Speaking of guppies, and this may sound strange , but I used to buy the somewhat expensive "fancy" veil tail guppies in hopes of having many equally beautiful offspring, but it alwasy seemed the offspring never developed the large colorful tail that the parents have , and I had more problems with diseases and illness with those guppies than any other fish in my tanks except for the discus of course. I sometimes wonder if the fancy ones just require very careful breeding or some special feeding to develope those big colorful tails?

I have 2 live plants rooted in the gravel, and plastic ferns I just left floating at the top of the tank. My male is a hungry little fish I guess, he follows her nose-to-belly, when she goes to her spot and delivers. I think he might be the problem also. Any ideas?

Guppy's and most livebearers are horrible parents. They eat their young like us Scots. Try a slate tile propped up slightly, very small gap. Better yet a breeding net and a small aquarium with a very low flow sponge filter. Best bet , Yahoo search for- "how to breed guppy's articles" (or is it spelled guppies?) There are alot of well written instructions on the web, take your pick.

I have two guppies that were out in the cold because they were delivered without notice from the website they were ordered from. They, and the other fish in the box, have since been propoerly introduced via their plastic bags, into the cycled tank. The rest of the seem fine, the guppies are staying at the top of the tank. The less colorful one is less active than the other. Neither one seem to be eating much. It has been less than two days since they arrived. There are a few plants, none floating at the top, and an airstone. The temp is reading at 78-80. Any ideas? (The temp is a little to warm for our tetras)

The temp. is a little warm for the guppy's. I read somewhere they do well in 70 degree water. The temp should be OK for most tetras, guess it depends on species. With that said the higher temp. may encourage the guppy's to eat or it could cause them to stay at the top. Keep a watchful eye on them. This is when having a cycled QT tank is handy. New additions should be kept a minimum of a month in QT, I am now doing 1 1/2 to 2 months because I have found that some disease takes a while to show. When fish stay at the top it could also be stress.

I have a very small 2 gallon heavily planted tank with 2 male and 4 female guppies in it. They have been doing very well (actively courting, browsing on algae growing on the rock, being playful, having babies) until I changed some of the plants (removed the Lysimachia nummularia and added Cabomba aquatica, a few chainswords and hair grass). The other plants in the tank are java fern, a floating ball of riccia, java moss, anubias nana, Limnophila aquatica, and duckweed.
The females began to swim in circles at the surface with their fins tucked against their bodies. A couple days later the males started doing the same thing. I don't know if this is some sort of weird courting thing but it's concerning me. The ammonia and nitrate levels are at 0 and the pH is somewhat alkaline at 7.2. What's going on? Could it be there are allelochemicals from the new plants that the fish are reacting to? Any help is appreciated.

that is definitely not normal behavior. perhaps something was introduced on the plants.

i really can't help except to say, post a new message with a descriptive title. you will probably get more responses that way.

Hi. I just purchased 4 fancy tailed guppies, and the are harassing one of my platies. They follow and nip at him constantly. If he manages to shake one the others will pick up the scent and continue. I have even seen 2 or 3 after him at once. What can I do for my poor platy and why are they doing this?

Breeder attatchments can be added to the tank. Someone I know used one and had success. Once you're sure the mamma guppy is pregnant and pretty close to giving birth you put her in this little plastic box hooked on the tank with vents on the sides. She's still in her tank so nothing is different except her space. There is a grate at the bottom that is small enough for newborn guppies to get through but mamma can't reach them, and they can't escape the box. When they're born, the babies go down under the grate and you can remove the mother. The babies either stay in the same little box or be moved into a new tank with just guppy babies so they don't get eaten. The person I know moved his into a one gallon jar with an airstone (not the most professional setup, but it worked). Of about 15 born, and after a few kid produced disasters, I think three of them survived. Both parents were fancy guppies and all of the surviving babies had a little bit of color, though not as much as the parents.

The funniest part of the whole story is that the person no longer wants to keep up a tank, but can't convince one of the babies he bred to die so he can take down the tank.

remove some of your plant for the person with the crazy guppies swimming in circles. Add the cute plastic ones and after rinsing them good, they will never cause problems. Live plants are just a burden and don't always do well with some fish. As for the parents eating the babies, just move the babies into a small tank all to their own when they are born. The mama always gives birth to more than one load. And it is perfectly normal for guppies to swim at the top of the tank when first introduced. If something goes wrong, go to Wal-mart and get some parasite and ick tablets and some aquasafe and aquarium salt and add the right amounts and that should take care of just about everything. i currently have 15 new babies all of which are perfectly fine with no extra fancy expensive just crowding them.

yes i am having the same problems with my guppies they are staying at the top of the tank . and my platies are doing the same thing . i've tested the water three days in a row and everything is fine . the only thing wrong is my ammonia is a little high. i've put ammo lock in . and they are still acting like that. so i thought it was the heater.because the water was staying very cool. so i went out and got another one today. i also cleaned my tank the other day . i've done very thing i've always done when cleaning my 29 gallon . haven't changed doing any differnt .very worried please help.

Fish staying at the top of the water is from stress or lack of oxygen. This is not uncommon in a new tank. Change the water to bring ammonia below .25 until the tank has cycled. Actually,with ammonia present, cooler water is less toxic then warmer water. As long as the water temp. is above 68F your good enough.

i have 3 fancy tail guppys in my take wit other fish my female is pregnet but i was wondering how long after her gravl spot show will she have her fry ?

Gestaion is about a month. When she has a squared off shape, she is ready. Also, you can see the eyes of the babies.

ok thanks i have 2 neons and 2 glow light tetras how do i breed them i no they lay egg so would i have 2 get another tank as well as my 2 dojo looches who do i breed them ? please help

hello agian. will pink and blue tetras eat my neon's and glow light tetra's. and my new female fancy tail guppy is always bunting my other pregnet guppy why is she doing this and the male wont go near her she always nips at him also how do i know if i have a male or female dojo looch as well as the algae eater has a raw spot on his tail could u tell me what thi is i hope it isnt ick please help im new 2 all of this it was a birthday gift and i want them all 2 live please and thank you

hey nevermind about the algae eater he died so i flushed him but how do i sex pink tetra's

What kind of tetra is a pink tetra? Ther has to be another name for it.

im not sure of the name but its seems fine but it will eat the small guppy fry but yea how do i sex glowlight tetra

Generally speaking, males will have more pointed fins and more color, while females will have more full stomachs.

ok thanks alot will bleeding heart fish get along with guppys , neon tetra glow light tetra and dojo looches ? anddo i have 2 have a sand bed for the tetra 2 lay eggs or is gravel fine? thanks

They're fine. Always provide plants and shale as hiding places. Good luck breeding the Bleeding Hearts, though. Tetras generally need soft, acid water and should be conditioned. They need to feel a change in season. You should have a substrate that will allow the eggs to fall through, so that they don't get eaten and I would setup a tank specially for them.

ok thanks my female guppy has ick on her tail and onher back and shes a little weak will the treatment kill her babys inside of her ?

That's hard to say. You'll just have to wait it out.

dose brime shrimp make fish grow bigger like thinker and healthy and my guppy seems to be doing better after two ick tretments thanks for your help

Live food helps, but a larger tank and stable conditons would really help.

ok thanks i have a 1o gallon tank wit 4 guppys 2 neons 2 glo lights 2 pink tetra , 2 dojo looches and a feeder goldfish go thers lots of room 2 grow

i have now only 2 guppys 2 glow light tetra's 1 gold fish and 2 dojo looches im going 2 buy 2 fighting sish 1 male 1 female will they bother the others if i watch them carfuly ?

They should be alright. I wouldn't personally mix goldfish with tropicals. It's also a good idea to provide plants, shale, etc.. for hiding places.

today i bought 4 pregnet female guppys a male and female fighting fish that are in togather n the guppys r in with the other fish in the 10 gallon tank but 1 female the fattest 1 like shes square i put her in the guppy breeder floating tank im hopin that every thing goes well this time thanks for all ur help it been very much apreacited

how do i no when my female fighing fish is ready 2 spawn her belly is fat but the male hasnt made a bubble nest
please help!!

Do you see a white spot on her abdomen?

yea its a little white thing in between her frount fins and shes very fat well fatter then when i bought her
thanks for your help

If you can, keep them separated but visible to one another. Conditon them with live food. Before too long the male will build a bubblenest and the female will become more receptive to spawning.

ok thanks

my guppy had babys how long do i leave them in all 2 gether and how much salt do guppys like

If you have adequate plants in the tank, for hiding, the fry and adults can co-exist. They don't need any salt.

the internet said they like 1 or 2 table spoons but will skum suckers kill guppys cuz i found my male with all of his fins riped off

will algae eater kill guppys ??

If you want to add a little aquarium salt to soothe the wounds, that would be fine. No, algae won't kill the guppys.

oo ok thanks i found my male guppy with all of his fins riped off i was woundering wat would do that 2 him i have gold fish , looches , glo light teras and a female fighting fish

hi. my female guppy is about to give birth in no time, but it looks like she cant keep her balance as if she is doing a head stand. i have a 10 gal. tank. i have her for 3 month and this will be her 2nd time being pregnant.

i have 5 guppies in a self sustaining 10 gallon tank at school. today when i went to check on things i could not find one of them. i looked through the plants and i poked around the top layer of rocks but he was no where to be found. i do not know whether my guppies and male or female, and i was wondering if it is possibole that the other guppies ate the one that i am missing.

My guppy has a dark color ball growth on his tail. I have tested the water and it is fine. Today he has another really small growth on the other side of his fin and on his top fin. He is still eating and swimming, but I can't figure out what it is. Someone please help!

I have had the same problem with my guppies. So far 5 guppies had died. Before they died 1-2 days they were just swimming in circles around top of aquarium. At first i figured it was ammonia due to having a medium sized goldfish, so i removed the goldfish and changed water bringing to close to 0 ammonia. Introduced new guppies yesterday and same behavior. If this is similar to the other guppies behavior I expect they will also die. CAN ANYONE HELP? something mu st go wrong and i do not know what. Water temperature is about 80 and ph is about 7.0.

hi i have 2 fancy tail guppies and 4 females and iam sure 1 of em is pregnant so about to become a dad again as i also have to unidentified babes in the tank not sure who gave birth to those,if they survive then i will no but until now a guessing game lol i have never had a problem with my guppies but its fun watchin the males doing there courtship dance

hello, you guys seem really well informed.. i have two female guppies who are both prego. i have a white female (whity) and a bigger blue female (big mama). Whity, this is her first batch, seems ready to give birth any minute just because i can see the baby eye moving down, square belly, but when i put her in the breeder nothing happens for a 2 days. i let her out between for exceres and she seems still socail and playful. whats her deal? and with Big Mama she is big already and always seem ready to pop lol, but realilitcally she has a black G spot and is hiding from the others, and hasnt quite spuard off yet but its starting to. can you help me figure out what to do

I have a pregnant female that looks like she may be dying.

She is head up, tail down. Still breathing. I separated her.

When I check on her, I talk and she responds. Will she have her babies before dying? What should I do to assist with the birthing process?

I'm at a loss

I hate to see her suffer

Thanks for any help

i have an male guppy and it seems to flout unwillingly. when it goes to the bottom of the tank it starts to stand on its tail. it will then try to lay back down but float again. it still seems to be helthy otherwise it swims pretty fast i need some help please?