New Guppies coming, They're Imported, How do we keep them thriving

[Tony s]

Okay. This will be the second time we've tried to grow guppies. The first time was all males from Petsmart. About 2 months on their survival. Now for my daughter's 9th birthday, I let her pick out a pair from 4 different sites. She picked Blue Grass guppies from Flip. 

Since they're better quality and imported, how do we keep them thriving and breeding? I know about their water parameters. hard water and that kind of thing. mostly same as platys. but what could we be missing as they're imported.

15g with kuhli loaches (her squiggle noodles) currently

[lefty o]

they were likely raised with some salt in their water.

[Tony s]

On 5/15/2024 at 1:04 PM, lefty o said:

they were likely raised with some salt in their water.

ok. Aquarium salt most likely. how much? 1 tablespoon per 10g? and would kuhli's have an issue with the salt?

[Guppysnail]

On 5/15/2024 at 1:10 PM, Tony s said:

ok. Aquarium salt most likely. how much? 1 tablespoon per 10g? and would kuhli's have an issue with the salt?

I’ve had the best luck with reef salt. It contains extra minerals that aquarium salt does not. I’ve been using 2 pinches in 15gallons with success. I just had another batch of babies. 

 

[RyanR]

I just got some guppies through the mail from a popular site recently too.  I've read that a popular person on this forum recommends 1 tsp of ACO Brine Shrimp salt\reef salt per 20G.  I started doing that and it's the best my java fern has looked in years. My Neo's are breeding great and the fish in all of my aquariums are super happy.  I'll have to remember to update this forum when my guppies start breeding.

[EnvyDontKnow]

Sounds like you already have it pretty good. Just monitor the guppies. Although I hate to contradict with the veterans here, I wouldn't reccomend salt with kuhli's unless you MUST HAVE TO, as iv'e been told they can't really handle salty water. @Guppysnail @lefty o please correct me if I'm wrong about the loaches. this is only from what an old friend who kept them told me.

Keep us updated on these guppies! I'd love to hear more about them soon! Also, I forgot to mention, if they do in fact breed (They probably will) separate the babies from the parents, my sister also kept them and we went from 11-ish fry and only 2 made it to adulthood.

Edited May 15 by EnvyDontKnow

[Tony s]

On 5/15/2024 at 2:39 PM, RyanR said:

recommends 1 tsp of ACO Brine Shrimp salt\reef salt per 20G.

and the brine shrimp salt is reef salt or equivalent to reef salt? I just got in the hatchery and have that on hand. save me a trip that way 

[RyanR]

I think brine shrimp is equivalent to reef salt.  The percentage of certain minerals might be slightly different as ACO is designed for brine shrimp and reef salt is designed for saltwater aquariums.  Corey used to use Fritz RPM salt for brine shrimp.

[JMC]

My luck with guppies went way up when I started to put one pound of crushed coral per 10 gallons and a small wonder shell per 10 gallons monthly. The harder water and higher ph seems to result in healthier guppies that have more fry. 
 

I have only used salt in the quarantine tank but know that a lot of people swear by it in their normal aquarium. 

[lefty o]

On 5/15/2024 at 2:58 PM, JMC said:

My luck with guppies went way up when I started to put one pound of crushed coral per 10 gallons and a small wonder shell per 10 gallons monthly. The harder water and higher ph seems to result in healthier guppies that have more fry. 
 

I have only used salt in the quarantine tank but know that a lot of people swear by it in their normal aquarium. 

you can use salt, or not use it in normal use, but if the guppies came from heavily salted water, they need to be weened off of it.

[Tony s]

On 5/15/2024 at 3:58 PM, JMC said:

My luck with guppies went way up when I started to put one pound of crushed coral per 10 gallons and a small wonder shell per 10 gallons monthly

yeah, all i have to do is turn on my water. I normally have Guppy water. 🤣

[JMC]

On 5/15/2024 at 9:05 PM, lefty o said:

if the guppies came from heavily salted water, they need to be weened off of it.

Completely agree. I had a salt water aquarium 15 years ago that I transitioned guppies over 10 days to live in. They did great in salt water. 
 

If one wants to be really careful with new guppies that you think were raised in brackish water then I would get a hydrometer and measure the salinity of the water they were shipped in and match that in the quarantine tank for a week or so and then over 5-10 days do water changes to ween them to your local water.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

I have non-guppy water, and I don’t want to “make” water. So, the way I’ve been successful, it by getting them to breed and then those babies raising up in my water. Then, when those babies are old enough to breed, their fry will be bulletproof. 

[Tony s]

and a small amount of salt is not going to do anything to the kuhli's? I know corys can have issues with salt. She's only had them for 8 months now. they're tough as nails but not sure of the salt.

On 5/15/2024 at 4:26 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I have non-guppy water, and I don’t want to “make” water

yeah. Sometimes i would like to have soft water. then sometimes I'm good with hard. Lots of good choices either way and chasing water is a horrible idea. Honestly, I'd settle for clean water. I end up making water anyway. the Iron levels I have are too high for standard fish and there is iron bacteria in the well. My water rusts sitting in a clean 5-gallon bucket. I need to find an iron filter, then run another waterline just for fish to get pure hard water. My wife is not giving up her water softener for any reason 🤣

[Tony s]

so the next question is do they need treated for parasites upon arrival? @Guppysnail what's your standard procedure there?

[Guppysnail]

My friend uses an importer that treats on arrival need or not. I personally would qt and monitor. Only treat if need be. Meds are hard and importing is SUPER HARD on fish. 

On 5/15/2024 at 2:43 PM, EnvyDontKnow said:

I wouldn't reccomend salt with kuhli's unless you MUST HAVE TO, as iv'e been told they can't really handle salty water. @Guppysnail 

As noted in my name I’m a snail girl so only have hillstream loach experience.  Snail + loaches = lunch 🤣🤣🤣

@Colu may know. 

[Colu]

What I typically do with new fish is 4 weeks quarantine and monitor if any start to show symptoms then I treatment with the appropriate medication and start 4 week quarantine over again from the last day of treatment  the main thing to look out for with imported guppies is parasitic infections camallanus worms are common@Tony s

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 5/15/2024 at 2:54 PM, Tony s said:

I end up making water anyway.

If it was either not make water and not have fish, or make water and have fish, I would definitely be making water to have fish!

I decided early on to work with fish that like my water. Hasn’t stopped me from playing with Platy’s, Guppies, and Endlers. It’s just a struggle for a while until that first or second generation. Then I’m begging them to stop 😂

[gardenman]

On 5/15/2024 at 4:19 PM, JMC said:

Completely agree. I had a salt water aquarium 15 years ago that I transitioned guppies over 10 days to live in. They did great in salt water. 
 

If one wants to be really careful with new guppies that you think were raised in brackish water then I would get a hydrometer and measure the salinity of the water they were shipped in and match that in the quarantine tank for a week or so and then over 5-10 days do water changes to ween them to your local water.

Just be advised that many shippers use different water than the fish were raised in to ship the fish. Foreign guppies are typically raised in outdoor ponds where the water is anything but crystal clear. Many, maybe most, shippers will bag the fish in fresh, clear water that could be wildly different from how they were raised so testing the water in the bag only tells you the water they were shipped in not the water they were raised in. If you watch any of the many YouTube videos where they visit guppy farms overseas, you'll see these practices in use. The adult guppies are often pulled from the ponds and carried inside in small containers, sorted, and then bagged in fresh water. Testing the water in the bag only tells you the water the fish were shipped in. They may have spent all of their life prior to shipping in vastly different water.

[Guppysnail]

On 5/16/2024 at 8:38 AM, gardenman said:

Just be advised that many shippers use different water than the fish were raised in to ship the fish.

This is an excellent point. When my friend was importing the guppies I’m breeding for her we reached out to the importer, the exporter and the exporter contacted the breeder.

The breeder did have salt in with the guppies, the exporter exported in fresh, the importer medicated and shipped in fresh. My friend tried 3 times to keep them in pure fresh. They failed before the line took off. 
Short term they could handle pure fresh but long term it caused issues is my guess. I use a generous pinch of reef salt and they are doing great.  

[Tony s]

Okay thanks for all the info. Per @Guppysnail’s advice I checked with the supplier. Kept that direct because the supplier is not forum approved. From the site that is affiliates with Prime Time Aquatics

They’re held for 2 weeks there in fresh water only tanks. Medicated only if needed. So still need to quarantine for a month and watch for worms 

Edited May 16 by Tony s

[JMC]

Good luck. I have had the best luck with buying fry (still doing med trio and quarantining) from US breeders (shorter shipping). The fry adapt quickly to new water parameters but you have to wait a few months to see if they’re good representatives of their breed. 

[Tony s]

On 5/23/2024 at 11:15 PM, JMC said:

Good luck

So far, so good. They’re really doing great. Searching and playing all over. They came already transitioned to fresh water. So now just have to watch for worms for about a month. They’re kind of subtle but very pretty. I’d have went more bold, but my daughter chose these. She made a great choice. I now have to get her tank ready for them. She chose a blue gravel the first time. It drowns out everything. Especially blue guppies. 🤣

[JMC]

Guppies + kids are the best!  Their face when the first batch of fry show up is priceless!!!!

[Tony s]

On 5/23/2024 at 11:29 PM, JMC said:

Their face when the first batch of fry show up is priceless

You are so correct. We’ve had a platy only tank for several years. But wanted these for her bedroom tank. Tried guppies from big box stores with absolutely no luck at all. She may be 9 after Saturday, but she still gets upset when one of our animals passes. That’s why I did a bit of an overreaction. I needed these to be viable and thriving for her.  And never imported guppies before now. Just very happy with them so far 😃
 

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