what's the secret of keeping guppy alive?
Mine like so hard to maintain.

hey guys... needs some advice regarding guppy keeping.
my mom used to hv some really beautiful fancy guppies... mix of males and females which she kept in an ornamental fountain bowl outside in our porch. unfortunately these fish seem to only last a few weeks at max... they die off very fast until finally left 1-2 fishies. thn my mom will buy some more guppies, and then all die off again only left 1-2 fish. we have once kept the 2 remaining survivors, and they stuck around for a very long time. i think the fish may b fighting, tho ive never seen that happening myself. are guppies known to attack each other or fight?

btw the temp of the porch is cool. it is in the shade, far from direct sunlight, next to the front door. we have an airstone and electric oxygen pump. water is changed frequently and we never allow algae to overgrow/water turn green. feeding with tetra brand guppy food. cant figure out whats wrong.

Guppy is one of the easiest to rare. Care to explain your tank's environment so we can help.

Guppies don't fight, or at least they don't fight to death.

You can ditch the oxygen pump, guppies don't need that.

Do you put antichlorine pills when you change water?

How deep is the pond, because anything more than 4 feet deep isn't good for guppies.

And you don't have to keep the tank/pond super clean. In fact, guppies thrive in greenish water full of algae and even worms haha. That way, you don't even have to feed em.

without d oxygen pump they seemed to die faster.....

the "pond" is a shallow dish actually. under 1ft at the deepest point.

yes, we use antichlorine. we hv even tried letting the water "stand" for a day before putting the fish in...

Basic Glass Tank, Filter Pump, Plastic Plants and Aquarium Light.
Tank is about 30cm x 30 cm.

Previously I bought a smaller tank about 19cm x 17cm.
Same thing Filter Pump, Plastic Plants with cover.
This one all died. Dunno why. I think it's the way I change the water. Changed it every week but didn't leave the old water enough for them to stabilize..

The new bigger tank I didn't even change the water yet but 1 week plus, 1 male died, the rest still alive.
Suspect maybe lizard? (cicak?) bcos it doesn't have a cover. Noticed a small white patch on top of the fish.

BTW the new tank, got new fries, removed it and move it to smaller tank. About only 12 of them.

heard guppies can breed about 20-30 fries per female.

how many litter/gallon water does the pond hold and how many fish u put in there??

I think better leave the pum on but cover or wrap up the pump inlet to avoid ur fish got stuck or suck in.

if u have condition and age the water that should be fine to add in the fish. provided u acclimate the fish to ur pond water slowly.

I'm 100% positive they don't need the oxygen pump unless you have like 1000 guppies in a small little tank.

How does your guppies die? Do you see the carcasses? Are their fins still intact?

It's quite possible that the one fish (in bigger tank) died naturally, meaning, it wasn't your fault. I doubt it's the lizard.

And yes, you must keep about 30-40% of the tank's water when you change water. And don't suddenly drain away or add in too much water because the fishes need to have the water pressure and temperature stabilized. And don't forget to add antichlorine or season/stand the water for the chlorine to get out.

And it's normal for mother guppies to give birth to 10+ fries. It varies. Depends a lot on the breed of guppies that you have.







and another advice is to change water ASAP when you see one fish with bald scales, kinda like white patches around the body. Because it's a fungal infection and it can spread. So before buying any guppies from a shop, look at the tank, see if there are any dead guppies with white spots or missing scales in the tank. Even if you were to buy a healthy one from the tank, you'll be most likely buying an infection for the rest of your healthy guppies at home.

The normal feeding is once per day right?

I have 4 guppies and 12 fries in separate tanks.

Another thing, Yea the one that died, I notice there a small white patch near the fin. Quickly removed it, the rest of the adult guppies still alive.

Just changed water today, left 50% of the old water, top it up and added anti chlorine.

Another thing, after giving birth, why is the female guppy losing it's color? Like pale only. Then I notice one of them slowly regaining it's color.

This post has been edited by unknown warrior: Oct 25 2010, 11:07 PM

try when changing water use filter water rather than tap water...& try adding some aquarium salt. i did that & nowdays no more dead fish. & u need to take notice to your fish....sometimes there are naughty fishes that will bully the others. i used to have one female, when ever feeding time it hits the other so that it can eat all the food....just spend a bit time when u fed to see how they behave with each other....& u dont really need any pump....guppy tend to be happy at clam water....i got a mini pump that is pumping at the lowest rate.....i dont think you really need it...

Guys, I have quite a large aquarium with me here, and I plan to fill it up with plenty of guppy(actually I want to buy a few and let it breed so I can enjoy the whole growing process). Is it ok to have a lot of guppies in one aquarium? Any tips on rearing guppies?

It's quite hard to notice any colour change on a female guppy because they are mostly colourless. As long as the female doesn't die, don't worry LOL.

Yes. For tips, read the whole thread, and google, and read. Trust me, it's a very rewarding past time activity.

should be ok but if it gets overcrowded after for sometime then there might be some health risk involved....agreed with the other guy...read this whole thread....i was new too in rearing guppies..got a few tips here & google...now got 5 happy healthy guppies hahaha....but 2-3 died while learning to keep guppies....back to ur topic...if overcrowded then there might be high concentration of ammonia & nitrogen & even co2....so have to becareful not to over populate it...good luck

what's the use of Aquarium salt?
Isn't that for sea fishes?

guppies like salty water...thats what i know la....& if i m not mistaken if the water is salty then parasite wont be able to grow properly. salty water also helps to heal guppies that are sick or bleeding...i read somewhere here i think or from the internet somewhere....i dont remember

bout 2 liters? its really not big at all.... i think the most we've had was about 15 guppies, mix of male and female

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Added on October 29, 2010, 12:36 amSome have ragged fins and tails.... others intact. And one or two fish look like their eyes hv been chewed out or something

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Added on October 29, 2010, 12:38 amand if it helps.... the guppies my mom had looked exactly like these 4 in the picture

http://www.tropicalfishforum.net/photopost...500/guppies.jpg
http://www.tropicalfishonline.info/wp-cont...iamondGuppy.jpg

This post has been edited by LadyVanity: Oct 29 2010, 12:38 AM

Some have ragged fins and tails.... others intact. And one or two fish look like their eyes hv been chewed out or something

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Added on October 29, 2010, 12:38 amand if it helps.... the guppies my mom had looked exactly like these 4 in the picture

http://www.tropicalfishforum.net/photopost...500/guppies.jpg
http://www.tropicalfishonline.info/wp-cont...iamondGuppy.jpg

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if there is some kind of white stuff lump growing at their eyes...or eyes having problem i think they are infected with some disease....1 of my guppy died with eyess infection.....u might want to clean the pond...wash it with bleach....& rinse with alot of water & keep it fill with water for few days....then wash it again....not so sure tho coz i m not a guppy expert...but it might not be infection too...coz if tail problem....it can be caused by fighting too...or the pond environment...the pond pump or something....try google-ing there are some forum where u can discuss with guppies experts & get a reply very fast....good luck

[quote=LadyVanity,Oct 29 2010, 12:35 AM]
bout 2 liters? its really not big at all.... i think the most we've had was about 15 guppies, mix of male and female

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Added on October 29, 2010, 12:36 am

15 adult fish in 2 liter off water are way too crowded

LadyVanity,

from my experience, it better to let the guppies live in a natural environment , well, at least it works for me...
currently in my tanks , i put some plants in it anacharis plants (took from the river at my kampung) ;-) try google the term for the sample pic of the plants... and so far all my guppies seems to be fine... and also don't use chemical medications, just an air pump for extra oxygen for the gupps.... i just put the rain water in the tank... and once the water is decreasing, i add it more with rain water ( but you must make sure the rain water temperature not too cool ) .. i think plants can neutralize all the ammonia and other hazardous thingy in the tank and also give them extra food sometimes... currently have about 60+ guppies and bout 30+ fries... hope this give u a little help...

This post has been edited by tigerstick: Oct 31 2010, 09:31 PM

Guppy is probably the easiest fish to keep in a tank / pond. We have some at home but only 3 - 4 fishes in a pot where we grow lotus / water lily. My neighbour has a pond with a lot of guppies in it and they dont have any pump on it.

walau eh so jeles.