Simi Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 I'm going to help my mom with her mini pond this year, I've been doing research (watching ALL of Cory's videos). My tap water is: pH: 8.4 (not usually this high, normally runs about 7.6) Ammonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 10 I want to add some guppies for a fun breeding project. My question is: are my water params going to be ok for breeding guppies, and should I add salt to the pond, or any buffering agents? I have some red tiger lotus I plan to plop in and some duckweed. One of the videos he explained how green water is great for the fish, but I can't convince my mom of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanni Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Guppies would definitely do great! I would try some water hyacinth or water lettuce instead of duckweed. I don't think any salt or buffering agents would be needed. If your water is soft, definitely try adding some crushed coral. The guppies would produce even without the green water. As long as you feed everything really well, you should have babies in no time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 4 minutes ago, Simi said: I want to add some guppies for a fun breeding project. My question is: are my water params going to be ok for breeding guppies, and should I add salt to the pond, or any buffering agents? I have some red tiger lotus I plan to plop in and some duckweed. One of the videos he explained how green water is great for the fish, but I can't convince my mom of this. What we did last year was set up a large sponge filter in our African Cichlid tank, and let it get “primed” with a good colony of Bacteria. Then we used tank water with that to kick off the tub in its cycle. We got about 6-8 x mixed guppies, and quarantined them — treated with the med trio (Ich-X, Erythromycin, API General Cure). Then, once the tub was cycled enough and over night temps stayed above 60-degrees Fahrenheit, we added them. We fed daily 1-2x times. At the end of the summer, we had 75 x lovely “mutt-guppies” of various colors. Here are a couple videos: 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simi Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 I forgot, I live in North Alabama, so summer temps get really high. My main concern was my water. I've heard Cory say that guppies like really hard water. I checked my city's water quality report: not sure if this is helpful, or overkill...lol. and the tap water had only 67 TDS. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simi Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 2 hours ago, Yanni said: Guppies would definitely do great! I would try some water hyacinth or water lettuce instead of duckweed. I don't think any salt or buffering agents would be needed. If your water is soft, definitely try adding some crushed coral. The guppies would produce even without the green water. As long as you feed everything really well, you should have babies in no time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simi Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 I have the Ziss Brine Shrimp hatchery kit (LOVE IT!) I have some psuedomugil gertrudae in a couple tanks, and they won't eat anything but BBS, I also have 6 angelfish, 2 are a breeding pair, so their tank is getting BBS also. I've also started a GIANT bowl for daphnia culturing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilkyb Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 (edited) Keeping some plants at the water surface is important to keep guppies from fin nipping. Java moss, guppy grass, floating carpet seeds, water lettuce, dwarf lotus... Guppies thrive in harder water. I think a ph above 8.5 will probably have some negative affects in the long run. My potted planter tank has a pH of around 8.0 Edited March 10, 2021 by wilkyb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now