Real photos from guppy breeding farms to enjoy
When it comes to guppies, perhaps many people are not very familiar with them, but just from their name we can tell that guppies are very different from the crucian carp and common carp we see most often in daily life. The appearance of guppies looks like a peacock with its tail feathers spread, so their shape is very attractive and they have high ornamental value.
What are guppies
Guppies are no strangers to many aquarium hobbyists, but what is little known is that guppies are not a product of nature. They were created by humans through continuous gene selection and attempted crossbreeding. Because of their short production cycle and large brood size, they are called million fish. There is actually another reason guppies are so well known: guppies are truly beginner fish. Strong environmental adaptability and undemanding housing conditions are their greatest calling cards. Even now, many beginners want to get into keeping guppies, and how to feed guppies is one of the problems that needs to be solved.
How to feed guppies
If you want to keep guppies well, then you definitely cannot be lazy. Lazy people cannot do anything well. So let us thoroughly explain the question of how to feed guppies: generally speaking, four meals a day is best for guppies (morning, noon, evening, and before bed). Of course, if time does not allow, three meals is also feasible. This is only speaking generally. If you want to achieve certain results in keeping guppies, you need to feed them at fixed times and in fixed amounts. This is usually divided into the fry stage and the adult fish stage.
1. Fry stage
At the fry stage, feeding is quite particular, because the fry are in a stage of growth and development. They need a large amount of nutrition to fully develop so that both the tail and the body can have a good shape. Therefore, fry must be fed small amounts but many times. Usually, the food needs to be finished within five minutes after each feeding, and they may need to be fed seven or eight times a day to achieve growth results.
2. Adult fish stage
At the adult fish stage, since the body has fully developed, the purpose of feeding is to let the adult fish maintain their body condition, so it is only necessary to provide enough nutrition (not to let the fish remain in an emaciated state). For adult fish over six months old, two meals are enough (this can avoid premature aging).
Generally speaking, the nutrition of brine shrimp is second to none. If you find hatching troublesome, you can also use decapsulated brine shrimp eggs as a substitute, but there may be a nutritional gap. Of course, you can also choose some feed with higher nutritional value for feeding, and during the growth period you can also appropriately add some feed that helps guppies develop color.
How to prepare the water for guppies
To keep fish, first prepare the water. This saying is indeed the truth. Therefore, when you plan to keep fish, buy a fish tank, rinse it first, then soak it in salt water and set up filtration (generally speaking, a sponge filter is used; if the tank is slightly larger, a canister filter can be configured; if it is even larger, use a filter box). If using a sponge filter, usually first aerate for one or two days, then siphon out the water and replace it with new water plus a bit of salt, repeating this for a week.
Of course, if you want to succeed in preparing the water faster, you can add your own nitrifying bacteria. Nitrifying bacteria can break down some toxic substances (such as ammonia and nitrite formed by fish waste), turning these harmful substances into harmless nitrate. Preparing the water is the cornerstone of keeping fish. Only after the nitrification system is established can the fish grow healthily. Once the nitrification system is established, you can buy fish. After buying back the guppies you like, it is best not to put them directly into the tank all at once. The correct method is to first soak them in the water for a period of time, and when the fish have adapted to your water temperature, then put them into the fish tank.
How to change the water for guppies
Many people, when changing water, directly siphon out the old water and directly add tap water. In fact, this method is not advisable, because the tap water we usually drink often contains chlorine used for disinfection. Although chlorine is harmless to humans, for fish with weaker constitutions and lower resistance, they naturally cannot withstand it, and this may very likely lead to the death of the fish. Therefore, usually a few days before changing the water, the tap water is first aerated for several days, waiting for harmful substances such as chlorine to evaporate.
Guppies are not very demanding about water quality, but they still have a range they can adapt to. Generally, when keeping guppies, it is best to adjust the pH value to near-neutral weak acidity or weak alkalinity (pH 6.5-7.5). Within this pH range, keeping guppies will be much easier.
When keeping fish, you must know that the environment inside the fish tank actually needs to form an ecological balance. In natural ecology, there is natural filtration. In a fish tank, in order to achieve the purpose of filtration, besides using a filter, it is also necessary to change the water frequently. Therefore, regular water changes are a required course for fish keepers. For guppies, usually change the water once every 5 to 7 days. Of course, this is also determined by the size of the keeper's fish tank and their keeping habits. The amount of water changed is usually about one quarter to one third, and it should not be changed too much because drastic changes in water quality are very harmful to guppies. In addition, it is best to thoroughly clean the fish tank once every six months, and at that time the water change amount should be about one half.
Tips for selecting guppies
1. Whether they swim lively. If they stop at the water surface or at the bottom, or only swim by moving their heads, these are usually problematic fish, and such fish should be avoided when selecting.
2. Whether the glossiness is sufficient. Healthy fish definitely have good glossiness, while unhealthy ones look somewhat faded in color.
At present, guppies are still relatively uncommon on the market, but as people learn more and more about guppies, their market demand is also gradually increasing. We all know that fish cannot grow without water, so if fish are to grow healthily, water is the key to keeping fish.