Aquarium fish guppies

Aquarium fish guppies came to us from South America, where he lived wildly in fresh andbrackish water reservoirs. Due to their unpretentiousness, guppies were acclimatized on all continents. They are resettled along warm water reservoirs to fight malarial mosquitoes (more precisely, their larvae). In addition, the guppies have become popular aquarium fish.

Aquarium fish guppies are quite unusual. They relate to viviparous fishes - females do not spawn, but give birth to fry. Male and female guppies are very easy to distinguish in appearance - males are slimmer, smaller in size, but fins are proportionately larger than females. In addition, the females are enlarged abdomen, and males have a specialized copulatory organ - gonopodia.

Aquarium fish guppies can boast a variety of colorings and fin forms - that's why they are so loved by aquarists. There are several dozens of different guppy breeds. The colors and shapes of the fins of the guppies are standardized. So, for example, in Western Europe and Russia, such standards of fin forms have been adopted: narrow-angled, triangle, skirt, flag, fork, upper sword, lower sword, lyre-tailed, shovel-tailed, spear-tailed, round-tailed, needle-tailed.

Contain the guppy in the aquarium quite simply. These unpretentious fish inhabit all layers of the aquarium. In captivity, they live longer and grow to larger sizes than in the wild. In principle, there are no special conditions for guppies, but only under favorable conditions aquarium guppies reach their peak.

For a guppy you need an aquarium with a volume of 25-50 liters. Optimum acidity water - pH 7, rigidity - dH 10-25 ° C. Guppies are able to adapt well to hard water and carry salinity. Optimum temperature water - + 24 ° C. In principle, guppies can survive in the range from +18 ° C to + 30 ° C. At low temperatures, they live longer (about 3 years), grow larger, but easily fall ill. At high temperatures guppies live less (up to a year) and grow smaller.

It is necessary to provide a board height of 5-7 cm, so that the fish could not jump out of the aquarium. If you additionally close the aquarium with a lid, do not forget about forced aeration. Fish important good lighting, otherwise they will grow poorly, and the color will be pale. It is best to arrange the aquarium in such a way that in the morning and in the evening it is directly exposed to direct sunlight.

In the aquarium you can put the soil (small pebbles, coarse-grained sand) and plant unpretentious plants in it (hornwort, nayas). Guppies will not dig in the ground and eat plants. But keep in mind that the design of the aquarium should not prevent the fish from swimming. Weekly, you need to drain one third of the water from the aquarium, together with the waste products of the guppies, and top up with fresh ones.

What to feed the guppies? Aquarium fish are omnivorous guppies. They need both plant and animal food. Of the animal food guppies are suitable protozoa, rotifers, crustaceans (daphnia, cyclops), larvae of mosquitoes. From plant - the lower plants (spirulina, chlorella) and some algae. It is also possible to feed the guppies with dry food - they perfectly tolerate it.

How much food can give guppies per day? Males are fed less than females. If for one adult female there are 3-5 pieces of small bloodworm (about 8 mm long) depending on its age and size, then for one male there is only one piece. Adult fish need fasting days - once or twice a week they do not need to be fed all day. In principle, under normal conditions of maintenance guppies can starve for a whole month without much damage to health - but it's better not to experiment.

If you decide to tackle aquarium, aquarium fish guppies - one of the best options for beginners. It is not difficult to keep them, and the bright coloring and unusual look invariably pleases the eye.