Of The "big 5" Which Do You Find Easiest To Take Care Of/ Br

[Platygirl11]

Just curious. I'm trying to find out which fish would be best for me, because I want to see fry, and don't want the adults to be fragile. I'm leaning towards guppies, because the LFS near me has some gorgeous ones!
Also, meant to provide newbies with starting fish choices once they've cycled.
So! Let the voting begin!

 

[Nick16]

guppies both times.

however due to large cross breeding and inter breeding, livebearers are not hardy fish anymore and are very susceptable to illness and disease. Its a shame becuase they used to be very nice fish to have.

 

[Curiosity101]

guppies both times.

however due to large cross breeding and inter breeding, livebearers are not hardy fish anymore and are very susceptable to illness and disease. Its a shame becuase they used to be very nice fish to have.

You don't have to go for the common livebearers though.
I'm pretty sure the rarer ones are still quite hardy, it's just that many of the common live bearers aren't selectively bred from wild stock. Normally it's an accidental breeding from store bought fish, siblings are then sold on to an lfs or similar and then along comes another person, buys lots of sibling fry and then inbreeding occurs. Takes unwanted fry to the lfs and voila, endless inbreeding cycle.

 

[Platygirl11]

I was thinking that I could get my male(s) from one LFS and my females from another. That, or buy fish that look completely different.
Is there any place that sells guppies online? (For variety )

 

[Curiosity101]

If you wanted unrelated and less inbred fish then I'm pretty sure the only way is to find a private breeder. Do you have any fish clubs or associations in your area? They'd be a good place to look.
If not, then unless you're willing to spend a mini fortune (Which I personally wouldn't), then your idea of buying fish from two different stores is probably your best bet.

 

[Platygirl11]

A mini-fortune? On just guppies? How? It seems sort of unlikely...
I live in MA, USA. Not many fish clubs. At all. Noot many people who have more than a bowl. Even less who have more than a 10 gal. At least, people I know. I'd love to go to a fish club, but WHERE?

 

[mixmaster jay]

platy's and mollies only because thats the only ones ive had lol

 

[Curiosity101]

Because you could order from breeders all over america, but it would cost loads to ship. You'd be sure you were getting line bred fish that were un-related, but like I said before it would be a mini fortune.

 

[OldMan47]

You are likely to find that good quality guppies are expensive anywhere. Typical pet store guppies are another matter altogether. A high quality guppy that can be bred to produce a guppy capable of competing in a show will cost many times as much as a pet shop guppy. Even at club auctions where a trio of pet shop guppies has a hard time getting a dollar, no matter how pretty it is, I have seen a pair of good quality guppies go for well over $20.

 

[Platygirl11]

My focus is mainly to prevent inbreeding. Just so I can create stronger lines.
(Show guppies? What?)

 

[OldMan47]

There are guppies that are specifically bred to improve their quality and are shown in competition much like a dog show, PlatyGirl. Guppies of a high enough quality to be competitive in those shows can be very expensive to buy. They a re "show quality" guppies and are not at all common. It is like the difference between the Jack Russel you might see around town and the one that can compete at Krufts.

 

[skippy_49nz]

I prefer swordtails because they are bigger fish and so much hardier. They also stand up for themselves better in a community situation. My sister has swords which are living with guppys and she has lost hundreds, literally hundreds of guppys to disease or water issues and not a single swordtail. They are about as easy to breed and even a lame-o like me can get fry.

 

[Platygirl11]

My goal with guppies is to try to get fish from all over, then breed them. Their fry, theoretically, should be much hardier than the parents.
And as for hardy, here's a story for you:
My brother studied biology last year, making a "sustainable" ecosystem. Basically, they put some guppies in a half of a bottle with some gravel and duckweed. The ammonia, I was guessing, would kill most of the fish.
As I was showing interest in guppies, he got a bottle that a different student didn't want and brought it home. Apparently she was with a male, but he had died.
She dropped in the car.
So, now I have a female guppy and 4 fry.
I'm pretty sure she's hardy, when I tested the ammonia in the bottle water it was 0.5-1.0.
She is a feeder guppy. But my brother said she was previously kept with some fish that looked like endlers. 5 think that she may have some endler in her, because she has a very light orange spot by her gills.
I think that if I breed her with fancy guppies, the fry will be fairly tough because of their genetic diversity.
Any comments?

 

[joshjames]

my platies are my oldest fish now a good 2-3 years and are still going strong
although one female has had white spot a few times it cleared up easily and i managed to breed some easily so i voted for them

 

[Nick16]

I prefer swordtails because they are bigger fish and so much hardier. They also stand up for themselves better in a community situation. My sister has swords which are living with guppys and she has lost hundreds, literally hundreds of guppys to disease or water issues and not a single swordtail. They are about as easy to breed and even a lame-o like me can get fry.

if she has lost that many i suggest she looks at why she is losing them or addesses why she is even keeping fish..