Bettababe's 30 Gallon Guppy Tank Build/Journey

[Bettababe1011]

I know, the name is slightly ironic, Bettababe's guppy tank. Lol. Anyway, so the point is that I'm getting yet another tank. This one is all guppies, and I'm planning on breeding them, if that's the right word.
I'm planning on a 20 gallon, and I'm thinking of starting out with one male and four females. Any comments appreciated!

 

[jetajockey]

Best of luck. Look forward to updates.

I think you are good going 1m/4f. What are you going to do with the fry?

 

[Bettababe1011]

I'm going to sell some, keep some. I figure I can have a lot of hiding spots, and just keep the fry in the tank. Some will survive, but the culling can be done by the adult fish, too. What do you suggest for a price for the fry? I was thinking maybe 3.50 to 4.50 per fry. Is that too high?

 

[jetajockey]

That's extremely high. But it depends on the guppy strains you are working with. If you picked some expensive thai strains you could probably get a few bucks per fry, but if it's just basic pet store guppies you will probably have trouble getting much of anything for them. Once they get colored up you might get a buck or so.

You might want to call around to LFS in your area and see if someone will work something out with you and what they will pay if they are interested.

I have tried to keep guppies in with their fry and it doesn't work out well, you might have survivors but I've always lost the vast majority to predation at some point.

 

[Bettababe1011]

The only places around me are Earl May, about 7 per guppy, and Walmart, about 2.50. I wasn't going to sell the fry until they got some color to them...
Oh, and I'm going to have lots of hiding places. Other people I've known have had a lot of luck, even with bigger fish in there. I think I'm going to try this way, and if it's an epic fail, I'll get one of my ten gallons out of storage, and cycle it to use as a nursery.

 

[jetajockey]

That's really expensive. The chain stores here as well as the pet store I'm working with sell them for around $2-3 each. Petsmart sometimes has them on sale for $1. The less common strains are usually $5 each when I can find them, not many people have rare strains here because they have to all be kept in separate tanks to avoid mixing.

 

[Bettababe1011]

So, would you suggest a dollar then?

 

[gabysapha]

What strains do you have?

 

[Bettababe1011]

I don't have any yet. The only option I have is earl may, and I'm not sure what they have. I think it's pretty common.

 

[jetajockey]

It just depends on what you are working with, if its just common pet store guppies then get whatever you can.

 

[gabysapha]

You can find the more valuable strains easily on Aquabid and some are not very expensive. They sell many as breeding trios to get you started. I would do that, they are much more beautiful than the more common guppies. Or get some from this forum
It would pay off to get more valuable ones. It's an investment, especially if common guppies are so cheap in stores like Petsmart and Walmart.

 

[Bettababe1011]

My mom won't let me get fish online right now. It's only local. I'm only a teenager, so I have to listen. I've gotten some gorgeous guppies from Earl May, so maybe I'll be lucky again.

 

[maxwellag]

It just depends on what you are working with, if its just common pet store guppies then get whatever you can.

How would you price yellow cobras and red cobras and orange cobras?

 

[jetajockey]

How would you price yellow cobras and red cobras and orange cobras?

Around .50/$1 each for a pet store to buy them and they'd probably sell them for $2-3. Cobras really aren't that uncommon, but it depends on the actual fish, if they have massive finnage and really bright colors they might fetch more. If a pet store is interested in them they will likely only pay about 1/3, at the most, of what they are planning to sell them for.

 

[maxwellag]

Around .50/$1 each for a pet store to buy them and they'd probably sell them for $2-3. Cobras really aren't that uncommon, but it depends on the actual fish, if they have massive finnage and really bright colors they might fetch more. If a pet store is interested in them they will likely only pay about 1/3, at the most, of what they are planning to sell them for.

What if their fins are over an inch long?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

I'll be following

You can still find some cool strains at good stocked LFS. There are very cool, unusual and rare strains around here. Take a look around and see if you'll find anything interesting

 

[Bettababe1011]

I'll be following

You can still find some cool strains at good stocked LFS. There are very cool, unusual and rare strains around here. Take a look around and see if you'll find anything interesting

There are no good lfs around here. The closest is an hour away, and mostly specializes in saltwater.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Aww that sucks, sorry to hear about that

Jeta always has cool strains. Also check out AquaBid, they have weird and exotic ones all the time

 

[Bettababe1011]

Well, someone already mentioned that, but I'm pretty sure my mom won't let me get fish online. I could look, and see if maybe she would let me if I find some really cool ones.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Good to hear

Or, you could create strains of your own