How good it is, after returning home after a hard day, to sit in front of the aquarium and watch the aquatic inhabitants with affection. But there is not always a lot of time to ensure proper care of the pets, so many try not to have thoroughbred fish, but limit themselves to unpretentious, but bright, colorful, with gorgeous guppy tails. In addition, breeding them is not difficult.
Guppies can be kept in any conditions provided to them. But still, if you want to see healthy and colorful fish, and also dream of breeding and breeding guppies, then you need to make sure that the volume of water in the aquarium is 2 liters for each male and 4 liters for the female.
Lighting should be 12 hours a day, water filtration is desirable. The preferred water temperature is 24-26 ° C. Guppies are peace-loving fish, so their neighbors can be the same medium-sized, calm species. The aquarium should contain open areas for fish swimming and nooks for breeding and rearing fry.
In the water where guppy fish live, table or sea salt can be added to prevent infectious diseases at the rate of 5 grams per 10 liters of water.
Representatives of guppies are viviparous fish, they give birth to fry. For breeding guppies, the best fry are selected and raised to puberty in a spacious container, providing rational feeding. When the fry reach three weeks of age, they are placed in different aquariums, taking into account the sex characteristics. During this period, males lengthen the first rays of the anal fin, and females develop dark dots on the back of the abdomen.
Preparing for mating
Guppy becomes sexually mature at 4-6 months. Fish begin to be transplanted for breeding in a separate aquarium. For one female, two sire males are taken. In the place of mating, they spend about 10 days. Spawning is stimulated by regular water changes and raising its temperature by 2-3oC. The male fertilizes the female with a modified anal fin. Then the males go to the common aquarium, and the female begins to bear fry. The female's pregnancy lasts 3-4 weeks.
The number of fry depends on the age of the mother. A primiparous female brings up to 20 fry, an adult large female, which is more than a year old, can give birth to up to 150 fish.
Fry appearance
The spawning ground where the pregnant female guppy is located must be planted with small-leaved plants so that after giving birth the fry can hide there. Before giving birth, the abdomen of the female increases and becomes square. Spawning can last about a day. The fry fall to the bottom of the aquarium and then rise to the surface. After the fry are born, the female must be removed to the general aquarium. Young animals are fed with a variety of food, live daphnia, given their size. Fry grow slowly, and males stop growing when they reach sexual maturity. Their quickest ripening is influenced by the water temperature, the higher the better.
A guppy aquarium is not a big hassle. Minimal care, your concern, good nutrition of the fry will give you a lot of positive emotions, a sense of responsibility for your beloved pets. Breeding guppies will develop an aesthetic taste for you and your children.
