How to keep guppies alive? A complete guide to breeding techniques for beginners

Setting up a tank Most people think the first step in keeping fish is to just buy the fish first, but this is actually not quite the right idea, because if the tank and the fish are bought together, problems often arise, which will be described in detail later.

If you have already decided to keep fish, then you should first go and buy a fish tank you like. After buying the tank, you should first wash it, then soak it in salt water and put in a sponge filter, and aerate it for one or two days first. Then siphon out the water, replace it with new water (at this time it is best to also add a little salt) and still aerate it with a sponge filter for one or two days - this is aging the water. At this point you can add some nitrifying bacteria, because nitrifying bacteria can break down some toxic substances, such as the ammonia and nitrite released by fish feces, turning these substances harmful to fish into harmless nitrates. If the newly set up tank looks hazy and foggy, that means the nitrifying system has not yet been established, and it is recommended to add some more nitrifying bacteria; if there is no improvement, then the tank must be set up again. Although it is troublesome, this can ensure the safety of the fish, so do not be lazy when aging the water.

If the nitrifying system has already been established and the water has been aged for a few days, then at this point you can go and buy the fish you like, but the fish you bring home should still not be put into the tank all at once; it is best to use a small container or small pet box to let them slowly adapt to the water you have prepared. But how do you do that? Actually it is very simple: just slowly drip the aged water into the container, and it must be dripped slowly; after one or two days you can put the fish into the tank. Although it is troublesome, these are all basic fishkeeping skills, so do not ignore them. At first it will feel very troublesome, but once you get the hang of it, I think everything will become very easy. Aging water Many people, when changing water, directly siphon out the old water and directly add tap water, but this is actually quite harmful to the fish, because tap water often contains chlorine used for disinfection. If such toxic substances are directly added to the water, fish with weaker constitutions and weaker resistance often die because of this, so a few days before changing the water it is best to first put the tap water into another container and aerate it for a few days, so that these harmful substances will evaporate. Storing this water to let the harmful substances in it evaporate is what is called aging water. Water changes To let guppies have a faster and more suitable life, daily tank management is extremely important. Besides always paying attention to water quality and water temperature, you also need to maintain the ecological balance inside the tank. Give guppies the best living environment, and at the same time, also fully understand the relationship between the tank and the natural ecology. Nature has an ecological environment that purifies water and reuses it; for example, fish feces or carcasses in rivers or oceans are decomposed by bacteria and become nutrient sources for the plankton that serve as fish food. It is impossible to reproduce in a narrow fish tank an ecological environment completely identical to the vast natural world, so it is necessary to rely on filters to purify dirty water or to change water, to stage an artificial ecological environment.

Water has hardness. So-called hardness refers to magnesium or calcium ions dissolved in water, as well as carbonate ions and the like. When water contains a large amount of these it is called hard water, and when it contains little it is called soft water. Tap water, however, contains chlorine or heavy metals harmful to guppies, and chlorine or heavy metals and the like will naturally disappear after the water is stored for a period of time. So-called pH value refers to the concentration of hydrogen ions dissolved in water; thus if the value is less than 7 it is acidic, if greater than 7 it is alkaline, and if it is exactly 7 it indicates neutral. The water used for keeping guppies must have its pH value adjusted to near-neutral weak acidity or weak alkalinity (pH 6.5 to 7.5 level); as long as it is within this range, the keeping of guppies can be said to be no problem. Making water starts with neutralizing the chlorine or heavy metals in tap water. Although it is tap water, because of region, or even within the same region because of different seasons, the chlorine concentration also differs; therefore, in order to match the pH value of the guppies you keep, also add dormant bodies of filter bacteria; these are aerobic bacteria that reproduce in the filter media, and they are also indispensable substances for decomposing the ammonia or nitrite that occurs in the water and is harmful to guppies; because only after this bacterium reproduces is the water quality suitable for keeping guppies.

The water in the fish tank must be constantly circulated and continuously filtered through the filter, but the water quality will still gradually deteriorate. Therefore, it is necessary to do regular water change work. The basic principle of water changes is "small amounts but frequently", and once every 2 to 3 weeks, based on about one quarter of the total water volume. A drastic change in water quality is very harmful to guppies. In addition, at least once a year a full-scale cleaning should also be done; guppies still find completely new water hard to adapt to, so it is necessary to retain about one half of the old water and then add new water. A few days before changing the water, you can first let the new water begin to be aerated, so as to let those harmful substances disappear.