Simple Questions About Guppies

[ghostchoir]

I'd like to eventually get some guppies for my tank. It's a 125l and there are currently no fish in it by the way - they wouldn't be the first fish in, I just like to plan things in advance!

Guppies seem to be notorious for constant breeding, so would it be a problem if I only got male ones or are they likely to attack each other? I know I should get two females to every one male - but if I do stick with just males, what's a good number to get?

Would different types of guppies happily live together, or will they pretty much ignore those that are of a different species to them? Would different colourings bother them at all? (I don't know if say a blue guppy and a green guppy would be considered seperate species')

The other fish I plan on getting are corydoras, glowlight tetras, and spotted rasboras. I might expand to other fish but at the moment I Just like having more of the same types. Would any of these other fish cause problems with the guppies?

I also quite like endler's livebearers. How will these get on with the guppies? Again I was planning on just getting only males as I know they too are constant breeders - would it be a bad idea to get these? I might eventually get some female guppies too and I heard it was a bad idea to let the endler's breed with the guppies.

This is probably a really stupid question, but could anyone tell me the average length of a fancy guppy and a 'wild' guppy - including tail length? Apparently most sites don't actually include the tail in their length and I don't want there to be too much tail in my tank, haha.

 

[jlOisAhoTti]

Well the several years that I've had guppies I have never seen two guppies fight. As for different species in the same tank, I don't see a problem but just in case I'm wrong I'll let the people below me correct me.

 

[modaz]

having all males in a tank works really well, they play eat and sometimes sleep together not that bothers me it doesnt matter what colours you have they dont give a hoot about it, if your gunna have a selection guppy and endlers make sure they are all male because guppy and endlers breed just as easy. the average size of a fully grown male is about 2" and the wild ones are smaller, not that i have had wild one though.
when you introduce them make sure you introduce in sets of two or four, adding an odd one makes them more vunerable and are more prone to be picked on at first but this soon settles down, thats if they dont die of stress. guppys need a long time to adjust them into the tanks conditions so make sure you do it slowly but once they are there they are great.. they do at times look like they are fighting but it is just rough play. you will find that your males will pair up with another one as this is very common. they are an absolute joy to own but the lifespan is much shorter than other fish, thats prob one reason why they are so cheap to buy.
they will eat almost anything that is put in front of them, mine love bloodworm, brine shrimp and even sinking algae pellets.
be warned that they will try to mate which any fish that it fancies even the other males so dont let that shock you.
i know youve done some research already but to make me feel better im gunna say it any how . start with some hardy fish in your tank like black phantoms or black neons, go into your local store and ask them to point the hardy fish out, these fish do look somewhat boring but they will help to adjust your tank ready for your other fish, leave it 2 weeks then check your water stats and if everythings ok then add some more but not too many at once. make sure that the guppies and the cory are the last fish you add to your tank, that way they will survive much longer....i know you have prob cycled your tank without fish but the waste from the hardy fish at the start makes that final adjustment to your cycled tank by producing waste that allows your filteration system to settle.
make sure that you have researched how to clean your tank and equipement as guppies are very sensitive to sudden ajustments in water changes and they honestly just die right in front of your eyes........wow that was long wasnt it but i hope this has helpped, good luck and enjoy your new guppies for many years to come.

 

[ghostchoir]

Don't worry, the guppies were going to be the last to be added - we'll probably be starting with the glowlight tetras as pretty much every site I've read on them said they are brilliant to start with and they're quite cute

Thanks for the advice though! I was worried the males would get frustrated and attack each other or something like that. As the websites about them seem to say that all they do is breed haha, I thought they might be upset without females there. It's a shame as I would like to eventually breed fish and I think that the guppies are by far the prettiest, but I don't want to buy 10 and end up with 60 at the end of the month

I do have a further question about the breeding though if I did decide to go that route; would 4 females to 2 males be okay or would that be too few females? I know there need to be more females than males but I don't want to end up with nothing but guppies I do have a breeding net, but on the grounds that they do breed for the most part it will come down to survival of the fittest really - and even then most of them will probably go to the fish shop unless I get overly attached to them - or just keep any that would replace possible deaths.

 

[modaz]

yeah 4 females to 2 males ok but be warned you will end up with not tens but hundreds of fry,and they will prob end up dropping the fry all at the same time, as most of mine have done, my last batch was around 85 from one female

 

[ghostchoir]

How many of yours lived? I'm planning on leaving it to nature so that hopefully most of the fry will be eaten by the others I don't know if the glowlights will actually eat them but I'm hoping they will

 

[theotheragentm]

The Tetras should definitely eat some of the fry. Don't count on all of them being eaten though, and have a backup plan.

 

[ghostchoir]

Well as we're only planning on getting 6 cories, 8 tetras and 3 guppies, I'm hoping there will be enough room for a few extras. I've been told I can put a lot more than those in there but I like to keep things small so that if there ARE any that survive we can keep them. If all else fails the fish store near me has said they will take them. I'm glad the tetras will help us out though!

Thanks for the answers

 

[theotheragentm]

Is that 125 litres or gallons? If it's litres, you're maxing out there, especially with fry.

 

[modaz]

How many of yours lived? I'm planning on leaving it to nature so that hopefully most of the fry will be eaten by the others I don't know if the glowlights will actually eat them but I'm hoping they will

all of them, got something planned so thats why i choose to keep them safe

 

[ghostchoir]

Litres. Really? I thought there would be room for at least a few more than that as the tank has a lot of space and we're specifically choosing small fish. Both the fish shops I went to who are always very knowledgeable (not mentioning the local ones for that reason )said at least 10 more than what we had planned would be acceptable. I guess the 1cm = 1 litre is an incredible lie then, haha (don't worry, I wasn't planning on putting 125 fish in)

 

[theotheragentm]

125 litres = 33.0215064 US gallons

The general rule I like to stick with is 1" of fish per gallon of water. That will be on the safe side. You can do more if you keep up with water changes. More smaller fish versus a few larger fish is also better for the bioload. At any rate, you should stock slowly so the bacteria can build up and keep up with the bioload. Then you can measure your water stats and see how often you need to change your water. That's really the best way to stock your tank is to know the weekly bioload.

If you want some help with the bioload, plants are great. Java Moss is a great plant to have. It is just a bunch of strands that bunch up and don't require much in the way of light and will help with the bioload. You just have to trim it back once a month once it gets growing, because it will grow like crazy eventually. As a note, when you get Java Moss you buy it in a clump and half if it will probably die off, but the rest will turn more green and begin to grow.

 

[ghostchoir]

Are UK gallons much different from that?

Oh, I'm definitley going to be doing it slowly The current plan is a small group per month or so (basically the 6 glowlights, then leaving it a month or so before the cories, etc)

I guess I'll wait and see if the cories and tetras seem to have enough room before adding the guppies.

 

[theotheragentm]

What kind of Cories are you getting? There are pygmy Cories that stay smaller but with the same personalities. I love Cories.

 

[ghostchoir]

Probably bronzes, or pandas (I know they need a more established tank though). I'd love the pygmys, I think they're adorable, but nowhere local sells them and I don't really want to have to start ordering online just yet. They only seem to sell the bigger ones around here and for some reason I refuse to buy fish that grow bigger than 2 inches