Keep Guppies Healthy
Guppies are the most common freshwater aquarium fish and they have unique pattern and colour which make them beautiful. Sometimes guppies die just after purchase without any apparent cause whereas in some cases they live up to their lifespan. Without proper attention and care it is nearly impossible to maintain healthy guppies for your aquarium . Here are some instructions which may come in handy on keeping your guppies healthy.
Steps
- Take proper care of the aquarium providing home to the guppy fish. Cleaning the guppy tank once in a while can get rid of most of the diseases and parasites that affect the guppies. Changing water regularly may help them to last longer without getting affected by diseases. Can you even think of a moment living under unclean surroundings? Guppies too cannot survive under such unclean conditions. Though it's best to change aquarium water after every fortnight, make sure you at least replace it with fresh water when it starts to get cloudy or when it gives foul smell .
- Minimize the fluctuations in water quality. Even though Guppies can adapt to minor fluctuations in water quality, try to make non-stressful water changes to maintain the health of Guppies. Alkaline and warm water conditions can also be considered. The perfect temperature for an aquarium sheltering guppy fish are about 72-80 Degree F.
- When you introduce new guppies into a tank, they may carry many bacteria and parasites along with them , which can infect other fish in that tank. Therefore the best solution is to release them in a separate tank and watch them for over a month to see whether they are carrying any pathogens .
- Create a home like atmosphere for your guppies. If you can keep a guppy happy, this will be reflected in its health also. Try creating a friendly atmosphere by fixing more plants and by giving it enough room. The size of the tank should not be too small as it would make the fish feel uncomfortable. Adding coloured rocks and dead crushed coral might give pleasure to your guppies and also make your aquarium eye catchy.
- Feeding is another most important factor which you should keep in mind while taking care of a Guppy. They can be fed twice or three times a day but make sure that you don't overfeed them. Supply them with their favourite food which include frozen and the flake foods. Ensure you do so, especially when their babies are in the aquarium because in the absence or scarcity of food, they are known for eating their young ones.
- Check the equipment. Aquarium consists of lot of components such as pumps, filters etc. which are installed for the life support of fish. Malfunction of any of these components may greatly affect their health and therefore it would be best to clean them occasionally.
- Test the pH of your water. pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. If the difference of pH in your water and the water of the breeder you purchased from is more than .3, the fish can become stressed. If you are quite inclined to purchase a guppy from a tank with high pH difference, gather some water from the store and also add your water into the tank till the fish gets used to your pH.
Tips
- For an aquarium homing guppies, pH level from 7.0 - 8.1 can be considered as healthy .
- Unless you live somewhere where the temperature never gets cool, even at night, you need a heater in the aquarium. You also should have a thermometer just to keep watch of the temperature, and ensure it's safe for the fish.
- For breeding guppies, the temperature should be about 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
