information on guppies

Question
hi..i just want to ask you about the guppies.how long the guppies may live?I have already feed my guppies with the special food just for guppies.do i need to give them other supplements?do i need to change water often or once a week or else?does the mother guppy eat the baby guppy?what are the reasons why the guppies died?what are the disease that cause the guppies dies?

Answer
Hi Nasha;

Guppies should have variety in their diet. I like to feed mine thawed frozen brine shrimp, little bits of cooked spinach, freeze dried tubifex and bloodworms, little bits of cooked carrots, cucumber slices, squash slices, cooked and peeled peas and cooked green beans. Just rinse and drop in the tank.

Guppies live to be 1 or 2 years old usually. Females stop having babies at about a year old. When you first buy them in the store they are usually at least 4 months old.

All aquariums need a weekly water change of 25% with gravel vacuuming at least every 2 weeks. Guppies and other livebearing fish really like very clean water. Commercial guppy breeders will change 25% of their guppy tank water daily while their fish are babies so that they grow fast.

Mother guppies will defiantely eat their own babies. No maternal instincts there! As a matter of fact, any fish with a mouth big enough will eat other fish. It's part of nature's food chain.

There are many possible diseases guppies can be infected with. The best treatment for disease is prevention. Keeping the water clean, plenty of space and good well-rounded diet is the way to do that. Those things keep their immunity strong.

If your tank has been set up less than 8 weeks or so, there is also "New Tank Syndrome" to deal with. Here is a link to my own article about it;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

Here are some other web links for you to take a peek at for the basics in keeping guppies;

http://www.guppylog.com
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8344.asp
http://guppyplace.tripod.com/index.html
http://aquariumhobbyist.com/guppies/page2.html

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins