I've had it with guppy breeding

[HopeGR]

Started this hobby in July. Maybe end of August, a friend recommended I mate the guppies I had bought - they were 2 males at the time. So I bought females and mated. Since September, I had 4 batches of guppy fry, each batch between 5 -9 maybe, and in the end, having 1 or two of each batch survive.

But what followed was painful - each female started to die. And die a very slow death. I understand now it was because she was overstressed by the mating. And I have realized the tuxedo guppies are the worst in doing this.

Currently with three females, and having just lost 2 days before, I see two more females on top, in the corner, one especially showing a cone-like shape coming from her bum. I can't take this anymore! I thought guppies were a bit stronger. I don't have the heart to dispose of her, but she will end up dying soon.

I'm discouraged. Is it safe, at least, to only have male guppies then in the tank? Because seeing this only makes me want to give up this hobby I just started and am invested in.

Along with balloon mollies and platys, what can I add? Or just stick with those? At least the female balloon mollies don't seem to get this dire after birth - am I wrong? The males don't seem to stress them like the male guppies do. Thoughts?

 

[JasonG2003]

Hey there, don’t give up! Ensure that the water quality is pristine as that is the key for a healthy aquarium. Also, yes it would be fine to have just male guppies in an aquarium, however, don’t get discouraged just because in the meantime you can’t get anything right. We’ve all been there and surely this is a valuable experience for you; learn from your mistakes and you’ll be better off. Remember that some of the more experienced people have also had problems before so don’t feel bad about yourself. Guppy breeding is suited for beginners and is quite easy, so just be persistent and you’ll get the results you desire. Good luck!

 

[HopeGR]

Re:

Thanks for the boost of confidence Sadly, I just had to dispose of the female, *sigh* There is one left with two tuxedo guppies. What is equally sad is that just yesterday, I went to buy another female and it died less than 24 hrs! Hours after I introduced her to the tank she was floating on top and swimming lifelessly. Found her dead in the AM. I check my water every day, it's all balanced, the pet shop verified it was 'perfect,' yet she died hours later. Could it be I bought a sick guppy? It was only $1.99

These females are so sensitive. I love that I have fry, and I think for now I'll just watch them grow. I don't know, maybe I need a break! I'll see how it goes. For now, I feel so bad for that last female in the tank. She is young, but I fear she will suffer her fate soon

 

[charliebankston]

I don't keep any guppies, but I remember reading an article a few months ago about some fish being bred poorly and inbred etc, that the strains of some species of ornamental fish have suffered over the last few years. Guppies and betta were 2 of the ones I remember

 

[HopeGR]

Re:

Very interesting - this I wish I would have known. I simply asked the rep there at the pet store what kind of fish I can start off with, back late summer when I took up this hobby.

I like them because of their colors and how they brighten the tank, as well as the excitement of breeding and seeing the little ones. But after the experiences of watching those poor females breed and slowly die, it depressed me!

I have one last guppy, a male, along with my balloon mollies and he looks so lonely without his mate. But he killed her! I'm sure he will just slip away...I got him Nov. 2

But I do have a handful of guppy fry, let see how they grow...

 

[charliebankston]

Oh cool. I'm sorry you lost the others tho. They are beautiful. I happened to read that article because I was trying to talk my wife into getting a bunch for her 65g community tank. They are gorgeous

 

[lauriezuki]

We went the guppy route about 3 years ago...Had so many fry that our 40 gal, 30 gal, and 20 gal were overpopulated. We started giving them away. Eventually I separated the males and females to separate tanks. Finally they started to die off, one or two at a time. No evident sickness. We figured they were just at the end of their lifespan. we are presently down to 4 males, and will not restock with guppies again. Too many is JUST TOO MANY !

 

[HopeGR]

We went the guppy route about 3 years ago...Had so many fry that our 40 gal, 30 gal, and 20 gal were overpopulated. We started giving them away. Eventually I separated the males and females to separate tanks. Finally they started to die off, one or two at a time. No evident sickness. We figured they were just at the end of their lifespan. we are presently down to 4 males, and will not restock with guppies again. Too many is JUST TOO MANY !

So you had luck keeping just males in a tank? Did you have them in the tank with other fish too?

 

[lauriezuki]

Yes they do fine without the 'girls'. Of course they chase each other trying to mate...futile. LOL. In the same 40 gal. tank we have an albino cory, a false julii cory cat (who just mated. We have eggs !), three black skirt tetras and about 6 small otocinclus cats.(They hide and we don't see them often-But we have a couple tiny fry from them too.) Really tickles me to have fry from egg layers.

 

[HopeGR]

Yes they do fine without the 'girls'. Of course they chase each other trying to mate...futile. LOL. In the same 40 gal. tank we have an albino cory, a false julii cory cat (who just mated. We have eggs !), three black skirt tetras and about 6 small otocinclus cats.(They hide and we don't see them often-But we have a couple tiny fry from them too.) Really tickles me to have fry from egg layers.

I agree, I like seeing fry as well. Could you tell me the following: the 3 surviving guppy I have, with the oldest being 3 months, all three 'look' female. They all have that female tail. I have read that they enter male/female stages until they finally mature. Any idea when they will finally mature? As I said, they were born in Sept & Oct.

 

[lauriezuki]

I agree, I like seeing fry as well. Could you tell me the following: the 3 surviving guppy I have, with the oldest being 3 months, all three 'look' female. They all have that female tail. I have read that they enter male/female stages until they finally mature. Any idea when they will finally mature? As I said, they were born in Sept & Oct.

Laurali Marzuki <lauriezuki@gmail.com>
3:25 PM (2 hours ago)
to Aquarium

I don't really recall timewise how long it took, but if they are male they should start to color up after a couple of months, as they get to full size. Some color up faster than others. (Wish we had known you wanted guppies when we were overloaded with them. LOL.) I would think your fish should be close to maturity by now. If they are big enough to check out the anal fin, the female anal fin is just rounded off, and the male has an arrow like extension at the base of the body above the rounded part. check this link .

https://www.wikihow.com/Identify-Ma...dmakPOsLY6d-lFXO_SenY1umYYTS-wU_UoB1y1GkuEOQ#