What's the secret to Guppy keeping?

[BlueCreek]

I have tried in the past to keep Guppy's. they seem to do good for a while but then they just die within a few short months or weeks or sometimes days.
I have a friend who also loves guppys and she can't seem to keep them alive very long either.
Is there some special secret to guppy keeping?
They are so beautiful I just love to watch them in the tanks in stores. But I have not tried any now for quite sometime.

Thanks for any input.

 

[Mr Miagi]

I reckon they would have to be the easiest fish too keep!

maybe look at your water params, what, where and how your keeping them in and what your feeding them? If you could give us some detail on all that and more we can talk some more!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Well firstly we need a bit more info first;
a. how big is the tank?
b. Is it new and if so how long have you been cycling it for and how did you go about it?
c. how many fish do you have in the tank and their species/individual numbers?
d. Do you know your water stats(ammonia/nitrite/nitrates)/when was the last time you tested your water and do you have the results handy?
e. When the fish died, did they show any odd symtoms/strange behavior before they died/leading up to they died like rapid breathing/gill movement, hanging near the bottom or top of the tank lots etc?
f. What is your tank cleaning regime on an average basis and how did you go about it/how often do you do it?

 

[BlueCreek]

Perhaps my post was not clear enough.
I have not even tried to keep any Guppies for at least three years because they just don't live that long.
I have been keeping fish on and off for nearly 30 yrs. so it's nothing to do with my tanks, parameters etc. I do regular weekly tank maintence and check my water parameters regularly.
I did write to a breeder. She told me what is available in alot of stores are already adults because they are the most attractive and sell well. But since Guppys are a short lived fish the nice big ones we see are already near the end of their life cycle.
That explained volumes to me when she wrote that. her advise was to look for Juvies.
So if I decide to get any more that is what I will do. I would go purchase some from her but she is a long distance from me. So will try and locate a more local breeder.

Thanks for your inputs.

 

[Dart]

i think it really depends on the water quality from teh taps personally.
I know my friend has no problem keeping her guppies alive and breeding but when she brought them to school they all died. She said it had to do with changing the type of water.

I've also heard if there is lots of calcium in the water it can cause problems too.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Do you know the ph/water stats from the shop you bought them from? If the stats are much different it is posible they received shock from the difference in them and never had time to recover; if they are fancy guppys(particualy the more brightly colored vibrant ones) they aern't the most hardy of fish too keep and it is also posible that you just received bad stock...
I think there is a little confusion as to guppys being "hardy fish"; the larger more dull colored ones tend to more hardy as they are less inbred and in genural, larger fish tend to be able to cope better with more complications than smaller ones. On the other hand, if you still want to keep guppys i would stay away from the more colorful fancy vibrant ones as they can be very inbred and weaker in general.
Is there any other info you can give us? The situation does seem realy odd(don't worry im not blaming you or anything).

 

[platyperson]

it depends on you LFS, they sometimes sell you older guppies, because they have so called 'better color and bigness' (bigness? What kind of a word is that?)
They will only liv 2 or three months after you buy them, so just breed em.

 

[paige]

i keep my guppies in a cold water tank and they last for ages and they breed like mad

 

[Angry_Platy]

My LFS keeps some of their guppies in cold water tanks....the femalea are always bigger and healthier looking!!

 

[OohFeeshy]

Probably to breed your own. Get females from one shop, males from another, and keep varying the genes. Modern guppies are very weak because they are inbred so much. Just vary the bloodline is all I can suggest.