Verrrrry Serious Problem Here!

[CandyCoated100]

I really don't care what you think, Most of you seem obsessed with killing these fish. Hello you only get one life and i believe everything has the right to live that life what gives you the right to take something that's not yours? Exactly Oh and no their not "only fish" so it doesn't matter at the end of the day nature has its own way of dealing with these things Simple as.

 

[UK_Dave]

get some turtles! I know my YBS's would have a great day out there lol!

 

[Ludwig Venter]

get some turtles! I know my YBS's would have a great day out there lol!

Where the ponds are currently standing, they get more than 5 hours direct sunshine per day..... I am now moving to a new house where there is a much bigger yard with areas that will be shaded throughout the day....

Maybe placing them in the shade will reduce the water temperature, which has a direct influence on their breeding cycle.... I'm also removing all plants from the tank, so that the percentage of fry being cannibalized will increase.

The area where I'm moving to is only 50km away from where I'm currently staying, but there is a substantial difference in climate, due to the current town being surrounded (completely) by (iron ore) mountains, which retains the heat.... the new house is on the plateau and thus a few degrees colder......

I sincerely hope that this will contribute in controlling their numbers as I will (never) consider doing intentional culling.

 

[meguro]

Reduce food.
Increase predators.
Alter climate.
Introduce disease.

Some combination of the above should be sufficient.

 

[tom130691]

leave them in the pond when you move then not your problem start fresh in the new place with a few from the old stock

 

[Gilli]

I agree with Candy - some of these suggestions are just cruel. We as fishkeepers have a duty to look after the fish we have and to treat them properly - they are living creatures!

I would advertise them - even if its for nothing someone will take them off your hands!

 

[tom130691]

yes but do you not try to keep things how they would be in the wild temp ect and there is preds in the wild

 

[Gilli]

So what! - that doesnt give you a licence to be downright cruel! If you dont want to be over run with live bearers dont mix the sexes - simple!

 

[lilacamy931]

Just my two cents, there is some level of cruetly if no one else is left to take the fish of his hands and there is no where else for them to go. They will continue like rabbits and use up all the resources in this current situation and a lot will end up dying anyways to then have the cycle and population build up again. I do not like the idea of predators or culling (it does seem cruel to me) but leaving them alone is also harmful in itself and perhaps more prolonged process of death..

Everyone has a good opinion in their own right. The ones that suggest some sort of cull suggest perhaps in a in nature this would happen and keeps the numbers down and also that perhaps it is a quick death and introducing a balance to the pond where in the wild these would be present. Whereas others who suggest there is an element of cruelty is also right as it isnt pleasant to think of these becoming feeder fish (though again predators need to feed, they shouldnt be denied live foods). But in this situation it is difficult.

Exporting - alot of time and effort that may not pay off, the OP may not have this amount of time and initial monies or contact to get this going and may find competitors outstrip him to the UK and US sellers (though in my eyes a really good idea if not a local LFS).

Releasing to stream- most likely illegal and also would disturb the natural balance of things.

Killing/Culling - I personally couldnt, not intentionally or unless the fish is really really suffering but then this is a personal thing and down to the preference of the keeper (some do so regularly to keep breeding lines clean).

Introducing predators - Mixed opinion, in the wild there are natural predators and these help keep numbers down, natural order of things but it is also down to a persons conscience whether they could do this or not. Predator fish (captive ones) I personally feel it is cruel to deny them their natural live food sources and train them to a supplement diet..

Separate them - a long and tedious job but then only worthwhile if you are going to have the space when you move..

And others - there will be so many suggestions but it does depend on time, expense, space and your conscience! Best of luck to you with the guppies, if it was me I would want to separate the males from females to limit them breeding like this again (of course if there was the space) and as to the excess, I feel my circumstances are different as being UK there are tons of local LFS around that would snap them up. Even with those numbers travelling further afield would help reduce those numbers drastically.

I hope the move and the temperature and climate change helps to reduce the extremities with which they are breeding and best of luck rehoming a lot of them x

EDIT: P.s. remember this is just my opinon and we are all entitled to them x

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I'm fine with whatever works, it just irritates me when people say 'don't play god' when the moment you decide to keep fish, pond or aquarium, is the exact moment you decide to play god.

Accept that fact and move on.


You take something that would normally be out in the wild, stick it in a limited space, affect it's natural diet, breeding or lack there of, waste management etc... I realize that a lot of fish in the hobby are commercially raised, but that makes them no less 'wild' in my opinion, they still act like they would if they hadn't been, sometimes to the great aggrevation of their owners, as we've seen in this very situation.

People with aquariums shouldn't throw rocks.



And from what I've read they have tried giving these fish away, which is kinda hard to do when no one will take them.


As to the problem itself, please don't let them loose, there has been far too many examples of this ruining ecosystems.

 

[tom130691]

So what! - that doesnt give you a licence to be downright cruel! If you dont want to be over run with live bearers dont mix the sexes - simple!

do you feed your fish on just flake and pellet then
and you dont eat any meat your self!

death happens for many reasons in the wild most of thoose fish would already be dead

add a pred would they would live a more natural life as not all will die and it would create a balance
1 fish will not eat the thousands you have so you need to try to get enough fish to slowly decrease the population not destroy it or let it grow too fast

(would give you fitter more active guppys too )

#105### happens

 

[-Craig-]

I would add some preditors and let nature take its path, you can't cull them 1 by 1 and it would be cruel to leave them breed and breed as they will get over stocked and die anyway. and yes you can't stop a preditor from its source of live food, its their nature.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

I read somewhere a while ago about fish becoming sterile when exposed to the pee from ladies who are on the pill.

Perhas you could dose the pondswith a decent portion of the pill? See what it does!!

 

[meguro]

do you feed your fish on just flake and pellet then
and you dont eat any meat your self!

most fish foods have animal products in them eg. krill meal, fish meal, crab meal etc.

it would be cruel to leave them breed and breed as they will get over stocked and die anyway.

but that is exactly what would happen in the wild.

eg.
deer population explodes for some reason (abundance of resources? coupled with a drought the previous year so predator numbers are low? etc.)
wolf population now increases
due to so many deer needing food, their food source declines (from being eaten by all the deer) hence affecting population of deer (decrease)
due to so many wolves, deer population declines also
due to less deer, wolf population declines again

its a rather simplified view but it should demonstrate what tends to happen

 

[Mikaila31]

do you feed your fish on just flake and pellet then
and you dont eat any meat your self!

most fish foods have animal products in them eg. krill meal, fish meal, crab meal etc.

it would be cruel to leave them breed and breed as they will get over stocked and die anyway.

but that is exactly what would happen in the wild.

eg.
deer population explodes for some reason (abundance of resources? coupled with a drought the previous year so predator numbers are low? etc.)
wolf population now increases
due to so many deer needing food, their food source declines (from being eaten by all the deer) hence affecting population of deer (decrease)
due to so many wolves, deer population declines also
due to less deer, wolf population declines again

its a rather simplified view but it should demonstrate what tends to happen

Yes, but this is not nature. There are no predators in to make a dent in this population. Meaning the population will continue to rise until they run out of food, but since they are being fed that is unlikely to happen. The next this is that the population will become so dense that their health is effected and a disease outbreak would result, thus decreasing the population. That IMO is cruel. The goal of every fish keeper is to maintain a healthy population. IMO there is nothing wrong with culling to reduce population, select specific genes, remove deformed or otherwise unsound fish, ect. Selling them is perfered, but culling should be done if it is necessary to maintain the health of the population.

Those saying that it is cruel need a reality check. Most fish farms cull their fish and then you buy the sound ones. Those that cull heavily tend to have better quality fish. It can be the same for people who are trying to create a strain. It is important to maintain a "healthy" population this refers to physical and genetic health. If they weak are allowed to survive the population as a whole is weakened. When only the very strong survive the population is strengthened. That is how nature works.

I agree it is a fish keepers responsibility to look after their stock and take care of them, sell them if you can, give them away. If that fails then you must either keep them or cull them, use predators if you don't want to do it yourself. It is irresponsible to abandon them, you can stop feeding them, but since they are in a outdoor pond abandoning them can have a negative impact on the environment and the fish themselves.