Keeping Fancy Guppies as Pets: What You Should Know

I have kept and bred fancy guppies off and on for more than twenty years. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guppy, guppies are one of the most popular freshwater aquarium species worldwide. Originally discovered in Trinidad more than 140 years ago, these little fish are native to South America. They have quickly grown in popularity as pets, and for good reason.

Guppies are easy to keep and fun to watch. They are incredibly hardy little fish. I rarely have problems with their health when changing water or cleaning the tank. They develop interesting social dynamics, and the females will bear live young roughly once a month. So, what do you need to know when considering guppies as pets?

When setting up a tank, you won't need to go beyond the basics for guppies. A tank between 10-20 gallons will work well. Add gravel, some aquatic foliage (real or fake), a pump and a heater and you're ready to go. After initially setting up your tank, it's a good idea to add a little water conditioner before adding the fish. It improves the water quality and eases their transition to their new home.

The type and selection of fancy guppies available at pet stores can vary, so don't buy your fish without looking around first. It's also a good idea to look online at the different types of guppies available (the International Fancy Guppy Association is a good place to start). One male and one female is a good start for a tank. Why so few, you may ask? For the same reason you want to look around before choosing your fish - the fish you buy will breed, and every thirty days new fry will be born. If you start with two, you will soon have more. Males and females are often kept in separate tanks at pet stores to minimize "unwanted pregnancies", and the clerks will tell you that the females have not been exposed to males and cannot be pregnant. They lie. It's probably not intentional, of course.

Guppies are resourceful little breeders. If they have ever been exposed to a male, they are likely pregnant, and can even store sperm so they automatically become pregnant after giving birth. For instance, I bought three females two weeks ago from an "all female" tank. Two of them have already given birth. So, how can you tell if you're likely buying a pregnant fish? Watching the little fry is a lot of fun, so maybe you want one who's pregnant. When guppies are pregnant, they develop a dark spot at the base of their abdomen, which grows and darkens as the pregnancy progresses. If you have any doubt, then you probably have a momma fish on your hands.

Once you get your new fish home, they should settle in nicely. I usually open the bag a tiny bit and set it in the tank, allowing some of the aquarium water to mingle with their water and giving them time to adjust to the temperature (between 78 and 80 degrees). When they are no longer showing signs of stress (jerky movements, rapid breathing) I release them into the water.

When you think your female fish are ready to give birth, you have two options. You can buy a breeder tank (a tiny floating tank that goes inside your regular tank) or you can let nature take its course. While guppy fry are born fully formed and know how to avoid danger, they look a lot like a floating piece of food. Adult guppies will eat their young. A breeding tank has a V-shaped slit that leads into a smaller bottom area.. When the fry are born, they drop down into the bottom area, where they are safe from their mother and all other fish in the tank. Unfortunately, I've found that some female fish get so stressed out being in the breeding tank that their health suffers and they refuse to give birth. In those instances, I leave the mother in the main tank and check every few hours to see if she's given birth, then scoop out the young and place them in the breeding tank. After a few weeks, they are big enough to make it on their own.

As I said before, guppies are very hardy compared to other tropical fish, but there are a couple of common problems you will need to look out for. I have run into each of these several times with my fish. The most common health issue with guppies is the common fish disease Ich, which is caused by a parasite. This is easily treatable with inexpensive medications available at any pet store, and manifests itself in small, sugar-like spots on the fish's tail or body. The second problem is more difficult to treat, and comes in the form of a nematode, or small red worm protruding from the fish's anus (yes - gross!). There is really no treatment for a nematode infestation. Remove the infected fish from the tank and, if you love it a lot, you can try anthelmintic treatment.

While every animal has it's problems, these beautiful little fish really are a lot of fun to keep, breed and watch grow. Coming home and checking on your fish, the babies and the pregnancies can be diverting and a great distraction from the business of the day.

Sources:
http://groups.msn.com/GuppyTalk/guppydiseases.msnw
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/ich.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guppy
http://www.ifga.org