Guppy Fish

One of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish is the P. reticulata species, or commonly known as the Guppy. The Guppy in this picture taken by judhi, does a nice job of posing for the camera.

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Also known as the millionfish or fancy Guppy, these fish are an excellent addition to the non-aggressive community fish tank. Special breeding programs have produced unique color strains in the species. Native to Trinidad, and regions of South America, the fish was discovered in Trinidad in 1866 by Robert John Lechmere Guppy. Although he wasn't the first to write about this species, the name "Guppy" stuck. Here's a few characteristics and items to think about when purchasing Guppies:

  • Minimum tank size 20 gallons.
  • Easy to care for.
  • Grows to 2 - 2.5 inches.
  • 65-81 degrees F, ph 5.5-8.0, KH 10-30
  • Come in many beautiful colors.
  • Guppies are live-bearers.

Usually you can distinguish the difference between Guppy males and females by coloration, and fin formation. Generally, the males are smaller, yet have brighter colors than the females. Also, female guppies have a rounded anal fin, and a pregnancy patch located near the bottom portion of their body.

Because these fish are live-bearers, you can have fun breeding them in your aquarium. Be warned though, if you try Guppy breeding, adults will eat the fry if they're left alone. You'll want to set your fish tank up specifically for breeding, if you're going to attempt raising them. This requires an environment with floating ferns and a breeding box which will protect the fry.

I have never tried Guppy breeding, but have friends that have raised fry. If you decide to try it, get ready to have a large amount of guppies to take care of. You'll want to make sure you have prepared a home for them. A pregnant Guppy can drop as many as 200 fry.

Fishless Cycling

When I first entered the hobby, I did a lot of research. One aspect of starting an aquarium, deals with the fish cycle, or nitrogen cycle. Fish stores and pet shops will usually give you the advice that it's best to slowly introduce fish into your tank. They'll sell you fish that are "tough", and can make it through that first period. I have never used that method. When cycling a new fish tank, I believe the best way is to use the fishless cycling method. You're now saying to yourself... The fishless what?! Yes. The fishless cycling method.

First, it will help to explain what cycling your tank actually is. Fish waste is fully of deadly ammonia. Fortunately, bacteria grow that eat the ammonia, and turn it into nitrite. This bacteria is called Nitrosomonas. It grows within a matter of days in the proper conditions, and eliminates the ammonia from your aquarium. It's waste product, nitrite, is also deadly to fish though. Another bacteria comes along, Nitrobacter, and eats the nitrite. Nitrobacter produces a waste product, nitrate. In small quantities, nitrate is safe for your fish. So instead of slowly building up these good bacteria by slowly introducing fish, fishless cycling prepares the aquarium for many fish at once. Benefits include:

  • Less stress on your fish.
  • Fish are never exposed to deadly ammonia and nitrite.
  • Ability to add many fish at once. (I've added 7 neon tetras, and 2 gouramis at once. The gouramis don't view the tetras as food, because they were all added when small in size.)
  • Fishless cycling is closer to a "natural environment" than adding fish to plain dechlorinated water.

So how do you do fishless cycling?

You add pure ammonia to your aquarium before adding fish. Now this method requires the same amount of patience as cycling your tank with fish. It took 4 weeks for me to cycle my 37 gallon eclipse aquarium. The nice thing was that I didn't lose a single fish, when I put them in all at once!

I'm not a scientist, nor do I play one on tv, but here's how I perform fishless cycling for a freshwater aquarium. I use ammonium chloride NH4CL, which I bought at a local store that sells chemistry supplies. You want to be careful about adding ammonia you find in some stores. They may contain perfume, or other unwanted additives.

First, I spike the ammonia level in my fish tank by adding the ammonia. You want it to reach 1 - 2ppm. It took 15 drops in my 37 gallon Eclipse tank to get the spike I needed. Test ammonia levels, and nitrite levels daily, before adding ammonia. I used a water testing kit.

I kept adding 15 drops, once a day. On the fourth day, I checked my ammonia level before adding any drops. The test was showing no ammonia was present. The Nitrosomonas bacteria was growing, and doing it's job. I had been checking nitrite levels every time too, and saw an expected nitrite spike.

Cut the drops you use daily, in half, when the nitrite spikes. In my case, I went to 7 drops a day. After 4 weeks of adding 7 drops daily, enough Nitrobacter had grown. Ammonia and nitrite levels were 0.

At this point you'll want to do a water change. Empty half the aquarium, and add dechlorinated water. The reason for this, is you want to clear an excess of nitrates that have formed. Add ammonia for a day or two more, to make sure ammonia, and nitrite levels are ok.

Add as many fish as you want, based on the 1 inch of fish/gallon method. Remember to add compatible fish. Then enjoy watching fish that are safe from deadly ammonia and nitrite, because you used the fishless cycling method.