Basic Care For Your Guppies

Guppies are one of the most popular freshwater aquariums in the world. Noted for their colors and patterns that are at once unique and beautiful, guppies are fascinating to watch, and extremely easy and enjoyable to care for.

Related to a species of fish close to the pike, wild guppies are found in Barbados, Trinidad, Brazil, and Florida in the U.S. This small fish usually lives in clear tropical waters, but can also survive in brackish water.

Sexing Guppies: No two guppies are alike. Female guppies are much larger than the male, and have dull colored bodies with brighter colors enhancing the tail. Male guppies are brilliantly colored, and patterns and colors combinations are endless. In addition, male guppies can often be identified by longer tails and tail fins.

Tank Size: It is recommended that fish owners use a 10 gallon aquarium or larger for guppies two months or older. For fry, a 5½ gallon tank is enough. It is a good idea to have more than one tank so male and female guppies can be kept separate, so that the poorer quality males can be prevented from breeding and reproducing. Separation will prevent unwanted babies.

Tank Maintenance: The rules of proper tank maintenance apply to keep your guppies healthy and disease-free. Approximately 20% of the water should be siphoned out and replaced once a week. Remember to siphon the water from the bottom of the tank as removing water from just the surface does not rid debris.

Water Perimeters: The recommended pH level of the aquarium water should fall between 6.8 and 7.6, with the most desirable range between 7.0 and 7.2. Buy a kit to test the pH level of the water.

Feeding Guppies: Baby brine shrimp are high protein favorite of the guppy. These tiny eggs can be hatched at home and fed as a supplement to flake fish food. They are not sold at aquarium shops. Only their eggs are.

All you need to do is prepare a container of brine. Mix an appropriate amount of aquarium salt with fresh water according to the label instructions. After adding the eggs into the brine, aerate the preparation with an airstone.

Bring shrimp should not be fed exclusively because they are mostly protein and do not contain other required nutrients. Other foods good for your guppies include infusoria, micro worms, daphnia, mosquito larvae and white worms.

Feed guppies several times a day with small feedings, as opposed to one large feeding. This is especially important for small fry to get the proper nutrition for growth and development.

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