Thanks,
Sarah

Guppies are quite well know as beginners fish and are quite easy to keep and also they breed like rabbits which is quite cool at first but I soon found myself over run with guppy fry which I gave to the local pet shop after they were a couple of months old
I cant comment on water quality as I am not that expert yet but I am sure someone else will post them shortly or you will find the info in the live bearer section

There is a dude called oldman47 who knows loads bout guppies
Welcome to the forum

Cheers, Lee

 

[Sarah5098]

Thanks for the advise, can you tell the difference between male and female?
Could i get only females for example? Are they shoal fish?
Sorry for all the questions but i am a complete novice and cant find any decent sites on guppies, just lots of sites on showing guppies
Sarah

 

[GlidergirlUK]

You would want to get all male if you werent going to breed, the males are much more colourful than the females IMO, I keep mine with Platys and corys etc

 

[leeandstacie]

+ if you get all females they could be pregnant before you buy them

 

[Sarah5098]

I like the look of neon tetras and am hoping to keep them with a few guppies, is that ok? Will they become fish food?
Thanks for all the advise,
Sarah

 

[leeandstacie]

I have kept them together before with no problems at all, both species were quite peaceful but someone will prob correct me on this
I only recently got rid of the last of my guppies and when I came home I found I had missed one and he hangs out with the neons all day with no bother

 

[OldMan47]

Guppies and neons are compatible as far as fish aggression. They both stay fairly small and neither one is a very aggressive fish. The water requirements of the two are quite far apart for ideal conditions. Ideal for a guppy would be hard water with a pH above 7.5 although they can survive somewhat softer water. Ideal for the neons is fairly soft water with a pH of 6.5 to 7.0. I have kept the two fish together without too much trouble by compromising on water conditions. Neither fish will be prime specimens with moderately soft water around pH 7.0 but both will live a good life in the same tank. You have a nice sized tank for that combination of fish. If you do not want fry and all the fun that comes with them, you should only get male guppies. A female guppy can be carrying fry when you get her which might not be so bad except that she can also carry sperm packets and develop one after another drop of fry for over 6 months.
Sexing common livebearers is easy. The thing that you look for is the shape of the anal fin, the fin right in back of where they eliminate waste. In a male the fin will be a long thin single line like the one on this Heterandria.

On a female it is sort of fan shaped or triangular depending on how you look at it. This is a female Heterandria for comparison to the male.

There are often other clues like the fancy tail on a male guppy or the sword shaped fin on a swordtail male but the fin shape is the thing you should judge them by.

 

[Sarah5098]

Thanks for all that info! Very useful! I think i will just stick to guppies then as my tap water is quite hard and has a ph 7.5, so its ideal yay! Can betta's live with guppies? and do you have any reccomendations on a small shoaling fish to live with them? and an algae eater? Haha, im planning my tank and i havent even got my ammonia for cycling yet
Thanks, bit giddy
Sarah

 

[Platygirl11]

As for cycling, Perhaps you could ask your fish store for some mature filter media. This was how I saved my first fish after other misinformation.

Betas? Uuuuuuum. I'm gonna say no to that one. They're very aggressive fish, and when they see a big, pretty guppy tail, well.... It won't be good for the guppy. If you had your heart set on a betta, I would head over to the beta forum and post a topic there on good beta tankmates.

 

[loraxchick]

mt betta happily lives with some guppies and cories and shrimp. but each betta is different regarding personality. some do NOT tolerate any tankmates. fancy male guppies are probably not a good idea as their very colorful fins may make the betta attack them. go for wild type guppies instead. still very very pretty just without those fins that may put a betta on the offensive.
good luck,

 

[OldMan47]

They are not ideal in your water but rasboras do well almost anywhere. They make a good first fish when you are not too sure that your cycle is perfect and they are very attractive small fish. They are not as colorful as a guppy but have a nice pattern of color on them.