Guppy is a small aquarium fish that belongs to the Pecilia family. Its homeland is tropical reservoirs, rivers and lagoons of North, South and Central America. Guppies prefer water temperatures close to 25-27 ° C. However, they can live at lower temperatures, up to 4 ° .
Guppy is an aquarium fish that is very popular with aquarists. The fact is that its breeding and maintenance do not require special efforts and costs. Guppies are absolutely unpretentious neither to feed, nor to water temperature. But they are very beautiful, interesting and not like each other. They differ in size, color and shape of the tail.
Guppy aquarium fish care
To maintain these creatures you will need a container of any size. It can be at least a three-liter jar. But to make the fish comfortable, it is better to purchase an aquarium.
The main factor for their maintenance is water quality. It should be clean, so do not forget to change it regularly. And make sure that the amount of water does not reach the edge of the aquarium. Fish are very mobile and can easily jump out of the water and die. But you don’t want to lose your guppies.
Aquarium fish loves to live beautifully, so it is necessary to diversify its home. Plant the plants. Guppies love the Indian fern (or water fairy). This unique plant is a kind of living filter.
Do not forget that fish also need light. The aquarium should be lit at least 10 hours a day - in winter and 12 - in summer.
Place soil at the bottom of the aquarium. It should not be too small so as not to interfere with the growth of plants, and not too large so that the remains of feed and metabolic products of the fish do not clog into it, turning the aquarium into a swamp. Soil must be cleaned at least 2 times a year.
Guppy aquarium fish food
Guppy is an aquarium fish that eats almost everything. She is absolutely not demanding on food. In addition to worms, he will readily eat finely chopped meat, fish fillet and squid. It is good for dry food, plant foods, cereals. The main thing is to remember that you can’t overfeed fish with food. This leads to various diseases and the cessation of reproduction. In the diet of fish, live food should prevail. It is best to buy not very large. For example, small bloodworms, daphnia, cyclops, coretra, "live-bearer", artemia and wingless fruit fly. Useful for guppies and pipe makers. It contains a lot of proteins. But it is not suitable for pregnant females.
Guppy aquarium fish: breeding
From the age of 3-4 months guppy fish can bring offspring. Guppy is a live - bearing fish. This means that unlike most fish laying eggs, it produces light fry that are already fully formed and are ready to swim and eat on their own.
You can stimulate spawning of fish by replacing water or raising its temperature by a couple of degrees. How many fry will be born depends on the age of the female. For example, a large adult female for one spawning can give about a hundred fry. And young fish - no more than 20-30. But remember that guppies are very prolific. And so that “overpopulation” does not happen, put males out of the aquarium on time.