Breeding Guppies

[Nortzy21]

So here's the deal. I've got a 20 gallon planted tank that has been cycling for a few weeks and I finally stocked it up a bit yesterday. I went to petco to get my guppies/plants and yes I said PETCO. However there are several by me and the one I usually go to is actually very nice. They've got an excellent selection of plants and guppies with no dead fish lying on the bottom or stuck to the filter intake. I was planning on dedicating this tank to plants but why not breed some guppies at the same time?! Two of the guppies are males and the other two are females (according to petco). I only got 4 in there right now...

Here's the setup







So I know guppies are some of the easiest fish to breed but tell me what the optimum conditions are for doing just that..... I'm hoping the live plants will give them a more natural feel and I still need to add some more driftwood/hideout places. Another question I have is can I throw some shrimp in there to excite the tank a bit? Feel free to criticize and let me know what I need to do and what I should know!

Thanks,

Sam





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[SpaceFish42]

You don't really have to worry about breeding guppies. If they can, they will. The only thing you have to think about is what to do with all those fry! Also, I have guppies with cherry shrimp, and they do fine together.

 

[SpaceFish42]

It's hard to tell, but it looks like that might be one male and three females.

 

[SushiRoll]

It looks great! I'm sure you could put some shrimp in there but I've never gotten shrimp so maybe someone else could second me on that. And about the guppies breeding what you do is get at least 1 male to every 2 females and put them in a tank wait a month and pull the fry it's easy as that! Feed the adults good food twice a day. Make sure to have plenty of hiding places because the adults will eat the fry. And if you post good side pictures of the fish I can tell you the gender.


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[DeeLee2013]

Guppies are the bunny rabbits of the fish world. If you put a male near females, you will have fry.

My only critique would be to cover the intake of the HOB filter with a piece of ladies nylon so that fry and shrimp don't get sucked up and killed.

I second the shrimp. I have RCS in my livebearer tank and it is nice to see the additional colors.


? Diana Lee ?
? the St. Augustine Redhead ?
http://floridaorchidendlers.com

 

[SpaceFish42]

Also, it's best to either have an extra tank or lots of tiny hiding places because the babies will be eaten very quickly.

 

[Nortzy21]

You don't really have to worry about breeding guppies. If they can, they will. The only thing you have to think about is what to do with all those fry! Also, I have guppies with cherry shrimp, and they do fine together.

Ok sounds good! Can I get one of those "fish net" in tank breeding enclosures?

 

[Fishobsessed7]

I agree, looks like 1 male and 3 females.


Fishobsessed7

 

[livefishguy124]

yes i have 1 ether get a big one or customize a few into 1, and yes i think it is 1 male 3 females which is better than 2 and 2, so add more plants especially green cambomba its relay cheep in some states, because some stated wont allow them to be shipped into the state like California, because it is an invasive species which is good just needs high light which you have and gravel which you have the more plants the better which is where i live but it is fine leaved and really good for babies so is java moss which is cheep and grows like crazy i got a bunch the size of a golf ball and now it is the size of a car tire!! ( it is in multiple tanks). and ive had it 6 months

 

[FWFishTanks]

I would fill all layers of the tank with plant cover. Floating hornwort up top, some bushy plants like water sprite for mid, and a dense are of java moss on the bottom.

 

[Nortzy21]

Just ordered one of these from drs foster and smith. Tell me what you think.




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[livefishguy124]

yea that is perfect, can you remove the middle? and is that a filter/bubler on the side? very cool send me the link to the page?

 

[TMRC Exotics]

I bred guppies for years and personally I think the hang in tank breeder boxes are a terrible idea. It stresses the mother and the fry have no way to escape the mom (I know it has slats but they swim out and back through them, they don't know they have a specific compartment). I have seen mother guppies eat fry seconds after having them myself.
I second the thick vegetation. I used a couple dense fake plant tied together to hang through the middle of the tank. Just pull it out and net them.

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[livefishguy124]

i agree but if the box is big enough than it would be ok

 

[Angela1108]

I agree with most of the posts- add a lot more plants especially floating plants and moss. It will give fry and shrimp places to hide. The guppies will eat some of the baby shrimp bit some will make it and the more plants the more will not be eaten!

I agree on not using the breeder box/net. It just stressed the females out in my experience.

My final suggestion: wait a little bit longer before adding the shrimp. They do best in a mature tank and will eat biofilm and stuff like that- but other than waiting a bit longer neo shrimp and guppies can do ok


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[GuppiesNSnails]

Yes, those are females/male. I got my guppies at petco too...2 of them (The male and female i wanted to pair) died...2 left D: