Yenko
Fish Addict
Today my dad returned from Trinidad, a small island off the coast of Venezuala. He was there for about a week and a half studying wild guppies. Before he went there we discussed the possibility of keeping some in an aquarium. He brought about 10-12 guppies with him, of which 4 or 5 are young females, 3 or 4 are adult females (All of them are pregnant) and 2 are males.
I removed all the fancy guppies from the tank to ensure a pure line of wild guppies. The guppies are from two different rivers, so inbreeding will probably not happen anytime soon. The fancy guppies all went back to my dad's tank, where they came from in the beginning.
The only other fish in the tank are 2 small goldfish, which will be put into my pond this summer. The water temperature is roughly 75 degrees. The tank (10 gallons) is well planted, with a gravel and root fertilizer substrate, 46 watts of lighting and has CO2 addition.
One group of guppies came from a mountian stream with a high predation rate, so the males from that stream are not as flashy. The other group came from a stream with a low predation rate, and the males are absolutely amazing. The females are not as flashy as domesticated guppies, but it is an interesting change to have a tank where the plants are more colorful than the fish.
I also got two nice bits of driftwood; one of which is in the 10 gallon tank. The other is going to have to wait for the 70 gallon setup. I'm now seriously considering a massive Trinidad biotope tank - due to it's proximity to North America I can probably find appropriate plants for it.
The possibility of a genuine biotope tank opens up another possibility - the AGA contest. I'm not capable of competing in the normal category, but the biotope tanks are within my reach. I will probably also gain some standing simply because I'm showcasing the natural environment and natural form of a fish that has been selectively bred extensively, and been one of the most common fish in the aquarium hobby for decades.
On a side note - these are the most hardy fish I've ever seen! After being transported in a 1.5 liter bottle from Trinidad to Nova Scotia - probably 14 hours, 5 of which were spent in luggage on an airplane, there was only 1 dead fish. 3 hours after being put in the aquarium, they are lively, returning to their full coloration and even eating flake food!
I removed all the fancy guppies from the tank to ensure a pure line of wild guppies. The guppies are from two different rivers, so inbreeding will probably not happen anytime soon. The fancy guppies all went back to my dad's tank, where they came from in the beginning.
The only other fish in the tank are 2 small goldfish, which will be put into my pond this summer. The water temperature is roughly 75 degrees. The tank (10 gallons) is well planted, with a gravel and root fertilizer substrate, 46 watts of lighting and has CO2 addition.
One group of guppies came from a mountian stream with a high predation rate, so the males from that stream are not as flashy. The other group came from a stream with a low predation rate, and the males are absolutely amazing. The females are not as flashy as domesticated guppies, but it is an interesting change to have a tank where the plants are more colorful than the fish.
I also got two nice bits of driftwood; one of which is in the 10 gallon tank. The other is going to have to wait for the 70 gallon setup. I'm now seriously considering a massive Trinidad biotope tank - due to it's proximity to North America I can probably find appropriate plants for it.
The possibility of a genuine biotope tank opens up another possibility - the AGA contest. I'm not capable of competing in the normal category, but the biotope tanks are within my reach. I will probably also gain some standing simply because I'm showcasing the natural environment and natural form of a fish that has been selectively bred extensively, and been one of the most common fish in the aquarium hobby for decades.
On a side note - these are the most hardy fish I've ever seen! After being transported in a 1.5 liter bottle from Trinidad to Nova Scotia - probably 14 hours, 5 of which were spent in luggage on an airplane, there was only 1 dead fish. 3 hours after being put in the aquarium, they are lively, returning to their full coloration and even eating flake food!
