guppy breeding

hi all.

i recently got a 3ft tank. i want to set it up as a guppy breeding tank i have about 20 guppies.
Any tips or ideas?
what is the best food for them?
how often should i do water changes?
anything i should look out for?

thanks:
blake

 

Hey! Welcome to the forum!

Guppy breeding can be rather simple if done correctly and if the time and effort is put in.

Lets start off with the simple tank set-up:
As you probably already know, guppy babies and most fry are really really small and could easily get pulled into a normal filter pipe or internal filters chamber. To stop this from happening I suggest you get a sponge filter.
These can be obtained from your LFS or by our sponsors or even a willing member.
Secondly, with regards to the "cleanness" and bacteria level in the water I personally would recommend using a "bare-bottom" tank (tank with no gravel or rocky substance at the bottom) as it just makes water changes and cleaning the bottom of the tank a whole lot easier.
On the water changing note - Although guppies can be pretty hardy, it's essential you keep the water in perfect condition to help the survival and growth of the guppy fry. Like most fry raising you should do small but sufficient water changes. I would recommend taking out 10% of your 3ft's every two days, depending on the size of the fish and the waste produced by the fish.
Heating - I recommend keeping your tank at around 25-26C.
When the fry are in their early stages it is natural for the other guppies or fish in the tank to chomp down! Sometimes you get the lucky survivors but many times with a lot of fish in the tank all of them will get eaten. A good idea would be to get a divider for your tank so the fry remain one side, while the bigger fish remain on the other side. You could also use your other 3 ft to house the fry.

Time for some food!
Feeding the guppies is an essential part of the growth.
Baby Brine Shrimp are essential for fast and healthy growth of the fry. Feeding of Baby Brine Shrimp around 2-3 times a day will insure a large number surviving and that you have fat and fast growing fry.
Although survival can be achieved with other supplements, BBS is essential.

Overall, keep the basics up of water changes and good feeding and you will have a huge amount of fry on your hands.

PS guys - Blake is my friend and I know him in real life. Was just giving him some written advice and for others to see as well.

 

@blakeyo - Surface plants are always handy for the fry to hide in. In my experience, breeding cubes/nets seem to stress the females more than anything else. My 2c...

 

thanks man! really helped

 

@matteffect - Spot on
I however stick to a 20-25% WC once a week. Less work = LAZY

 

Oh Sorry. Hi and welcome :hello:

 

Hi Blake,

Welcome to TASA! I'd say your first step would be to acquire top quality breeding stock... and if you want expert advice, then lets ask the guppy queen to step in! @Irma?

 

@len.weideman Well your the Guppy Guy =) Haha, I'm just sorta a clean freak =D If you know what I mean =D

 

Try and get a handful of java moss or some hornwort. This usually provides enough space for fry.
Oh and welcome to TASA.

 

LOL--- No expert..... but it works for me
I have a couple of excellent ATFG strains and twenty tanks filled with guppies. They breed like crazy they start

 

thanks every one for the helpfull replies!

 

@len.weideman - Maybe not an expert but certainly enthusiastic :adore:

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Tracy!

I have 4 tanks for breeding guppies and they are all 3fts. They all have gravel and each of them have 2 internal power filters. Each tank has an area that is densely planted with plants that reach to the surface. I bought the best stock I could afford and put 2 trios of each strain into there own tanks and let nature run its course. I do around 40% water changes weekly.

I feed freshly hatched brine shrimp first thing in the morning. Then they get high quality flakes an hour later as I leave for work. When I get home after work they get freshly hatched brine shrimp and then an hour later some more flakes. 3 times a week they get a spirulina tablet in the morning.

I check the tanks whenever I feed for any fry. I keep them in a breeder net for the first month so that they do not get eaten and also to make sure that they get food. After a month, they join the adults.

Hope this helps
Irma

 

Hi All I am still new and getting used to this wonderful site tasa.may not know how to use it properly yet .I am looking to buy line bred pure strains guppies in gauteng.can anyone help.thanks

 

Hi @finatic, it would be great if you could start a new thread and introduce yourself. Then you can ask if anyone has some pure strain guppies for sale. I do have some but would prefer to answer your new thread. That way we will not derail this thread.

 

Hi @finatic, Also set your location under 'My Profile' at the top right of the screen. Makes it easier to see who is close to you when replying to requests like this.

 

I love this approach. Much more doable for me than the @len.weideman way.

 

Hey guys!

I recently saw Blakes guppies and they look fantastic! Maybe post some pics Blake?

 

Yip, unfortunately everybody can't afford the way I breed my guppies. It is a lot of money, lot of time and takes up a lot of space. Unfortuantely there is no other way if you try to breed more than one or two pure strains, let alone experiment with crosses.

Another thing that I took into consideration is the chances of getting disease. Every hobbiest encounter some kind of disease, Ick, fungus etc from time to time. Much easier for me to isolate it to one tank and only a couple of fish.

 

Yes! I'll try post some photos I just need to find my camera. they health and the females are getting ready to give birth! Try post photos later tonight or tomorrow!