Lifespan Of Guppies?

[GuppyGoddess]

Hi everyone,

All of my guppies are dead. Most got a fungal infection brought home from a LFS and the rest were culled b/c they had sucken tummies due to what seemed to be a parasite of some sort.

The tank is being cleaned/sterilize and then will be cycled again.

Question is - for those who've kept guppies for a long time, how long do most of yours live? The LFS I was buying from had guppies ranging from littly fry to huge, fat, 2 inch long adult guppies. None of mine have reached that full-size.

I'm getting a Ph meter to see if it's my water. If the Ph on my water is acceptable, then should I try more guppies or what? None of mine have lived longer than 3 months.

This is my son's tank and he's warming up to the idea of getting a betta instead. . .but I think guppies are better and more lively for him. Other option would be 2 platies.

The tank is 5-gallons, if it makes any difference.

Thanks!

 

[TheSims3Dude]

Hiya!

I've had quite a few guppies (and bred some) for some time now (I'm only 20) lol
anyways, most of my guppies have lasted about 2-4 years, usually 3 yrs at the most though,
as to your pH, I wouldn't know sorry, I rarely check my pH, more concerned for my ammonia levels, etc, but I've never had any problems with my guppies, (on rare occasions they've died after a couple months) but usually mine last a couple years,.. could it be your local fish store? I'm only asking because I've got some platies from my LFS and they died a couple days later, but I've bought some platies from another LFS, and I've had them for years,... Anyways, I hope I helped!

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Where do you buy the majority of guppies that have lived a long time? None of my LFS have great quality guppies. The one I was getting them from is isn't a chain store. The ones at Petco/Petsmart always seem to have ich on them and none of the other stores take decent care of their fish, so the one I bought them from was the least bad of places. Aquabid is ridiculously expensive when including shipping so I'm not sure where to go from here.

 

[TheSims3Dude]

I live in Canada (Ontario) so I usually go to Big Al's, they have great fish, I still have a fish from there, and it's 11 years old!

EDIT:
I notice petsmart has a lot of dead fish in the tanks, ich, etc, so I usually end up going to Big Al's, it's about a 20 minute drive from my house, but it's definitely worth it, and the people are extremely knowledgeable.
Do you have Big Al's where you live?

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Nope, I live in the US and there isn't a Big Al's around where I live. The two better quality fish stores I've been to (the ones with great reputations) also have sick fish. Once I went in one day to find a velvety mess at the bottom of betta cup. The employees didn't even scan their bettas to discover the fish was sick.

 

[OldMan47]

If you want top quality fish with no issues, look into local fish shops that have no affiliation with big chains. If they have been in business for more than a few years, it is probably because they either have superior stock or they stock hard to find fish. Another source of top quality fish is the local fish club. I get most of my fish at auctions since I found the fish clubs in my area. The fish are always top quality and the breeders all put their name on the bags the fish come in. I must put my name on every bag I submit for auction and don't ever want to get a reputation for supplying poor quality fish. Talk about an incentive for providing only the best stock. On the other hand, I have never seen a problem with fish that I picked up at an auction. They are not only good fish but are usually in top condition with no disease.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Okay, thanks. The primary shop I was dealing with is a local shop (not a big chain) that is very locally owned in a smaller town. Even their guppies are crappy. After a bit of thought, I decided to get a betta instead and scrap the guppies. It's a bummer as they've always been a species I love, but they've turned into a pain!

Months back, I had checked for a fish club and the location is 1 hr away from me and the meeting is at 7 PM (once a month) and I guess I'm too lazy to to that. Maybe once my kids are older (they're still little right now).

 

[OldMan47]

I must admit that I am a board of directors member of my local fish club so I have a definite prejudice for people participating there. I recently suggested a local person attend one of our meetings and gave him a hard to find fish in exchange. The end result was a person who not only paid an annual club membership fee but a person who has already left me a message on that other site that he would love to spend over an hour on the road to be able to interact with the club membership. The essence of a local club is that you meet people who have your own enthusiasm for fish keeping and are happy to share their own experiences, and even their fish, with fellow club members. There is no other way that I know of to get that level of interaction without attending a club meeting. At our club, we spend a certain amount of time on the agenda and its lectures etc., then we allow a free discussion session among members before the club loses its reserved time at the meeting location. That final discussion session is worth the annual membership fee if you miss everything else IMO. Where else will you find a group of people so eager to discuss anything at all fishy with you?

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Thanks for your comments. The membership fee is only $15 per year and that's acceptable. I'll look into the final discussion session. . .the club doesn't meet during the summer so maybe their end-of-the-year get together will be soon.

Yesterday, I brought home a betta to put into the tank. Even though it's not cycled, I figured it would be better to give a small fish a chance since the majority of bettas aren't treated that great by "regular" people who adopt them and also the pet stores, so having her in a 5-gallon with regular changes may give her hope where otherwise she might die. A lot of the bettas the LFS had in there were on their last fin.

It's also come to my attention that the fish sold to me is considered too young to be sold. She's a betta approx 1" long and very little overall. She's being fed a small bit a few times a day. She had a difficult time eating a whole blood worm! Today, her breakfast was crushed up and she ate it quickly.

She seems happy and swims up and looks at me.

I think I've given up on guppies. They're adorable but too difficult and it's emotionally draining to me and I feel a bit like I failed, you know? Don't want to experience that again.