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Old 10-11-2012, 11:59 PM   #1
MiyukiRei
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Default Beginner's Guide to FANCY GUPPIES 101

HI everyone . DISCLAIMER FIRST (If anything here is wrong or incorrect do point it out, the main aim of this post would be to help people learn more about fish keeping particularly guppies)

So now firstly I'm just a hobbyist like many others here who frequent here very often. I started out for almost over a year now so I feel that i have somewhat beneficial knowledge to this committee thus making this post. Getting a pair of AFR today really pushed me to more commitments to improving this line personally have been keeping strains that require less maintainence. :P

HEH moving on personally i forsee more people coming into fancy guppies with the upcoming competition at IMM and Malaysia. More people would want to buy this fishes and rear them ultimately breeding them and achieving some form of accomplishment. Hence i decided to make this thread seeing that the FAQ don't have anything related to this besides breeding which i don't plan to touch on yet



NUMBER 1
If you are mesmerised by the fishes you saw and really want to get them into ur tank. WAIT AND STOP THERE. YES THERE. Its alot of hardwork and commitment to keep pets in general and fishes are the same. Even bettas need care Start browsing the web to know more about the strain you like. Know more about the requirements. pH level , gH , kH and what not. This may start to sound very chim and may even make you back away from keeping them but its actually the main part you need to conquer. Once your water quality and management is good. Everything Else is good. Rear Water = Rear fish.

NUMBER 2

After reading more of fancy guppies, ( browse previous threads here too , really beneficial) i think you have more of an understanding of different terms for example, RREA , High Dorsal , Lace, Cobra and all the other wacky names . You will start to understand the HUGE variety of guppies. Thats what attracted me to it & their breeding power Stop here and ask yourself. Have you cycled ur tank if ur using filtration ? What type of filter , pump , tank size you need.

NUMBER 3
Head to your LFS and pick up the tank and filter and everything else ( Anti-Chlorine , Anti-Chloramine etc...) BUT NO FISHES YET [I PREFER FISHLESS CYCLE]
NOW read here bout cycling. ITS A CRUCIAL step to keep ur fishes healthy
http://arofanatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=368231


NUMBER 4
After you have cycled ur tank properly , ur tank should be now able to keep fishes :P . P.S there are now 2 routes . First one is to get the $1 Guppies and try keeping them for awhile to try out or Secondly you dive in to Fancy strains.

I went for number 1 . I kept those $1 lfs guppies for around 5 month before commiting my first Fancy strain. You should be really really keeping track of ur WC regime.

NUMBER 5
Get ur fancy guppy already and then
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Old 11-11-2012, 12:04 AM   #2
MiyukiRei
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Continuing on....

I forgot to mention feeding frequency and water change frequency. SILLY ME.

I feed a mixture of food. Hikari fancy guppy, tubi worms, boon , occasional fbw.
For my wc i would top up water daily 10% every 3 days wc 20%.

NUMBER 6

There are times when diseases and bacterial can't be helped.

More commonly is
ICH, Velvet , cotton , dropsy...

Read up more about them so u understand how to combat them.


NUMBER 7
I have no idea what else to add but hmmm thats the main things in learnt throughout the years.

Just a reminder if u wanna breed to say improve the colour finnage or anything , be prepared for lots of hard work......


Thats all bah. Will add more if there are any that comes to my mind.
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Old 11-11-2012, 12:28 AM   #3
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Probably include guidelines as tank size, filters type amd fish ratio.
May want to add in the type of fancy guppy available in the market
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Old 11-11-2012, 01:18 AM   #4
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Default How much baking soda to add??

Hi,
Read somewhere that to balance the water pH need to add baking soda powder.
Or something like that. I don't have a pH meter anymore. Should I just add a small pinch of baking soda? Thanks.
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Old 11-11-2012, 10:34 AM   #5
MiyukiRei
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Quote:
Originally Posted by weby View Post
Probably include guidelines as tank size, filters type amd fish ratio.
May want to add in the type of fancy guppy available in the market
To be honest there is not ideal tank size, actually the bigger the better to maintain water quality but as you venture into more strains like other bros here who are more experts than me. You will find yourself having to cull or increasing the number of tanks, when this happens i usually get more tanks, sometimes styrofoam boxes or the daiso shoebox :X . Styrofoam boxes can help maintain temperature at night so hor my temperature wont fluctuate.

If im not wrong in the market now there are so many varities its really hard to list all. There are lace, tux , moscows, full body solid colours etc... Really alot le

Quote:
Originally Posted by firstboy View Post
Hi,
Read somewhere that to balance the water pH need to add baking soda powder.
Or something like that. I don't have a pH meter anymore. Should I just add a small pinch of baking soda? Thanks.
If im not wrong hor using baking soda will improve the hardness of water . As quoted from bro boxedfish

One teaspoon (about 6 grams) of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) per 50
liters of water will increase KH by 4 degrees and will not increase
general hardness.. you adjust accordingly to your water volume and how many degrees you want to increase.

For me to increase ph i get coral chips. Effect is more immediate but not long lasting . if u want long lasting can get oyster shells.
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Old 11-11-2012, 10:38 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by firstboy View Post
Hi,
Read somewhere that to balance the water pH need to add baking soda powder.
Or something like that. I don't have a pH meter anymore. Should I just add a small pinch of baking soda? Thanks.
Baking soda is added only when your water is too acidic. If the water supply of your area are ok (6.8-7.2), then baking soda is not necessary.

Simply buy a cheap pH tester to measure the pH of your water. You dont really need to use it often, normally is when u setup your tank and when the fish fall sick.

Hope this help.


Regards,
Ace
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Old 11-11-2012, 10:59 AM   #7
angelo
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In Singapore, tap water is low in KH. Adding sodium bicarbonate to increase the KH to 5 is good.
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Old 11-11-2012, 10:59 AM   #8
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Let me add in.

Most important is how you condition yours water with the same source of yours guppy supply.

If water supply was condition is the same (E.g PH) it will be easy to keep any guppies
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Old 11-11-2012, 11:53 AM   #9
vannel
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AceLean View Post
Baking soda is added only when your water is too acidic. If the water supply of your area are ok (6.8-7.2), then baking soda is not necessary.

Simply buy a cheap pH tester to measure the pH of your water. You dont really need to use it often, normally is when u setup your tank and when the fish fall sick.

Hope this help.


Regards,
Ace
That's not very true. Adding baking soda is still beneficial since it will raise KH, which means that pH swings are kept to a minimum. Having the right pH from the tap now, doesn't mean the pH will stay constant when introduced to the tank. Fish waste will drop the pH drastically if KH is not high enough to maintain the pH level.
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Old 11-11-2012, 12:18 PM   #10
Est
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ircknight View Post
Let me add in.

Most important is how you condition yours water with the same source of yours guppy supply.

If water supply was condition is the same (E.g PH) it will be easy to keep any guppies
Before adding new fish,
1) quarantine to observe for abnormal behaviors. They are good indicative of sickness. Do not just comm together.
2) after fishless cycling and taking water parameter, slowly add in new water into old water. After acclimatize, take out only the fish and add to tank
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