missgingersnap

I can't keep guppies alive for some reason. I had a nice group of them and one by one they died except for one. Will he be lonely? They all used to play together and now I wonder if he's sad that he's alone. I really don't want to get any more guppies since they don't seem to be very hardy, but I will if you guys think I should. I kinda feel bad for the poor little fella. What do you think?

Jonah

Guppys are fairly hardy little fish, did the ones that die show any symptoms? Did their fins rot away etc?

What are the water parameters for your tank, do you have readings for nitrite, ammonia and nitrate? if these are out of balance then guppys will be susceptible to them.

What other fish are they sharing the tanks with? Is this the 10gal or the 48gal.

Sorry for all the questions but with more info I may be able to help.

missgingersnap

Paramaters are ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 10, pH 7.4 Did a fishless cycle.
This is the 48 gallon tank and there are neons, albino cories, 2 angels and 1 BN pleco. The angels are juvies and they grew up with the neons and guppies and pretty much ignore them. I'm fighting ick in this tank at the moment but they all died before the ick outbreak except for the one I found dead this morning. I keep reading that they aren't hardy anymore because they are so overbred. Not sure if that's true or not...

Llama

That's somewhat true. They're inbred and so their genetic makeup becomes weaker, but they're still rather hardy fish.

missgingersnap

So....is he ok alone or should I get him some buddies once I get the ick cleared up?

Jonah

There are issues with some guppy threads and inbreeding but there is also the issues with the way that commercial breeders breed their guppys, those normally found in the 'feeder' tanks in LFS and in the sale tanks in large chain pet stores.

They just throw a bunch in a large tank or a pond and let them go, disease and parasites are rife in them. ICH and Fin Rot being the most common.

Did you QT the guppys before you added them to the tank? If not that may be the source of your ich infection.

When I started with my guppies I bought them from a couple of show breeders and most of the ones I bought were the ones they did not see as show quality, but they are still fantastic fish and cost a little bit more than from the LFS. But by combining their strains I have created my own.

In a little over 14 months of breeding them them now I have lost 4 guppys, 3 in birthing and one I rescued from a feeder tank that never made it through QT.

missgingersnap

Well, I did buy most of them from petsmart and some from an LFS. I don't know any local breeders. I wish I did. I would really like to get my hands on some endlers but nobody sells them here. I don't mind paying more for a fish if I know it's going to live. I've bought guppies that have died after 2 hours in the QT tank. I slowly acclimate them to the water before adding so it isn't that. Maybe guppies don't like me. lol
As far as quarentining....I just recently got a quarentine tank so not all of them were QT'd. I'm sure that's how I got ick in my tank because I didn't QT my BN pleco. I listened to the fish guy that assured me of it's great health. Lesson learned! I'm still a newbie what can I say! There will never be another fish that goes in this tank without being QT'd from now on.
So....do I need to get him friends or no? That's assuming he lives in the first place.

Jonah

Do a google search for you local aquarist club / society there will be breeders there for just about any fish you fancy.

And funny isnt it how most of us mere mortals learn the need for QT the same way lol.

The Uke

Guppies most likely will do better with several of their own kind, but if you're deadset against getting more gups he has several good tankmates in your Neons. You could get some Endlers off of Aquabid and as there are wild strains available there they would tend to be more hardy. Same thing could be true of guppies there or guppy-endler hybrids. Pricier on Aquabid than at LFS but if they live long, happy, reproductive lives, in the long run they are actually cheaper than a bargain LFS fish that soon dies

missgingersnap

Well I can't find anything for my local aquarium club/society. I'll keep looking.
I'll check out aquabid but doesn't it cost a fortune for shipping?

Jonah

Try here MissG http://www.ifocas.org/CanadianMembers.htm

missgingersnap

Thanks Jonah, but nothing near me on that list and some of the links don't go anywhere. Maybe I'll post something on this forum to see if there is anyone in my area. I'll keep trying to find something though.

Jonah

That will be the problem with living in such a small country lol,

Not trying to lecture or sound like a smart ? but look for aquarist clubs not aquarium clubs, we keep aquariums and fish we are aquarists.

missgingersnap

I tried both actually. I didn't find anything in my area but then I didn't spend a lot of time searching yet.

mondicat

Where in Canada are you? I'm in Southern Ontario, and I have some juvenile fancy guppies that will be ready to find homes in about a month or so. I've never shipped fish before but I'm interested in trying it.

missgingersnap

I'm in southern ontario also mondicat. Windsor. Have you been breeding guppies for long?

prairielilly

Just wanted to say thanks for all the info provided in this thread. I was all set to populate my 20g with male fancy tail guppies. I used some of the links in this thread, and found that in my area it is highly recommended to NOT buy guppies from the pet store, fancy or feeder, as the fancies have serious genetic defects and will likely live only a few weeks to months and the feeders are usually neglected and rife with disease. Same recommendations were made for mollies and swords (although platies weren't listed for whatever reason...) Still trying to find out if there's a guppy breeder near here...

missgingersnap

I think a lot of the live bearers have problems from the pet stores. I wish they didn't. I love the fancy guppies. I'm pretty much done with them unless I can find a local breeder who isn't breeding guppies they bought from the pet stores which seem to be hard to find.

mondicat

I've been breeding guppies for all of three months now!! Mine are not show guppies and they aren't any particular strain. They were bred in my community tank, and I have separate fry and grow out tanks for them. I enjoy them and it's fun but I'm not a serious breeder by any stretch of the imagination. If I can get some good pictures of them I will post them.

My oldest fry are only two months old so they are too young to go anywhere yet.

I wouldn't give up on the LFS entirely, that's where mine originally came from and they are doing well. Sometimes I go and the stock they have look terrible, and sometimes they have really nice healthy looking ones.

missgingersnap

Are you close to Windsor at all? I'd love to see some pics. I'm not ready for fish just yet anyway. I had an ick outbreak in my tank and it's almost cleared up, but I want to give it a while before adding any new fish just to make sure it's not still lurking in there somewhere. Let me know...

mondicat

I'm near Kitchener-Waterloo, so not that close. I'll post some pictures once I get my hands on a tripod.

missgingersnap

Ok...sounds good.

catfishlover123

Did you add aquarium salt? All livebearers need aquarium salt.

missgingersnap

No aquarium salt. I have fish in there that can't take salt. I've read that they don't really need it though.

Jonah

Sorry but that is just so not true! I breed guppys and mollys and have done for a while now. I supply 3 LFS and I have never put salt in my tanks.

Now I have a marine tank in the house i have bought completely separate everything so i do not contaminate one of my FW tank from the SW one