Neville

hi dudes
i finally bought 6 guppies for my new 10 gallon tank. i know it's overstcoked but i couldn't resist the temptation. bought 2 males and 4 females. didn't name the females yet, named the males castor and pollux. did a lot of studies on guppies.
can i feed them lettuce and other leafy vegetables??
the shopkeeper told me to put some artificial plants and bushes in the tank so the babies can hide in there.
is it ok if i put live plants in there or the guppies will eat those?

Tom

Lives plants would be better than plastic fake plants in my opinion.
Tom

aj_1992

i would put in the slightly more expensive silky fake plants because the cheaper hard fake plants can tear the male guppies' tail when they're full grown

Neville

it seems they really like lettuce!!! i think i'll keep the fake plants.

wolfman21

I would get fake plants because they are much easier to upkeep because you don't need the UV light or anything like that. Just make sure to clean them to wash off any food wastes or feces which may be on them. i agree with the above mentioned silkier plants. They are better for the fish and I think that especially guppies like them more. Mine like to nip at them-must be the texture which is friendlier to them.

rajs

best plants for guppies are water sprite or amazon sword plants. the guppy breeders swear by it and i know coz i myself is one, though new to breeding quality guppies. also water sprite dies if the water quality degrades,so it serves two purposes, one a good plant in terms of nutrients for guppies and second it gives you an idea of water quality. dont use fake plants.

wolfman21

What do real plants do for water quality? I can only assume it makes it better, but I don't know.

Neville

i think it keeps the water pure by releasing oxygen

wolfman21

I know they need UV light. I use fake plants, so i wouldnt know.

lolagurl

the only thing with the silkier plants is they get dirty and stain..and you can never get the stain off even with soap

Gwenz

I think plants also help to use up nitrates so u will have less nitrate in your water.

Gwenz

wolfman21

Live plants do help to lower the nitrate level in the water, so that is a definite plus.

armadillo

I think Raj is saying that the plants will indicate poor water quality early, so you can take action. They would indicate it by looking ragged and browned, basically.

lilsoccakid

to get the plants to actully lower nitrates, you would need the tank completly filled with them, because they dont use a lot of nitrates. also, the faster the plant grows, the more nitrates are used