Post by Cyberguppy on Aug 16, 2005 21:22:27 GMT 10
Courtesy Bumblebee : Guppies.com
no.1 Getting water quality right.
Use a very well cycled tank, or one that has been innoculated with a filter, gravel and water from a cycled tank. Put in a couple of feeders or juveniles to check conditions. Get your temp to approx 24.c 75.f degrees. Check that ph is around 7-7.2 and water hardness (ask your LPS or get a test kit) is around 12-18 or moderate to hard. If your ph is low and water hardness is 'soft' then this can be kept stable with a small handfull of shellgrit added to the tank. The larger the tank the better.
no.2 Planting the tank.
I dont like to use breeding boxes as i have lost too many females this way from stress. Instead i like to have a well planted tank which also helps remove toxins from the water and provide cover for tiny fry. The two easiest plants that anyone with even the most basic tank setup can use are Java moss and java fern. Approx 3-4 plants per 10 gal is a good ratio. Keeping young fry from earlier broods swimming freely in the tank also drasticly cuts down on fry cannibalisation. The females become accustomed to small fish they cannot eat and cannot seem to tell the difference between a 4 week old fry and a day old fry. Breeding boxes are best used for rearing your first few batches of fry untill females become accustomed to them.
no.3 Feeding
To get the best possible growth in your fish and the largest brood sizes the best foods must be fed to your fish. For the beginner freezedried bloodworm and flake are the best and most economic of foods. These foods will usually yeild medium sized batches of fry (approx 30) and fish of average to small size. A better but slightly more expensive food is frozen bloodworm and Fortified flake food (ones with added protein, vitamins and algae). This will produce more fry, better colour in adults and better growth. Professional breeders will use foods such as baby brine shrimp and micro-worms for raising fry and getting the best possible sizes from their fish. Live foods being the best.
no.4 Selecting fish
For the beginner the only usual place to select fish is the LPS, so what do you look for? The best thing to do (unless you frequent the shop and know their stock) is to take a good look at the fish you want and then go back three days later. If the fish are still there and still in good condition then you know you have found a resonable shop. Many time have I bought fish that have died within a day only to go back to the shop and find that everyone of its tankmates have "Dissapperaed" too. Once you have found a good shop start to look closley at the fish, Do they have lots of identicle gups in a tank with very similar markings or do they have a mish-mash of shapes, colour and sizes. If the fish you see are all of a similar size, there are three or more adults with identicle markings then you have probably found someone who is suppled by a breeder. Watch the fish carefully to see that they are active and healthy, check all their tanks for signs of disease such as ick and velvet as most lps operate on a single filter for all the tanks, also check tanks for the telltale blue water that means they have recently been treating for disease. Once you are satisfied then select the healthyest individuals of your choice, with desired finnage, try to get virgin females where available or Buy a pregnant female of the desired colour and raise a few yourself
no.5 Mating.
If you are lucky enough to buy or raise your virgin female gups, wait untill they are approx 3 months old before introducing them to a male. This allows the female to reach her full size and breeding potential. Once mated the male can be removed but this doesnt matter. but remember once a female has mated she can store enough sperm for a further 6 batches of fry. This is why a virgin female should be used for breeding. Now feed your female on the Best food you can get her, frozen bloodworm being the best and mose economical, combine this with a fortified flake food but flake and freezedried bloodworm is also good in a pinch. allow her to eat as much food as she can handle. just after mating females need a huge amount of protein and nutrient to produce the largest amount of eggs. Keep feeding your female a good amount of food several times a day untill she gives birth, this should be approx 26-30 days after introducing her to the male. Look for signs of her acting shy or chasing other fish to know when she is about to give birth, either use a breeding net or well planted tank to protect the fry.
no.6 The fry
Fry are best fed a combination of very very finley powdered flake and bloodworm, or for best results live food such as baby brine shrimp and micro-worm, also 100% spirulina powder is a very good addition to their food.
happy fishkeeping.
no.1 Getting water quality right.
Use a very well cycled tank, or one that has been innoculated with a filter, gravel and water from a cycled tank. Put in a couple of feeders or juveniles to check conditions. Get your temp to approx 24.c 75.f degrees. Check that ph is around 7-7.2 and water hardness (ask your LPS or get a test kit) is around 12-18 or moderate to hard. If your ph is low and water hardness is 'soft' then this can be kept stable with a small handfull of shellgrit added to the tank. The larger the tank the better.
no.2 Planting the tank.
I dont like to use breeding boxes as i have lost too many females this way from stress. Instead i like to have a well planted tank which also helps remove toxins from the water and provide cover for tiny fry. The two easiest plants that anyone with even the most basic tank setup can use are Java moss and java fern. Approx 3-4 plants per 10 gal is a good ratio. Keeping young fry from earlier broods swimming freely in the tank also drasticly cuts down on fry cannibalisation. The females become accustomed to small fish they cannot eat and cannot seem to tell the difference between a 4 week old fry and a day old fry. Breeding boxes are best used for rearing your first few batches of fry untill females become accustomed to them.
no.3 Feeding
To get the best possible growth in your fish and the largest brood sizes the best foods must be fed to your fish. For the beginner freezedried bloodworm and flake are the best and most economic of foods. These foods will usually yeild medium sized batches of fry (approx 30) and fish of average to small size. A better but slightly more expensive food is frozen bloodworm and Fortified flake food (ones with added protein, vitamins and algae). This will produce more fry, better colour in adults and better growth. Professional breeders will use foods such as baby brine shrimp and micro-worms for raising fry and getting the best possible sizes from their fish. Live foods being the best.
no.4 Selecting fish
For the beginner the only usual place to select fish is the LPS, so what do you look for? The best thing to do (unless you frequent the shop and know their stock) is to take a good look at the fish you want and then go back three days later. If the fish are still there and still in good condition then you know you have found a resonable shop. Many time have I bought fish that have died within a day only to go back to the shop and find that everyone of its tankmates have "Dissapperaed" too. Once you have found a good shop start to look closley at the fish, Do they have lots of identicle gups in a tank with very similar markings or do they have a mish-mash of shapes, colour and sizes. If the fish you see are all of a similar size, there are three or more adults with identicle markings then you have probably found someone who is suppled by a breeder. Watch the fish carefully to see that they are active and healthy, check all their tanks for signs of disease such as ick and velvet as most lps operate on a single filter for all the tanks, also check tanks for the telltale blue water that means they have recently been treating for disease. Once you are satisfied then select the healthyest individuals of your choice, with desired finnage, try to get virgin females where available or Buy a pregnant female of the desired colour and raise a few yourself
no.5 Mating.
If you are lucky enough to buy or raise your virgin female gups, wait untill they are approx 3 months old before introducing them to a male. This allows the female to reach her full size and breeding potential. Once mated the male can be removed but this doesnt matter. but remember once a female has mated she can store enough sperm for a further 6 batches of fry. This is why a virgin female should be used for breeding. Now feed your female on the Best food you can get her, frozen bloodworm being the best and mose economical, combine this with a fortified flake food but flake and freezedried bloodworm is also good in a pinch. allow her to eat as much food as she can handle. just after mating females need a huge amount of protein and nutrient to produce the largest amount of eggs. Keep feeding your female a good amount of food several times a day untill she gives birth, this should be approx 26-30 days after introducing her to the male. Look for signs of her acting shy or chasing other fish to know when she is about to give birth, either use a breeding net or well planted tank to protect the fry.
no.6 The fry
Fry are best fed a combination of very very finley powdered flake and bloodworm, or for best results live food such as baby brine shrimp and micro-worm, also 100% spirulina powder is a very good addition to their food.
happy fishkeeping.
