General advice for keeping guppies ?

[Rich T]

As per title anyone got any advice for keeping guppies ?

I bought two males yesterday as I dont want to breed them.
They are currently in a friends tank whilst mine is stabalizing after suffering a crack to my old tank


Looking for things like recommended foods, ideal tank temperature, environment, planting ?


One has a silver body and a bright yellow tail and the other is orange and white body with orange tail.

Will try and sort out some pictures later



Thanks
Rich T

 

[Rich T]

Here are the two guppies

One thing though, how do you tell a male from a female guppie ?

Ive noticed the orange one has a fat belly whereas the yellow one is streamlined.

 

[ruffmeister]

both males there mate see the on the yellow one the yellow fin on the underside this is called the anal fin and only males have it. again on the orange one mate on the underside its clear and again its anal fin

very nice guppies there tho, be careful with no females in the tank you are suspetable to fin rot through angeriung one another looking for a female especailly in the yellow guppies

 

[Rich T]

Excellent, it had me thinking for a minute there that I had a pregnant female


When I went in my lunch break they had a tank full of females and a tank full of males. When I returned later that day all of the females bar one dull little thing had gone and as they were catching these two males for me the little female jumped out of the one tank into the males tank next door

 

[wrs]

wow, your tank is overstocked, you really shouldnbt get those guppies, or if you have take them back.

did you cycle your tank?

 

[Rich T]

Personally I dont think it is.

Ive had more fish in there before than what I have now and will have with the 2 guppies. Although they were much smaller fish

Going by the calculator on the main forum My tank works out as follows

Surface area: 120 Inches2 Volume: 3.46 UK gallons/4.16 US gallons Weight of water: 34.58 lbs
Max. units of fish: 10 Inches Heating required: 10.38 watts

The three Corys are just over an inch long so say roughly 3.5" total
The 2x Minnows are just under an inch long but for ease lets call it an inch - New total 6.5"
The 1x Danio is the same size as the minnows - New Total 7.5"

Leaving roughly 2.5" of capacity left.

The pearl danio will be going to a friend shortly so that will free up more space

So a total space of 3.5" free and thats being conservative and dividing by 12 (not 10) when calculating the max number of inches of fish that the tank can hold



But thanks for your input, It has been noted. I have no intentions of adding more fish only to take one away so it can live with some other danios rather than being on its own



My old tank cracked down one of the seems and I had to rush out and buy a new one so the tank is not completely cycled as of yet but it only has a tiny amount of excess nitrite at the moment which is dropping with each water change.
This is the reason why I have the guppies with a friend at the moment and nowhere near my tank !

 

[SnowyzMom]

Beautiful guppy males there. I have a bright orange with silver leopard sides, very full fins, like a mini Betta. I keep my 7 males in my "monastery" tank, a 10 gallon and they're quite happy over there with 3 corydoras. So far as over stocking a tank goes, probably people would say my 29 gallon is overstocked but the corys stay on the bottom, the guppies up the top unless they're swiping the corys' food (the little oinkers!) and the tetras all stay in the middle, unless they are swiping the guppies' food(triple oinkers that lot). Anyways with alot of live plants and snails(i luv snails), everything is going good re: ammonia levels at zero and so forth. I test regularly. It is a well settled in tank mind you, used old gravel in it, etc.

I admit I change the charcoal filter(not the bio filter)on that big tank whenever it's clogged up(every 6 weeks perhaps) and do water changes of 25-30% once a week to every 10 days and everyone is screamingly healthy. (for which I am VERY grateful, my daughter had viruses wipe out her guppies )

By the way, don't throw out a cracked tank unless it's got holes in it. There is an aquarium safe silicone glue in a tube you can buy at any hardware store that will hold any aquarium together totally watertight. You really can't notice the cracks on two of my tanks....there's plants in the way and hey, it saved me a ton of money, and zero leaks.

The 7 guppy males are all behaving fine, I even stick male fry in with them and no problems. They DO show off alot though, buncha male models the lot of them! B) They like 72-79 degrees F it seems. Both the males and my females love flake foods crumbled up and sprinkled on the water, mine also go after the cories' shrimp pellets, will snatch the black tetras' bloodworms, like the occasional tubifex feast(a pinch off of a square of it, softened in water) but they go flippin gonzo over fresh peas. Pinch the shell off the pea, squish it abit, drop it in and see a fight go on for who gets it. My males play guppy pea basketball, flinging the halves all over the 10 gallon with jerks of their heads. Of course they're just getting a good bite but it looks right funny.

Lovely yellow male you've got. I've got one that's supposed to be a half black, but under the lights he isn't black he's deep blue...deep royal blue. Man, if I didn't live in a small town I'd show that sucker, he's drop dead gorgeous. As it is, the local pet store lady is delighted at all the pretty fish I bring her every few months(yes, I cull the herd). Danged male fry that hang out in the main tank for 2 1/2 weeks and don't let me catch them! Now I'm in fry ville again. Guppies seem to need feeding 2-3 times a day but you can guage how often by how quick they clean it up....my females seem to get into a mad panic if I'm late, but then they ARE eating for 25+ not just one (thanks to that male fry who turned into Don Juan overnight) Ah, you gotta luv em.

 

[Rich T]

The old tank is in storage im not throwing it away just yet incase I ever need a hospital tank and the old filter is sitting in my current tank hopefully keeping the filter bacteria active. The old tank will hold 3 or 4 inches of water up until the crack (without gravel) so it may well be of some use yet.

Im not sure how well it will seal though as its an acrylic tank which might flex and break the seal.


Good call on the yellow ones being the more aggressive of the two as this one keeps pestering the orange one until the orange one starts flaring back it him

Looks like I have a pair of models too

 

[wrs]

Personally I dont think it is.

Ive had more fish in there before than what I have now and will have with the 2 guppies. Although they were much smaller fish

Going by the calculator on the main forum My tank works out as follows

Surface area: 120 Inches2 Volume: 3.46 UK gallons/4.16 US gallons Weight of water: 34.58 lbs
Max. units of fish: 10 Inches Heating required: 10.38 watts

The three Corys are just over an inch long so say roughly 3.5" total
The 2x Minnows are just under an inch long but for ease lets call it an inch - New total 6.5"
The 1x Danio is the same size as the minnows - New Total 7.5"

Leaving roughly 2.5" of capacity left.

The pearl danio will be going to a friend shortly so that will free up more space

So a total space of 3.5" free and thats being conservative and dividing by 12 (not 10) when calculating the max number of inches of fish that the tank can hold



But thanks for your input, It has been noted. I have no intentions of adding more fish only to take one away so it can live with some other danios rather than being on its own



My old tank cracked down one of the seems and I had to rush out and buy a new one so the tank is not completely cycled as of yet but it only has a tiny amount of excess nitrite at the moment which is dropping with each water change.
This is the reason why I have the guppies with a friend at the moment and nowhere near my tank !

well your really wrong with your idea about the space. you do the adult size of the fish.

the corries will be 3 inches EACH. so 9 total

 

[wrs]

Personally I dont think it is.

Ive had more fish in there before than what I have now and will have with the 2 guppies. Although they were much smaller fish

Going by the calculator on the main forum My tank works out as follows

Surface area: 120 Inches2 Volume: 3.46 UK gallons/4.16 US gallons Weight of water: 34.58 lbs
Max. units of fish: 10 Inches Heating required: 10.38 watts

The three Corys are just over an inch long so say roughly 3.5" total
The 2x Minnows are just under an inch long but for ease lets call it an inch - New total 6.5"
The 1x Danio is the same size as the minnows - New Total 7.5"

Leaving roughly 2.5" of capacity left.

The pearl danio will be going to a friend shortly so that will free up more space

So a total space of 3.5" free and thats being conservative and dividing by 12 (not 10) when calculating the max number of inches of fish that the tank can hold



But thanks for your input, It has been noted. I have no intentions of adding more fish only to take one away so it can live with some other danios rather than being on its own



My old tank cracked down one of the seems and I had to rush out and buy a new one so the tank is not completely cycled as of yet but it only has a tiny amount of excess nitrite at the moment which is dropping with each water change.
This is the reason why I have the guppies with a friend at the moment and nowhere near my tank !

well your really wrong with your idea about the space. you do the adult size of the fish.

the corries will be 3 inches EACH. so 9 total
the minnows will get to be 2 inches each. 4 more
the guppies 4 inches as well.

17 inches of fish in a 4 something gallon tank?

do you live in the US? If so, take that tank back to were ever you got it. i bet it was like $30, and go to walmart or PETsMART. they both sell 10 galoons for cheap. walmart is 30 and PETsMART is like 40 or so.

 

[Rich T]

At the moment they are fine for my size of tank, did I ever claim they would be fine when fully grown ?


And no it wasnt a $30 dollar tank it was a roughly $120 dollar tank as it came with pump, filter, strip lighting, condensation tray, hood, heater, gravel, plants etc.....


Things arent as cheap in the UK as they are in the US
<------ Note the location bit under my name

 

[wrs]

wow, thats a rip off. you really should return that for that price. ask people from the UK on here were they get theyre tanks and for how much. for a tank that size thats a robery. not many tansk come with gravel and plants, but you could always buy them for like $2., or how ever many euros that is.

 

[Rich T]

If you lived in the UK which is "Pounds Sterling" by the way not Euros, you would know that thats the typical price to pay.

To buy everything seperate would have cost a lot more e.g.

Tank (no hood) £20
Pump and filter media £20
Strip Light £8
Heater £15
Gravel £2
Plants total £6
Some stress coat etc.. £6
Protective base pad £1
Backing scene £1
Condensation tray £2

Total = £82 + whatever a hood for the tank costs ($145 + hood)


In comparison I paid £60 for the lot and its a very good quality tank.
I got my sums wrong last post, my tank is a $100 tank not $120

Infact just looking on ebay, someone is selling the exact same tank I have minus the pump, filter, lighting etc for almost as much as I paid brand new for the lot !!


Im happy with the price I paid

 

[littleme1969]

If you look on e.bay you can get a nice 8.5UK gallon tank with light condensation tray and internal filter for £50 and that delivered to your house . I know ..I bought 2 of them and am really pleased with them. Try link below.
8.5G UK tank
And I do agree with the others..it is a little over stocked
The male is a Red blonde by the way. a bit of usless info for you there. I have one too and they are greedy little beggers and yes from time to time mine looks preggers too.