Helpful Tips For Guppy Care
If you have a pet guppy, then guppy care obviously is very important to you. This is understandable; we love our pets and want them to be as healthy as possible, and fish need more attention than your average pet. The environment has to be just right- the right tank, the right food, the right water, and the right temperature. If any of these are off balance, then your fish could be in trouble. If you are the owner of a guppy, or are thinking about bringing one home with you soon, then read on. This article will give you all you need to know about guppy care so that you can keep your fish happily swimming.
A guppy is, hands down, one of the most popular types of fish used as pets in American today. The guppy – or the poecilia reticulate – is a small fish that usually reaches no more than 2.5 inches in length. They originated in Central and South America but have since been exported abroad as pets. These fish tend to get along well with other fish and live around four years, with proper care. The good news is that guppy care is very easy and does not take a lot of effort.
To take care of your guppy, you first have to provide it with a suitable environment. This is called an aquarium (or a water tank in some circles). You can have a circular tank, or a standard rectangular aquarium, but no matter what your size, just make sure that a guppy’s tank can hold a minimum of five gallons of water. Anything less than that will be too small and cramped and will make your fish sick because it will not have enough swimming space.
Once you have the tank, you need to find a way to filter it. If you’re using gravel or sand at the bottom of your tank for decoration, then you can equip your tank with a small under-gravel filter. These pumps will move the water but will not beat your guppies with a strong current (which is bad for a fish of that size). After you equip a filter, and decorate your tank however you like, you have to fill it with water.
For optimum guppy care, you want your water in the tank to have a temperature between 64 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit (18-28 degrees Celsius). You definitely do not want your guppy to be in water that is either frigid or scorching (which means your tank should also stay out of direct sunlight). The pH level that is recommended for your water needs to be between 6.8 and 7.6 (and between 7 and 7.2 if at all possible). Guppies do not like overly acidic water, nor do they like water that is too alkaline. Also, change your water at least once a week, or sooner if it starts turning brown or developing algae on the sides.
For food, there are several great options for you. Guppies really enjoy baby brine shrimp, which can be found at any aquatic pet store. You can hatch the eggs at your house, plus they are high in protein, so they complement your standard flake fish food well. But, you should not feed them only baby brine shrimp – guppies need more nutrients than just protein. Another choice besides your standard fish flake is found with white worms. These tiny worms can be bought at a variety of aquatic pet stores and bait shops and serve as very nutritional delicacies for your pet. It is generally recommended to feed your new guppy a few times each day, instead of one big feeding a day. Also, do not feed your fish excessively; if they do not come to the surface when you drop in food, then they are not hungry.
This article on guppy care hopefully showed you what you need in order to make your guppies feel right at home. Just follow the advice given to you here and have fun with your new fish. Enjoy!
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