Zac
-
Posts
337 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Feedback
0%
Content Type
Forums
Downloads
Store
Events
Blogs
Gallery
Profiles
Posts posted by Zac
-
-
On 7/24/2022 at 11:41 PM, Fish Folk said:
Responding to your post line by line...
I’m a first time guppy breeder and well…. I have a little dilemma
So I have 1 male and 1 female sunflower guppies and 2 more females coming in the mail soon. My setup is very small. I have a densely planted 30 gallon, a bare bottom 10 gallon with a fake log and a couple fake plants, and a Fluval multi-chambered breeder box. I’m having trouble figuring out how the heck I’m going to separate the fry when the time comes. Here are my ideas:
Are you concerned with separating fry from parents? or separating males from females?
-Have the female give birth in the 10 gallon then put her back in the 30 gallon. Then proceed to sell the fry just before sexual maturity so they can’t interbreed
I am a bit confused: are your three females from different lines that you do not want to cross? Are you concerned to keep females from getting gravid? A 30 gal. tank is a great place to breed colony-style.
-Have the female give birth in the 30 gallon and let the fry grow out there while the 4 adults are in the 10 gallon. The problem is that it’s significantly easier for them to interbreed in that tank and a big pain to catch them all with all the plants in there
Again, are you concerned with keeping your female guppies from spawning before selling? If everyone is from the same line, as long as you keep them all together, you can just say "females have only ben with males from this same line." Most people will understand.
-Raise the fry in the 10 gallon. Then put one sex in the 30 gallon and leave the other in the 10 gallon. The adults that I’m using for breeding will be in the tank with whichever sex they match with. The issue with that is I don’t want to lose the parent guppies with the fry if the fry get too big. And I’d hate to leave 4 guppies in a .5 gallon breeder box.
All back to the same initial questions about your purposes in separating. I just keep mine going in a colony setup.
My biggest fear here is interbreeding and getting an explosion of fry because I have 3 females. What if they all give birth at the same time? Will that cause an ammonia spike? Or am I over paranoid? I do already have a buyer interested in fry when the time comes. But the other issue is being able to offload them consistently and reliably.
You shouldn't have any ammonia spike just because your guppies drop fry. Keep your tanks planted, and change water consistently.
I’d appreciate any advice on the plans I’ve written out and how you guys would run this mini breeding operation.
Out of curiosity ... what are your overall goals? To make money? To produce an excellent dedicated line? To gain experience? Just trying to understand what you'd consider a successful undertaking.
Colony breeding would be ideal for me. I’m just worried about genetic defects I’ve read can be caused by interbreeding. If I don’t need to worry about genetic defects I’d absolutely love to not separate and just let them thrive in a single tank.
All females come from the same breeder but I’m not sure if they’re the exact same line or not. They’re all sunflower guppies.
A successful operation in my opinion would be successfully raising fry and offloading them. I’m doing this mainly for experience and for fun. Then any money made is a benefit I can use to help pay for bills and whatnot (college is expensive lol). If I can enjoy a hobby and get some extra money to help me that’s like a best case scenario.
Hopefully this answers your questions. Would you say I’d be okay with colony breeding? It seems everywhere I go it’s like “if you don’t separate fry and control breeding you’ll end up with too many fry and it’ll end in a disaster”
-
1
-
-
Hey all,
I’m a first time guppy breeder and well…. I have a little dilemma
So I have 1 male and 1 female sunflower guppies and 2 more females coming in the mail soon. My setup is very small. I have a densely planted 30 gallon, a bare bottom 10 gallon with a fake log and a couple fake plants, and a Fluval multi-chambered breeder box. I’m having trouble figuring out how the heck I’m going to separate the fry when the time comes. Here are my ideas:
-Have the female give birth in the 10 gallon then put her back in the 30 gallon. Then proceed to sell the fry just before sexual maturity so they can’t interbreed
-Have the female give birth in the 30 gallon and let the fry grow out there while the 4 adults are in the 10 gallon. The problem is that it’s significantly easier for them to interbreed in that tank and a big pain to catch them all with all the plants in there
-Raise the fry in the 10 gallon. Then put one sex in the 30 gallon and leave the other in the 10 gallon. The adults that I’m using for breeding will be in the tank with whichever sex they match with. The issue with that is I don’t want to lose the parent guppies with the fry if the fry get too big. And I’d hate to leave 4 guppies in a .5 gallon breeder box.
My biggest fear here is interbreeding and getting an explosion of fry because I have 3 females. What if they all give birth at the same time? Will that cause an ammonia spike? Or am I over paranoid? I do already have a buyer interested in fry when the time comes. But the other issue is being able to offload them consistently and reliably.
I’d appreciate any advice on the plans I’ve written out and how you guys would run this mini breeding operation.
-
1
-
-
It may be an issue with iron or lighting. That also looks like staghorn algae to me (in the 1st pic at least). I’m currently dealing with some of my own. I spot treat with seachem excel daily and it kills it within a couple of days. Be sure to follow instructions on the bottle though because it’s important not to overdose. My issue was too much iron. I increased it and I noticed it really started growing within as little as a week
-
On 7/24/2022 at 9:05 PM, Colu said:
It common for guppies with larger tail's to suffer from scoliosis
Would it be obvious if he has scoliosis? I feel like if I’m like “well he might but I just don’t know” then he probably doesn’t. I’ve seen guppies with scoliosis and they look far worse than him
-
On 7/24/2022 at 4:46 PM, Colu said:
I would use a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution after a couple of days it breaks down into H20 and oxygen
Could I do the same thing for the sponge filter?
-
On 7/24/2022 at 5:01 PM, FLFishChik said:
Being a gardener, I think I can try and explain. Plants have growth cells called meristems. The type of growth meristems a plant has depends on the species. But for PSO, the type of meristem is called Apical meristem. These growth cells are found in the tip and in the leaf nodes of the plant and are responsible for the plant's growth and for the formation of leaves and flowers. As the plant grows, the Apical meristems release hormones that signal the nodes beneath the Apex to form leaves, flowers, etc. If the Apex stem is cut or damaged, those hormones stop flowing and leaf nodes just below the cut / damaged Apex are now triggered to create the height or length of the stem to continue to reach for light,(plants job is to reach for light...that's what it wants to do), becoming Apex stems themselves. (this is why and how you create bushy growth on plants when you prune regularly). There is no way to guarantee that only one stem grows from the Apex stem when it's been cut as the remaining nodes below the cut that would have become leaves are now triggered to become Apex stems.
You’re giving me flashbacks of my BIO 1500 class lmao. That definitely makes sense!
-
1
-
-
Hey all,
How do you guys suggest cleaning a ziss airstone that was in a quarantine tank? I’m going to replace the disks and airline tubing, but is the stone itself too porous and will it retain the bleach?
-
Hey all,
As shown in the image, when I trim my pogo, it sprouts like 4 new shoots instead of just growing back. The same thing happens when I trim the baby shoots. How can I control these so I don’t have new shoots every time I trim (if that’s even possible). The same thing happens with my ludwigia. Don’t mind the algae. Recently tried increasing iron which was a mistake🥲
-
On 7/24/2022 at 1:46 PM, Cole.S said:
I have had my Nano air pump for about 3 months or so. First thing I noticed about it was that it would randomly turn off. Of course I can normally turn it on with a smack. Sometimes I have to unplug the tubing and then smack it again😂. I have it connected to a aquarium co op nano sponge filter. Maybe it’s getting clogged? I just got back from a one week vacation to find it off. My fish are fine but I just wanna know if I can fix it? Its getting irritating It’s starting to get so bad where I leave for 10 mins after turning it back on and find it off again! Please someone help!! This is my first time using this so hopefully I put this in the right spot😂
I had the same thing happen to the 3/4 pumps I had after like 2 weeks. I contacted support and they provided me refunds and I decided to get the bigger air pump which is significantly better. In my opinion, the nanos are better for temporary use but some people have them on for a long time with no issue. They have a year warranty so they will probably ship you new ones or provide a refund if that’s the route you go
-
On 7/23/2022 at 11:46 PM, lefty o said:
fairly common with males with large tails. its just the size/weight of the tail, and they let them sag. when they get old they tend to swim nose high because of it.
Would you consider this a large tail? I’ve seen guppies with much larger tails and this seems much smaller than ones I’ve seen. As long as there’s no scoliosis or anything I’m fine with it
-
Hey all,
I’m trying to figure out if my guppy has a slightly curved spine. Sometimes he will droop his tail down but he has had a few stressful days with shipping and whatnot. He eats fine but sometimes in the morning I’ll see him resting in the bottom. He’s gotten much better since I treated the tank with Kanaplex for suspected fin rot. He’s been trying to breed with the female which is a good sign. My end goal is to use him for breeding and I’m trying to determine if he’s a healthy male or not (he’s not fully colored yet)
-
Hey all,
I’m treating a tank for suspected fin rot. I can’t say for sure but after I added antibiotics the fish seems to be doing better. He was recently shipped to me so maybe it’s a coincidence he felt better the day after antibiotics. Here’s my question. If infection is brought on by compromised immune systems, will other non stressed fish catch it? Aren’t most disease causing organisms already in the tank to begin with? The reason I ask is because I made the rookie mistake of not being careful enough with water drips after I did work on the quarantine tank. Also I’m debating on how much of my stuff I should disinfect. I’ll disinfect the sponge filter before it goes in the main tank and the water change bucket. But I’m trying to figure out if I should worry about cross contamination
-
On 7/21/2022 at 1:46 PM, Guppysnail said:
To me it looks to both be reading in the 25 range. For me api anything over 20 turned the 40 color to my eyes. I tested coop strips against api reagent, seachem reagent, Hanna digital checkers for 7 days straight in 7 tanks. For me in my water they are spot on.
edit api says check in natural light. In ambient not direct sun it looks lighter than with indoor lighting options.
Interesting! I’m thinking of sticking with the strips because it seems to be easier than API
-
1
-
1
-
-
Hey all,
I’m trying to determine my nitrate levels but I’ve gotten two different results with the API kit and the Co-Op strips. Attached are images of the tests.
-The API kit seems to be a very deep orange but just barely orange enough to not be red. I’d say it’s reading about 40 but it’s hard to tell so it may be higher.
-The strips seem to be reading 25-30.
I want to keep my tank around 40 because of plants so I’m trying to determine the levels. I’ve always struggled reading these kits lol
-
On 7/21/2022 at 6:30 AM, Shaun said:
Hi Zac,
It is hard to see the tail clearly enough to give you any feedback. I would probably dim your lights for a few days, and keep and eye on it. Can you contact the seller and find out what they were feeding them and the water parameters they were living in? This might help them transition to your aquarium.
Luckily I’ve gotten two of them to eat. The male and one female. They had softer water than me and a slightly higher pH but nothing crazy. The male is still acting strange even though he is eating. He’ll come out to eat then just go sit in a plant. It almost looks like he’s resting on it. I’m hoping he’s just adjusting because he is improving. I’ll see him swimming around a bit with the females when the lights go out. Not as high of energy as a stress free guppy but he’s definitely getting better I’d say. I’ll just have to keep an eye on the tail just in case
-
Hey all,
I just received some guppies yesterday and I’m suspecting potential fin rot on one. I have 2 females and 1 male. Normally when I receive fish in the mail they’re swimming around and aren’t super skittish. These guys have been hiding non stop and show almost no interest in food. The male nibbled at a flake when the lights went off, spit it out, went to chase it, then swam back to the surface. The females show no interest in food. I’m not seeing any visible fungus on the male but his tail seems jagged and there is a piece missing. It may have just been the way he was born though. I have some Kanaplex in case I need to treat but I’d like some more opinions before I treat anything. Attached are images of the male
-
Hey all. I noticed some of my planes have a very small amount of melting. Like an extremely small part of the plant. My nitrates are at 30-40ppm. I don’t have the resources to test for additional nutrient deficiencies. So here’s my question. Will plants always have a minuscule amount of “imperfections” or does any imperfection represent a nutrient deficiency? Overall the plants look very healthy
-
Does anyone have issues with their amano shrimp being picky? Mine don’t seem to like vegetables but they devour algae wafers.
-
On 7/9/2022 at 7:52 PM, Paul R said:
Hello all! About a month ago I bought about 5 stems of pogo and instantly cut all but one into smaller pieces to get more background spread. The cuttings rooted quickly and produced about 2-3 small stems each where the cuts were made, but they have not really grown that much over these last couple of weeks. The one I didn't cut is already 3x it's original size. I keep the tank at low-medium light, add fertilizer/iron weekly and the leaves look very vibrant. Just wondering are they still adjusting? Has anyone ran into this?
Sometimes it takes a minute. My pogo has periods of on and off rapid growth even though they’ve been established a while. The cuttings are probably adjusting
-
1
-
-
On 7/9/2022 at 6:42 PM, snazzy said:
I got this betta recently and noticed she started bloating within a few days of taking her home. I’ve now had her about a week and she has pinecone scales, which makes me fairly certain she has dropsy.
I’ve been seeing a lot of mixed info about dropsy so I’m not sure how I should start treating her/if I can because of how severe she has it.
Im at a bit of a dilemma because I’ve heard from a few sources that it isn’t totally curable, but she is also fairly lively and responsive which makes me believe I can help her. Thank you for any help
(The tank parameters/temperature are both at safe levels. She’s in a 5.5 gallon with a couple live plants such as java fern and anubias nana)
At that severe stage the chances are survival is low. You can treat the tank with meds or put her down. I had a cichlid with dropsy. I tried to treat him and eventually he couldn’t even swim correctly. It basically looked like he was standing on his tail in the tank. It’s a tough decision to make. Wish you the best of luck
-
1
-
-
On 7/9/2022 at 4:21 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
I have some of those suction cups you can put on glass. I'm trying to think of something that's "easy" for them to get attached onto. Maybe a piece of kelp or lettuce on the glass?
I am very unfamiliar with their behavior, but that's about all I can think of.That’s not a bad idea. I can try that and see how it goes
-
On 7/9/2022 at 3:49 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
Have you tried making a trap? I don't know if it will work, but it might be worth a shot.
I do throw some cucumber in there sometimes in hopes of getting them out but it seems only my other “pest” snails I have will eat it
-
Hey all,
How should I go about manually removing some of these limpets? I’d like to lessen their numbers a bit. They’re so flat it’s hard to remove them. I have a flat scraper do I can push them all in the same area but they generally don’t come off. I’m not feeding that much at the moment as I only have amano shrimp. Every day I’ll crack off a couple small pieces of algae wafer, soak them, and crush them into small bits so my amano shrimp don’t fight over them. That’s all I’m feeding at the moment. So I don’t think the amount I’m feeding is an issue
-
Hey all,
my scarlet temple and red ludwigia have been sprouting aerial roots and I’m not sure why. The ludwigia is quite tall so possibly for support? It’s been roughly 2 months since I’ve added seachem root tabs so maybe I should add more? I noticed the underground roots have started to stick up as well. Nitrates are about 30-40ppm so I’d find it hard to believe that they’re struggling for resources. Especially because they’re right next to the sponge filters
First Time Guppy Breeder
in Fish Breeding
Posted
My only issue with interbreeding was because I’ve read that it’s a brewing ground for genetic defects. If it’s not a problem I’d like to keep them all in the same tank. What kind of fish do you recommend to keep fry numbers in check? Maybe an angel or Apisto?