Have you bought a guppy or are you thinking about buying a guppy? If you have/are, then I have good news for you. Guppies are amazingly colorful, coming in many varying shades and patterns depending on the type. They live in fresh water and are relatively easy to take care of compared to other pets. Guppies, though, are still living creatures with their own specific standards of care. This care sheet will help you to take care for your guppy as best as you can. It will help you avoid common pitfalls that beginner guppy owners often make.
Tank Size, Setup, and Water Parameters
Tank size, as you might have guessed, depends on how many guppies you have. A smaller tank might have enough room for two guppies but would be too small for three. A too small tank can influence guppies to cause each other harm, as well as causing health and water quality issues. The smallest appropriately sized tank for one guppy should be able to hold at least 3-5 gallons of water. If you have more than one guppy and/or are expecting your guppies to grow I would recommend a 10-20 gallon tank depending on your specific situation. Just make sure to always give each guppy you have those essential 3-5 gallons. Pro tip: Use hard water to fill your tank. It has more minerals and will benfit your guppy significantly.
All fish benefit from clean, regularly filtered water. Guppies are certainly no exception. Recommended filters include the hang-on-back filter, the sponge filter, and the canister filter (Johnson). I want to note that a water filter is not the only thing you need to do to keep the water in your tank clean. You should also scoop out left-over food bits, vacuum the bottom of your tank regularly, and replace about 35% of the water weekly.
If you add a new fish to the tank you must cycle your water beforehand so that your fish don't end up poisoned. Fish produce ammonia, which is toxic, but bacteria in the tank breaks down the ammonia, turning it into nitrate, and then nitrite. Cycling the water helps the process along and lets the nitrite levels go down. If you want to speed up the process, add a lot of live plants to your tank, or add household ammonia to an empty tank and cycle before there is anything in the tank. In the midst of this whole process, remember to check oxygen levels as well. It might surprise you but you need to make sure your fish have enough oxygen.
In the wild, guppies are used to a certain level of acidity, so use water conditioner to keep the pH level between 7.0 and 7.8. Water that is not in this pH range can kill your fish. You will also need a heater to keep temperature in between 72–82°F. This is because guppies are warm weather dwellers. They are at optimal health in warm water. The last must-have to create an essential guppy tank, is lighting. All animals that sleep or rest have a circadian rhythm that is effected by sunlight. The light in the tank should be on a timer, becuase it will act like your guppy's sun. Lighting also helps guppies produce bright colors. LED lights found on amazon work fine and are very affordable.
While substrates and decorations are not essential for guppy tanks they can massively improve your guppy's overall health. The best substrates all have pros and cons:
- Gravel comes in many colors, aids water circulation, and is easy to clean ie. vacuum, but it traps bits of waste and needs to be cleaned often.
- Sand is great for growing live plants and is more comfy for the guppies themselves, but it is difficult to clean and can hinder water circulation.
- Plants are going to benefit the live plants used for decoration, but they can dirty the water and require constant maintenance.
- Bare-bottom tanks are cleaned easily and are good if you want your fish to breed, but you can't grow live plants in them.
The ideal decorations for a stress-free environment are live and artificial plants, and things that guppies can hide in and explore. Faux caves are a good example of this. Live plants are a calming presence for fish. They make the tank feel like home. Live plants also improve water quality through photosynthesis. In contrast, artificial plants are easier to take care of. Guppies like to be able to hide. It makes them feel secure and will lead to minimal distress.
Cleaning and Maintenance
I briefly touched on how to clean your tank in the above section. In this one I want to explore the topic in more detail. Filter cleaning has to be done in a certain way or the water in the tank could get recontaminated or you could kill the bacteria that deconposes the amonia produced by your guppies.
- Remove the filter from the tank and put it into a waterproof container because it will spill.
- Fill another container with conditioned water at room temperature.
- Take apart your filter and clean each part with the conditioned water, except for the filter media. Use unconditioned, room temperature water to clean that.
- Put the filter back together and place it back in the tank.
You might be wondering when you clean your tank, how hard your water is, or how to know what level the pH is at. The answer is to buy a water quality monitoring kit. These can be bought online from sites like The Clean Water Store.
Tank Mate Requirments
Many people who get fish like to put many different types of aquatic animals in the same tank. What if you choose an animal that is incompatable with guppies? Most likely the two incompatable animals will fight and cause each other severe harm. Peaceful community fish include swordtails, platies, mollies, cory catfish, harlequin rasboras, and bristlenose pleco ( Fabian, Best Guppy Tank Mates). On the other side of the coin, you should avoid some species due to aggression or fin-nipping. Angelfish and cichlids, as well as any large, predatory or agressive fish are not recommended as tank mates.
For those that want to keep multiple guppies in the same tank, I recommend no more than 3 in a standard sized tank. You must remember they need to have enough space. Keep in mind, if you have all male guppies there can be conflict as male guppies are territorial and aggressive. Other animals that can live with guppies include freshwater shrimp, flowerhorn fish, and female beta fish. All of these are sold at buyguppy.com.
Feeding Guide
Guppies are omniverous so they can eat veggetables, live food, frozen food, and fish food. If you want to know how to feed guppies in more detail click the expanded guide. Guppies are small so feed them small protions about twice a day. A portion should not take more than 2-3 minutes for a guppy to eat. Signs of underfeeding are your guppies looking emaciated, weight loss, looking for food, competing for food, and fatigue. In guppy fries underfeeding can manifest in slow rate of growth. Signs of overfeeding your guppies are bloated stomaches, swim bladder issues, decreased activity levels, excess waste in the tank, poor water quality, increased aggression, decreased appetite, general health issues, and obesity (Jenkins, table).
Health and Common Diseases
I am sure that new guppy owners must want to know typical signs of sick guppies. These are lethargy, color changes, appetite loss, weight loss, breathing problems, visable lesions/spots, erratic swimming patterns and isolation of self (Enviroliteracy Team). Common illnesses include ich, fin rot, dropsy, ammonia poisoning, and bacterial infections. Ich's most identifiable symptom is white spots. Fin rot is a bacterial infection and can be identified by damaged or discolored fins. Dropsy causes the fish's eyes to bulge and its abdomen to bloat. Ammonia poisoning (and also anemia) lead to gill discoloration. Other bacterial infections besides fin rot can cause lesions, sores, cloudy eyes, and dark or white patches.
To prevent your guppy catching any of these illnesses keep up with hygiene and keep the water parameters as explained in this guide. Don't neglect yor guppies. Check on them everyday to make sure that they have enough food but are not overeating, that they have enough oxygen, and etc. If you get a new fish, quarantine it for a few weeks before introducing it to your other fish. For the most part though, as long as you read the articles published by buyguppy.com your guppy should be healthy and happy.
If your guppy still gets sick, the first thing you should do is quarantine it so no other fish/animals get sick. Try to identify the illness and then respond with the appopriate treatment. You might have to experiment with the water parameters in the tank. If you cannot identify the illness I recommend calling your vet for advice. If treating the illness requires medication apply it according to the instructions given.
Breeding Basics
Many people buy guppies to breed them. If this is you, don't worry I haven't forgotten you. Let's begin with how to tell if a guppy is a male or a female. Guppies are like birds. The females are duller colors then the males, becuase the males have to compete for the females attention. This is also why male guppies are smaller than femal guppies and have bigger, more elaborate fins than females. Another way to tell who is male or female is body shape. Female guppies have rounder bodies than male guppies who's bodies are slimmer. The most telling feature, though, is the gonopodium, which is used for mating and is "a modified anal fin" (How to Tell Male and Female Guppies Apart). It is long and pointed (like other common male sex organs), and female guppies do not have one at all.
Guppies mature sexually at around 7 weeks of age. When your guppy gets pregnant you should expect it to go through three stages. The first stage is fertilization, it occurs when the male successfully inseminates the female. Second is gestation, which is the month-long period that it takes for the embryo to grow inside the female. The last stage is parturition, wherein the female actually births the guppy fry.
- Fertilization- For this stage to happen the female must accept the male's advances. The female will be too stressed out if the male forces himself on her. Monitor your guppies carefully and make sure to feed them a healthy and diverse diet. It is also beneficial if you feed your guppies more than you would regular adult guppies. Be careful not to overfeed though.
- Gestation- Continue the careful treatment and diverse diet. Remove the mother from the primary tank and put her in a seperate tank this will decrease her stress levels. Signs of pregnancy are a dark gravid (near the anus) spot, your guppy's belly will swell, your guppy will display an increased appetite, and will be restless.
- Parturition-You can tell if a guppy is going through labour if it is swimming erractically, if it is isolating itself, you may notice the anus protruding, or you may notice the guppy going through active contractions.
Now you will have a whole guppy fry consisting of 20-120 fry. Immeadiately seperate the fry from all adult guppy contact or they will be eaten. The easiest way to do this would be to place the mother back into the original tank. After that, feed them 3-5 mini meals a day. You will want to feed them a combination of baby brine shrimp with infusoria, vinegar eels, powdered fry food, and/or green water.
Behavior and Personality
Buying multiple guppies requires understanding guppy's behavioral and personal structures. Guppy's will form a heirarchy. The head guppy will be a dominant male. The other males will mostly be submissive in response but this structure does encourage competition. To discourage any extreme aggression buy 1 male guppy for every 2 female guppies. Guppies shoal, which means they a tight knit group with each other and other small fish in their environment. In the wild guppies are hunted by larger fish. Swimming in groups helps them to ward off these larger fish. Buying decorations for your tank encourages shoaling.
I have discussed the negative sides of high stress situations for guppies. The signs of stress are increased shoaling, lethargy, lack of appetite, clamping of fins, rapid breathing, changes in color, and erratic swimming. Guppies are known for being peaceful but that doesn't mean that they are above bullying their own. Signs of bullying are injuries, isolation, erratic swiming caused by injury, and lack of appetite. The good news is if you follow this guide and read our other blogs your guppies will stay active and healthy.
Good Luck!
And remember, give your guppies enough water and space. Follow all water parameters and be aware of the quality of your water. Provide substrates and decorations. Keep their living area clean. Do not put them in the same tank as noncompatible aquatic animals. Feed them in proper amoounts and remember to diversify what they eat. Watch for signs indicating anything wrong. Our site also has guppies for sale. If you trust and like the information we provide, buy from us as well.
References
How to Set Up a Guppy Tank - Everything You Need to Know' The Best Guppy Fish Tank Filter: How to Choose the Right Filter for your guppy fish tank – Aquarium Fish Source 4 - Best Substrate For Guppy Tank, Pros And Cons - Guppy Tank Decor: What's Safe? | PetShun What Is the Fastest Way to Cycle an Aquarium? 15 Best Guppy Tank Mates - Full List of Animals Compatible with Guppies How to Clean My Aquarium Filter (& Is It Necessary?) | Fishkeeping Advice Signs Of Overfeeding Guppies: How To Know If You're Overdoing It | PetShun How do I know if my guppy has a disease? - The Environmental Literacy Council How To Tell Male And Female Guppies Apart - [Vet Explains Pets] Pregnant Guppy: Stages, Care And Labor Signs Understanding Guppy Fish Behavior: A Deep Dive – Splashy Fish