How to Care for Guppies

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This article was co-written by Marshall Stephens. Marshall Stephens is an aquarist at Private Oceans Aquariums in West Palm Beach, Florida. Marshall has over 20 years of experience in the aquatic industry and is primarily focused on captive animals. He is knowledgeable about marine and tropical aquatic species, and is a contributor to the Loggerhead Marine Life Center in Jupiter, Florida.

There are 10 references cited in this article that you can view at the bottom of the page.

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Guppies are one of the most colorful tropical freshwater fish in the world. They are small and do not require expensive care. Guppies are great for beginners who are just starting to install an aquarium or learning how to care for fish. With a properly equipped aquarium, the right diet and proper care, this fish will thrive.

Table of Contents

Create a habitat for fish

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Choose a fish tank. An aquarium with a size of 40 liters is ideal. You need an aquarium that is not cramped. For example, if you have a 40 liter aquarium, you should only stock about 5 guppies. This way, you’ll be better able to maintain your aquarium and keep your fish healthier. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Some guppies and hobbyists may think you don’t need to stick to this ratio, but if you have a lot of fish in your tank, you will need to clean and change the water more often. You should consider this when deciding on the size of your tank and the number of guppies you want to keep.

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Dechlorination of aquarium water. There are many ways to dechlorinate water. You can either open the lid of the aquarium and let it sit for about a week to let the chlorine evaporate or buy a dechlorinator. It is important to dechlorinate the aquarium water and also the water added to the tank later. ^{[2] X Research Source}

You can buy this dechlorinator at pet stores for a relatively cheap price. You should also purchase a chlorine level meter to make sure there is no chlorine left in the water before releasing the fish into the tank. Follow the instructions on the bottle of the dechlorination product.
Tap water usually has a certain amount of chlorine in it. You can use purified, filtered or distilled water without chlorine, but to be on the safe side, you should still test the chlorine level before adding your fish to the tank. ^{[3] X Research Sources}
Try to keep the pH level of your aquarium water between 6.8 – 8. Guppies prefer a higher pH level, so you should maintain a pH around 7.5 if you want to add crushed coral.

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Maintain the water temperature between 24-28 degrees Celsius. Place a thermometer in the tank to monitor the temperature. If you feel the need to heat the water, you can buy a small heater to put in the tank. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

If you need to use a heater, be sure to purchase one that is appropriate for the size of your aquarium. For example, if you have a 20 liter aquarium, you will need a lower wattage heater than a 40 liter tank. Ask the staff at the pet store if you don’t know what type of heater is appropriate.
To prevent the temperature from getting too high, it is best to avoid placing the aquarium in a place where the sun shines. Use a heater if you need to raise the temperature in the water and use artificial light instead of placing it in a sunny spot. If for some reason the water becomes too warm, drain the warm water from the tank and replace it with cooler water to gradually lower the temperature in the water.

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Use a water filtration system. Usually, aquariums are equipped with a filtration system. If your aquarium doesn’t have a filtration system, you may need to purchase it separately. The filter needs to be changed when it starts to turn brown, so you have to pay attention to this every time you clean the aquarium. The ceramic filter has a good effect on beneficial bacteria, keeping the aquarium clean and healthy for the fish, so you should only change half at a time so that these bacteria are not eliminated all at once. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Even if your aquarium has a filter already in place, you can still replace it with another or a better one if you feel the need. Make sure the filter system can handle the number of fish and the size of the aquarium.
A regular filtration system is enough to supply oxygen to the aquarium, but you can still use an additional bubbler to help add oxygen to the water if you have a large aquarium or have a lot of fish.
The aquarium should be installed and up and running about a month before stocking, so don’t be tempted to buy fish before that time. The beneficial bacteria present in the filter help to clean the water-soluble toxins, as the water will be contaminated with fish waste. These substances cannot be removed by the mechanical system of the filter; Only bacteria can process and significantly reduce the toxicity of highly toxic substances. You can do this by doing a weekly partial water change. During this month, give the bacteria a little fish food (given a piece of food every 3 days) to help the bacteria get used to when you put the fish in the tank. This process is called microbiology.

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Add aquatic plants and decorate the aquarium. Start from the bottom of the tank – place gravel on the bottom of the tank. Rocks or pebbles are great choices for guppies. Next you should add aquatic plants. You should use real plants, because in addition to bacteria, aquatic plants also play an important role in dealing with toxins. Another important factor is that the fish has a place to hide, as guppies often exhibit this behavior. ^{[6] X Research Source}

Be sure to wash off the background gravel and decorations before adding it to the tank. You need to make sure to wash off any dust or dirt that might get on it when it’s in the store.
Avoid adding other natural materials such as shells, roots, sand, as these can harbor parasites or change the pH (or generally harden the water if you put limestone in the water). This can make the fish sick or even kill the fish. It’s better to buy these at a pet store to avoid unexpected problems. Only experienced aquarists can bring natural objects into the aquarium, as they can distinguish which roots and rocks are toxic and which are not (they must research and gather information first). ).

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Install lights for the fish tank. It is best that the guppies should spend 8 hours in the dark every day. More or less time than this can cause the fish to become deformed as they mature. You can install lights above the aquarium and set the time to make sure the guppies get enough light each day, or you can turn the lights on and off every morning and every night. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

If using natural light, such as near a window or light source, make sure the light doesn’t affect the temperature of the water too much. Remember to maintain the right temperature for the guppies. However, this can lead to algae problems, so it’s better to use artificial light.

Feed the guppies

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Feed the fish the right kind of food. You can feed guppies with any kind of food, both dry and wet, live or frozen. You can buy ready-made guppies with a balanced diet, but remember not to just feed them high-protein foods. You should have a balance between protein and vegetable content. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Saltwater shrimp, earthworm pellets, dried bloodworms, white worms and larvae are excellent choices for guppy food.
Flake fish food is a good choice for the main dish of guppies. Read product labels before buying.

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Feed the fish a small amount of food, 2-4 times per day. Instead of feeding large amounts of food at once, spread it out throughout the day. Try to change the foods each time you feed the fish. For example, this time you can feed them raw shrimp, next time feed them with shredded food. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Be careful not to overfeed the fish. Guppies need to finish their food within 2 minutes.

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Monitor the health of the fish’s digestive system. The water in the tank is a good indicator of whether the fish is doing well with the diet. If the water is cloudy or there is algae in the tank, you may have a feeding problem. ^{[10] X Research Source}

If the aquarium water is cloudy, you should reduce the amount of food by 20% for a few days and wait to see if this helps the fish to readjust and the water to rebalance itself. If this happens, it is possible that the toxins (ammonia and nitrites) spiked because you skipped the microbiological stage.

Maintain fish health

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Feed in a ratio of two or three females to one male. You should keep a lot of guppies in the tank, as they are social fish and like to live in groups. Make sure to maintain a female/male ratio of 2:1, as males often stress the female and chase the female around the tank. Keeping more females than males can help alleviate this problem. ^{[11] X Research Source}

If you do not want to breed fish, you should separate the male and female fish to keep them separate. Guppies give birth to live young, not eggs, so if guppies mate, you’ll see babies born right away.
Learn more about breeding guppies before doing this.

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Clean the fish tank once a week. This step involves replacing about 25% of the water in the tank with fresh, dechlorinated water. You also need to use a straw to reach the bottom of the tank and suck up any leftover food or algae that may grow on the bottom of the tank. ^{[12] X Research Source}

When cleaning the tank, you should not drain all the water and change the water. Changing only 25%-40% of the water in the tank will help the fish adapt better. ^{[13] X Research Source}
The filter can handle most of the daily dirt, but using a straw (easily available at pet stores) to remove any algae or food from the bottom of the tank will help keep the tank clean. and healthier fish.
Clean the glass inside the aquarium if you notice that the glass is dirty. Use a razor blade to scrape off any dirt in the tank, then vacuum it up. In addition, you should also take out the decorations in the aquarium from time to time and rinse thoroughly to remove algae and accumulated dirt.

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Buy a straw at a pet store. You can use this device while the fish are still in the tank, but be careful. If you are concerned about your fish being hurt, you can move the fish to another pot containing dechlorinated water while cleaning.

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Monitor guppies for disease detection. Guppies are relatively healthy, but they can sometimes get fungal infections. This disease usually presents with white spots on the body of fish, called ich. White spot disease can be easily treated with a number of medications that you can buy at a pet store. ^{[14] X Research Source}

Keep the aquarium clean and well-maintained to reduce the risk of fish getting sick. If a fish dies, you need to quickly remove it. If any fish shows signs of illness, you need to isolate it in another tank during the treatment period to avoid spreading the disease to other animals.
Some people recommend adding a little aquarium salt to the water to prevent fungus. If you want to keep other fish in the same tank, you’ll need to make sure they’re tolerant of the environment (for example, corydoras won’t). Sea salt and table salt are not suitable for aquariums.

Advice

While it’s fine to keep the male and female fish separately, you also need to make sure they don’t tear each other’s fins for the first few weeks. This phenomenon usually occurs in male fish.
Guppies generally get along well with most other fish, but you should avoid keeping them with fish that snap their fins.
Some fish will bite guppies or refuse to share their habitat, so you should choose your fish species wisely.
Baby guppies are very small, so you should keep them separate from their parents so they don’t get eaten. Use a tight mesh to wrap the filter in the tank if necessary.
Be sure to only keep guppies with friendly fish, as aggressive fish will bite the guppies’ fins.
Guppies can get lonely if you keep only one in the tank. For them to have a happy life, you should raise at least two children .

Warning

Periodically monitor the pH of the water to ensure the health of the fish.
The female fish bought at the aquarium store may have come into contact with the male fish. They can carry the male’s genetic material for a year, so even an aquarium filled with only female fish can produce fry.

Steps

Create a habitat for fish

Feed the guppies

Maintain fish health

Advice

Warning

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