# Keeping Guppies happy and healthy



## Courtney

My mom has always kept Guppies and she couldnt get them to live, they kept dieing, so she gave up and now i am trying, they live with my balloon mollies and dojo's and snails and ghost shrimp , but I was wondering is there anything specific a guppy needs, other then food, water of course and heat and filtration, i have some that are doing great but i have lost some in the long run, i dont know the pH, or anything like that, but what are the things they need to strive the best, cause i want some of those show ones but if they are gonna die why bother?


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## Cichlid Man

If the nitrites and ammonia are at 0ppm and there are no diseases introduced into the tank, not much can go wrong.


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## Lexus

I've also had problems with guppies until I got a 55G then they have lived longer, but they still seem to die off. I believe its because they are so overbred and because of the distributor. I like to add some salt to my tanks to keep all healthy. Also I give mine a variety of food which seems to help. 
Guppies seem to be sensitive to nitrate and ammonia as Chiclid man said so its important that they are not overcrowed.


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## Courtney

Ok, thanks , Um i may get a test kit cause now i am just curios on what my Nitrate and stuff is, my Amonia shoudlnt be to high cause i have Amonia remover in my filter, but so far my guppies are doing good, i did have some die, but i guess thats normal, cause you said they are overbreeding and inbreeding, and stuff, But i cant add salt i have Dojo loaches and they dont have scales they have skin and cant stand salt, other then that i would add it but cant, Thanks again for the help if there is anything else feel free to post it,


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## Damon

Take the ammoia remover out. It does more harm than good. An ion exchange resin transfers sodium to the tank, or a substance that converts ammonia to ammonium. Less harmful but still bad. A properly cycled tank will not need it.


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## Courtney

well see um Simpte, i dont know if it was properly cycled becaused um, it was set up about 4 and a half years ago, Way before i ever found this forum and knew about cycling, so all i did then was add water, gravel, plants and filter and airstone and power head and added fish, so, i dont think it was cycled, and why is the amonia remover bad, it removes the amonia the fish produce, it isnt in the tank and i rinsed the bag before adding it to the filter like always, so isnt it ok, cause my filter calls for it to be in there and it hasnt hurt my fish yet that i can see of,


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## Fish n chips

Guppys like slightly brackish water and are not good cycling fish


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## Cichlid Man

Actually, guppies are very hardy and don't need brakish water. Mollies need brakish water and aren't good cycling fish though.


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## osteoporoosi

all livebearers prefer semi hard-hard and alkalinous water.
An easy trick is to harden the water.


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## Courtney

Well i cant make the water harder cause my other fish cant take it, i have always keptGuppies & mollies Specificly ballon mollies & Fancy guppies in freshwater, they scratch every now and then and freak out some times, but, they are healthy and seem happy other then that, they live with Dojo's , Cories, and i think Kuhli's if they are alive still, but i dont know havent seen the kulhi's for awhile, and they also live with a pair or Farlowella's, so i cant make the water Brackish, nor can i make it harder, Nor will i get rid of them... :roll:


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## Melody

*Actually ACTUALLY...lol...the truth is just beginning to come out about livebearers.

Mollies don't need brackish water and most captive bred Mollies haven't seen it in generations - Mexican Sailfins do better with some aquarium salt because their ancestors are the Mollies who spend most of their time in it. Other Mollies can live in both in the wild, but are more often found in Fresh water.

Having said that, I have found that all common Livebearers do better with some salt in the tank, but more to keep the conditions that much more sanitary than anything else.

Guppies specifically are a high-maintenance fish these days. They demand pristine conditions which are more difficult to maintain in small tanks. They are also ridiculously prone to disease/parasites, which is why most of your chain store fish don't live and may potentially kill off your entire population. Try to buy fish from small stores or breeders if you can. If not, buy females females females until you get some to give birth. Their fry will have a much better chance of being healthy as they will be raised in your tank, fed properly and used to your conditions.

You'll see a Guppy suffering in his fins - when they start fraying or chunks fall off - you're in trouble. You have to be dedicated to changing their water at least weekly, and preferrably 2-3 smaller changes through the week - smaller the tank, more water changes. Their filtration should be higher than the recommended strength for the tank size. 

I started experimenting with sea salt in my Livebearer tank and have seen great results - just a dash here and there. It brings that mineral content up, among other things, but it will not take the place of diligent maintenance.

I've been doing Livebearers for eons, and bred show Guppies for awhile until the maintenance got to be a bit too much. Livebearers are still my fave fish though, and breeders need to dedicate themselves to breeding for strength first, looks second, so we can toughen up the stock.

Good luck .*


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## osteoporoosi

In my opinion livebearers shouldn't be mixed up with tetras,kuhlis,rasboras, etc, because they live in different waters. 
It is much better for the fish if you keep the water hard and alkalinous, because livebearers naturally live in these kind of waters. Salt may be a good idea, altough I have never needed to add it into my tanks.


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## MB75

I agree with some of the latter fellows. Alkalic, hard water will make your guppies better. They will live longer, survive better. 

When you keep such a mix of fish as you do, you run into the problem you've already realized: you cannot make the conditions optimal for ANYONE. Every fish in your tank makes a compomise - tetras etc like the soft acidic water while the livebearers need hard water. If you simply choose something in between, it isn't good for anyone. So the solution is to find another home for some of the fish or set up anothe tank.


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## Lisachromis

Courtney,

I see you are from Ohio. Unless you are changing the pH of your water, it should be on the harder side.


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## Courtney

Lisachromis(sp) ,
I just bought some Coral Sand( crushed Coral) and i will start adding that today after i clean it, and my water cant be to hard cause my snails are deteriating(sp) and i have well water so... i cant afford a test kit right now the cheapest i could find was $40 :shock: , so that will have to wait, but i just added two dwarf baby puffers to my tank and there is no way salt will be added, i may have to talk my mom into letting me set up her 29 gallon tank for some of my fishy's 


Also i havent seen my Kuhli's for almost a month now and im not sure if they are alive or not...


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## osteoporoosi

Kuhlis need acidid and soft water, they won't be happy when you add the coral sand..


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## Courtney

Too late, already added it, and i only have one kuhli that i see of and it seems very happy... out swimming around and everything....


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## Hope

hi i dont really do anything special other than in all four of my guppie tanks ive added bubble walls. my guppies are more ative now they tend to like fighting the current. they swim against it then with it all day long. And yes i also have a teaspoon of salt to eery ten gallons in all my tanks.


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## MB75

Kuhli loach needs to be kept in groups and need soft and acidic water. Guppies need hard and alkaline water. Not only higher pH but also hard as in kh and gh!


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## doggydad38

And now with Melody having said that Molies don't need salt in their water, which is true, I found some Black Mollies in a LPS that have gone the complete opposite direction. These have been acclimated to and raised in complete salt water. They are actually being used as feeders for the shop's carnivorous denizens. I have read many articles saying that Sailfin Mollies have been found in the reefs off of Florida's coastline, but this is the first time I have seen Mollies bred and raised in salt water. Very exciting stuff to see when you aren't expecting it.
Tony


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## guppycat

I started breeding guppies when I was 11. im now 47. and starting up again on this hobby. the best advice I can give to the guppy raiser is. once week water chages, good filteration both undergravel and power filter. is best, not to overgrowd, I still have one adult female from my 4 year old strain. they were long lived. I must have done something right.


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