Heheh... I can second that. Guppies are live bearers! No eggs to hide. I started with 2 male and 4 female guppies. In a short period, boom! plenty of 'kids' swimming around!!

Leafy live plants or rocks cover are still needed for the babies to hide. The adults do eat their little ones.


RB

You mean rear? Well I am no expert and I only have regular guppies, not any rare types. I didn't have to do anything other than provide a good home (mine is a 29 gallon tank), food, correct temperature, live plants, regular water change, etc. Before too long, I have so many that I stopped counting!


RB

1 cubic feet = 7.48051945 US gallons
Measure:
(Length x width x depth) x 7.48051945 = size of tank in gallons.

If you want to keep all the babies safe, I would suggest moving it to another tank or buy those baby nets that you can keep the babies in the same tank but in the suspended net so the adults can't eat them. This will also keep them safe from being sucked by filtration systems and such if you have them in your tanks.

Plastic plants is fine but real plants always looks better. Black water? Hmm... I'm a little lost by that term. I think you mean brackish water. For me, I just use regular tap water that is dechlorinated either by dechlorination solution or by leaving it for a few days in a clean bucket each time I do a water change. The guppies seem to do fine.

Air pumps improve water circulation. For babies in a separate temporary tank, you will be fine without a pump. I would strongly suggest having a filtration system and live plants in your main tank. I do not use air pumps after I moved to having live plants in my tanks. Believe it or not, I actually make my own carbon dioxide to pump in the water rather than having an air pump. Plants release oxygen for fish, I release CO2 for plants.


RB

I am sure there are certain plants that die very easily or do not have a long life. I am not sure what I have but they grow steadily to replace the ones that get old and wither away. Start with some easy ones. You can find loads of information on the Internet.

Sayasebuk is right. You need the right ingredients for the plant to thrive. Enough light for the right length in a day, enough CO2 and O2, the plants in my aquarium greened up and grew strong. I buy some regular tablet form plant food but I find a proper amount of CO2 and light works easily.


RB

This post has been edited by RedBox: Nov 21 2006, 11:05 AM

Hmm... I am not sure about bleach but I think the residual will be as harmful to your fishes. Here is what I will do. Pour all the water away. Clean the tank with clean water. The most I would use might be some mild dishwasing detergent. Be sure to rinse it out properly. Spread the gravel onto a tarp and wash with clean water too. Let it dry really well under the sun. Set your tank back up with the gravel with new water after. Don't put fishes in there yet so tap water will be fine.

I would buy or use a filtration system where I can get a used filter of the same size from someone else - friends or local fish store that is from a healthy clean tank. Use that filter on your filtration system. Why use this? A used filter will contain all the proper bacteria that is needed to jumpstart your tank. Quicker than waiting for it to develop naturally. Eg. break down ammonia, etc.

When I start a new tank, the water is always not clear but don't worry about this. Let it sit for a min of 3 to 4 weeks. Change the water like normal. You can look up the frequency to change water based on size of tank. I do a water change every fortnight on my 29 gallon tank.

As the water clears up, I would start with some hardy fish (fish that do not die easily) like 4 or 5 Albino Corydoras and just let them be in the tank for another 2 to 3 weeks before adding other fishes.

Here is what I have used:

- 2 liter coke bottle
- tubings that is smaller than the coke bottle cap (~5mm)
- airstone
- super glue
- knife
- yeast

I cut a hole that is just a tad smaller than the tubing diameter on the center of the coke bottle cap. Stick the tubing through and apply superglue around the hole to seal it properly. Attach the airstone to the other end which you will set to the bottom of your tank.

You can do without the airstone if you don't have one. I just stick my tubing under a decorative stone to hold it down.

Mix half a cup of yeast and a cup of sugar with warm water. Stir to mix it evenly. Let it sit for about a minute or two and then pour it into your coke bottle. Add more water to fill the coke bottle about slightly below 2/3 full. The yeast should start producing CO2 in a day or so. The measurement above are subject to change. Experiment with it. I did it a few times before I found the right amount of yeast and water. Quality of yeast will also affect the production of CO2 so do a trial and error until you find the correct amount of what you need.

I am sure there are better methods out there but I find this to be very cost effective. You get to enjoy your coca cola or favorite beverage before using it! Most aquariums owners I know already have tubings. If not, just head to your local fish store to buy some cheap ones. The wrong mixture combination will produce too much or too little CO2 so find the right mixture for yourself.

Just a word of caution. If you use an adjustable valve to control the release of CO2, be aware that you may have an exploding bottle on your hand if it produces too much CO2!! Do at your own risk!

Good luck.


RB

This post has been edited by RedBox: Nov 21 2006, 11:07 PM

My caution was if you use a valve to control the released of CO2. Just don't use a valve then. However, this may cause too much CO2 in your tank if it released too much. If this is the case, just take the tubing out of the tank. Once you try it a few times, you will find that you can get the right mixture.

I have used it on a 10 gallon and 29 gallon tank. I have never owned any other sizes. I'm too lazy to go measure it now but I am sure the volume will give you an idea.


RB

This post has been edited by RedBox: Nov 21 2006, 02:57 PM

Wow... expensive to replendish. I buy packets of yeast from grocery store for 50cents a pack.

I don't have one to show at this moment. See the link provided by jaspery27 above. Very similar. My tank currently have enough Corydoras and Guppies so I have not made a new diy CO2 setup. The plants are not as green as before. I have been spending more time with my puppy than on my aquarium these days.


RB

This post has been edited by RedBox: Nov 21 2006, 11:12 PM

Well I tried to take some pictures of mine but they keep swimming around after I zoomed in on them. I gave up after trying for a long time.


RB

I got hit with some illness and now left with 8 guppies, 4 Albino Corydoras, 1 Corydoras Melanistus and some snails in a 29 gallon tank.

I also have 2 goldfish in a 10 gallon tank. The two goldfishes have been with me for about 4 to 5 years now. Before that, it belongs to a friend of mine who gave it to me after he moved. The goldfishes are estimated at about 9 or 10 years old now!

[edit] Here's what I use for plant food. Just some regular ones I found at a small local pet store.





RB

This post has been edited by RedBox: Nov 22 2006, 01:21 PM

Well let me tell you, I have given up trying to get rid of the snails! Those damn things just will not go away!! It came with some plants I got from a friend. The snails spread like crazy. At times, I have to just pick them out by turning over every single stone in my tank. That's the only way I am controlling it now.

I did buy a snail remover/killer solution but to no avail. When I get home, I'll post some pictures of the snail remover solution. If I can, I'll take some close up of what I think are snail eggs too if when I find them. Pesky little things. I know they provide benefits to a tank but boy... they produce too fast for my liking!


Get some plants that are tolerant to low CO2 then. Do a search on the Internet, you will find information on these. I still find that some CO2 will allow the plants to grow much stronger. I can tell a difference when I stopped providing CO2 in my tank.

Speaking of, after discussing diy CO2 here, I am going to start my CO2 production again. Bought my 'coca cola' 2liter bottle already. The only thing I am lacking is yeast which I'll get when I complete the setup. Will post some pictures when I finish with it.

Congratulations on the new guppy babies!

Nice pics. Thanks for sharing! After seeing your pics, I think I will add tetras to my tank too. Looking for some new additions. I like neon tetras but will visit the fish store to see if I like any other tetras.


RB

Yeah, feed flakes. Easier for the guppies to eat.


RB

You get the best help here with fans that are true at heart. No need to look elsewhere...


RB

Alright!! Everyone say hi to harima007! Mr. 007.


RB

Cool. First post. Hello there.


RB

No. Goldfish - cold water. Guppy - tropical warm water.


RB

Is it something like this? I simply google, I also don't know what they looked like.

http://www.nationaalherbarium.nl/Cryptocor...n/Ketapang.html


RB

NP. I also don't know. Eh.. no need master or sifuu sifuu lah. No master here, just a regular side hobbyist.


RB