Hello! I go by Smearing online, but I truly go by Allie. I’ve been working with guppies and endlers for about 2 and a half years, and fish in general for 4. But enough about me! On to the article.
Let‘s start with the basics. What I would consider to be the bare minimum in terms of tank size is a 5 gallon for either 2 or 3 guppies. The bare minimum of guppies, however, is usually 2. I guess you can do just a single guppy, but it’s not great for the guppy and if you’ve got the space, you might as well get a couple! It’s much more interesting to have multiple swimming about the tank, anyways. All of that being said, a bigger tank is always better.
Here’s about the basic appliances for the tank! Always have a filter and a heater for your tank. The tank should be kept at a steady 78 F (25.5 C) and should always have a filter.
When it comes to feeding; stay away from foods with large amounts of fillers, they’re just not healthy for the fish. But fish food having some sort of filler is normal. It keeps the food binded together. Just be sure it’s not the first ingredient. Also, try to keep up a good variety of foods to make sure the fish are getting all of the nutrients they need. Here’s a list of some, you should usually keep a minimum of two of the following:
Omega One Sinking Pellets
Omega One Flakes
Omega One Freeze-Dried Brine Shrimp (treat)
Bloodworms
API Sinking Pellets
And sometimes even betta food!
Be sure to always cycle your tank, too. Cycling is the process of the nitrites and ammonia turning into nitrates. The way to cycle a tank is by basically feeding the tank like it’s a fish. You put a couple of pieces of fish food in every day. This way, the tank isn’t shocked by the addition of fish and there are less likely to be spikes of nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia. It’s always good to cycle a tank for at least a month before adding any fish.
Adding fish to a cycled tank:
You should add the fish in small amount, never add the full capacity of fish for the tank at once. Again, this will cause spikes in the water chemistry. When you get your fish, float their bag in the tank water for at least 15-20 minutes so as not to shock them when they‘re added. Drip acclimation is always better than this version, but that could have an article dedicated to itself it’s such a big process.
Water changes:
Try your best to change 25% of the water in your tank every week. Use a water vacuum or a siphon to suck the ”organic matter” out of the gravel.
The Parameters of the water:
You should always own a water test kit that includes reading of Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates, and Ph. The liquid test kits are always the best and most accurate, but the test strips work fine too.
The expected parameters of the water are:
Nitrate: 20 ppm
Nitrite: 0.25 ppm
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Ph: 6.8 to 7.8
Thanks for reading my article! If I missed anything comment it and I’ll be sure to add it.
Let‘s start with the basics. What I would consider to be the bare minimum in terms of tank size is a 5 gallon for either 2 or 3 guppies. The bare minimum of guppies, however, is usually 2. I guess you can do just a single guppy, but it’s not great for the guppy and if you’ve got the space, you might as well get a couple! It’s much more interesting to have multiple swimming about the tank, anyways. All of that being said, a bigger tank is always better.
Here’s about the basic appliances for the tank! Always have a filter and a heater for your tank. The tank should be kept at a steady 78 F (25.5 C) and should always have a filter.
When it comes to feeding; stay away from foods with large amounts of fillers, they’re just not healthy for the fish. But fish food having some sort of filler is normal. It keeps the food binded together. Just be sure it’s not the first ingredient. Also, try to keep up a good variety of foods to make sure the fish are getting all of the nutrients they need. Here’s a list of some, you should usually keep a minimum of two of the following:
Omega One Sinking Pellets
Omega One Flakes
Omega One Freeze-Dried Brine Shrimp (treat)
Bloodworms
API Sinking Pellets
And sometimes even betta food!
Be sure to always cycle your tank, too. Cycling is the process of the nitrites and ammonia turning into nitrates. The way to cycle a tank is by basically feeding the tank like it’s a fish. You put a couple of pieces of fish food in every day. This way, the tank isn’t shocked by the addition of fish and there are less likely to be spikes of nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia. It’s always good to cycle a tank for at least a month before adding any fish.
Adding fish to a cycled tank:
You should add the fish in small amount, never add the full capacity of fish for the tank at once. Again, this will cause spikes in the water chemistry. When you get your fish, float their bag in the tank water for at least 15-20 minutes so as not to shock them when they‘re added. Drip acclimation is always better than this version, but that could have an article dedicated to itself it’s such a big process.
Water changes:
Try your best to change 25% of the water in your tank every week. Use a water vacuum or a siphon to suck the ”organic matter” out of the gravel.
The Parameters of the water:
You should always own a water test kit that includes reading of Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates, and Ph. The liquid test kits are always the best and most accurate, but the test strips work fine too.
The expected parameters of the water are:
Nitrate: 20 ppm
Nitrite: 0.25 ppm
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Ph: 6.8 to 7.8
Thanks for reading my article! If I missed anything comment it and I’ll be sure to add it.
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