Development of guppies in various aquatic environments

The aquarium fish guppy belongs to the poeciliaceae family; genus of platies. The species was discovered in 1859. The homeland of these fish is Venezuela, Northern Brazil, Guiana, the islands of Barbados and Trinidad. Guppies still live there and in their homeland help fight a very dangerous disease - yellow fever, destroying the larvae of mosquitoes that carry this disease.

In nature, guppies live in fresh rivers and brackish waters. Under natural conditions, the length of females is 6-8 cm, males 3-4 cm. Guppies are omnivores, but they should not be overfed, otherwise they will get sick and stop reproducing. Adult fish should be fed at least 2 times a day, preferably 3 or 4 times in small portions. The food should be varied and not too large. They should be alternated.

Feed. The best food is live food. These are: small bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp. Fish willingly eat cabbage, semolina, cyclops, tubifex (exclude from the diet for pregnant women), and fruit flies. When it is difficult to get live food, the fish can also be fed frozen (daphnia, cyclops, bloodworms), which is stored in the freezer.

In addition to live food or instead of it, you can give finely chopped or scraped beef meat, liver, heart, fillets of sea fish and their small caviar, low-fat, non-acidic cottage cheese, mild grated cheeses, omelet.

It is necessary to provide plant foods. Periodically - white bread, slightly boiled semolina, rolled oats.

Dry food (daphnia, gammarus) is only an additional food. With constant feeding with this food, the juveniles lose their bright coloring, develop poor veil fins, and develop gastrointestinal diseases. In adult fish, such feeding leads to infertility. Dry food should be given in the amount eaten within 10..15 minutes.

The volume of the aquarium is acceptable for the size of a 2-3 liter jar, however, young fish in such conditions will never reach large sizes, both body and fins.

Sharp changes in temperature and pH have a detrimental effect on the health of fish, including infertility.

The fertility of the female depends on the conditions of keeping, feeding, the volume of the aquarium and the stocking density.

At the first spawning – 10..20 fry (for large ones – 20..30); in growing females at the 2nd mark 40..50, at the third – 100 pcs. As for very large ones that have spawned many times, you can count 180 pieces.

Life expectancy of males is 2.5-3 years, females 3.5-4 years. The childbearing period ends at the age of 1-1.5 years earlier. Fish reach sexual maturity at the age of 3-5 months.

The hatching of fry is stimulated by adding freshly settled water and increasing its temperature. A large portion of water can cause premature birth, which can lead to the death of the larvae.

Lighting. Particular attention should be paid to the lighting of the aquarium. Excessive lighting can cause guppy infertility. It is undesirable to install an aquarium near a window; it is best to place it in the back of the room, and compensate for the lack of light by installing an electric light.

Ground

Soil is not only a supply of nutrients for plants, but also a natural filter for water. Typically, coarse sand is used as soil. It is not recommended to use fine sand; water circulation is disrupted, which leads to rotting of plant roots. The sand should be river sand, approximately 5cm thick. Dark soil is also recommended: the color of the fish is brighter, darker. Nowadays they produce excellent artificial soil, which is ideally suited for an aquarium.

Temperature. The growth and development of guppies is affected by water temperature. At a temperature of 26...30C, maturation and aging occur earlier and the fish, especially males, are small, and their veil is often underdeveloped. At a temperature of 20...22C, sexual maturity occurs later, but the fish grow larger and with a good veil.

Guppies are considered one of the most unpretentious aquarium fish, but they are heat-loving aquarium inhabitants and are very sensitive to changes in water temperature.

For the study, I prepared 6 aquariums with different aquatic environments: 2 aquariums with tap water, two aquariums with “living water”, two aquariums with “dead water”. Aeration was carried out only in one aquarium with tap water. I found out that changing water temperature affects the behavior of fish. I measured the temperature of the water environment daily in the morning, afternoon, and evening. I observed the behavior of the fish before, during and after feeding. In tap water the most favorable temperature is 240...260C, in “living water” - 200...220C, in “dead water” -200...220C. Research was carried out from 10/03/05 to 11/16/05. At a temperature of 18 0C, the movement of the gill covers slows down. The fish are lethargic, inactive, lie on the bottom or stand, swaying their bodies. At a temperature of 190C they are also lethargic, but begin to accept food. At a temperature of 200C they are mobile and begin to scrape algae from the leaves of plants and from the walls of the aquarium. At a temperature of 21...220C, guppies are active, have a good appetite, collect dirt crumbs from the leaves of plants and scrape off the algae that appear from the walls of the aquarium.

It is better to feed the guppies three times a day, and the portions should be small. Due to the lack of live food, you can feed the fish with dry cyclops or dry daphnia, mixed with two or three drops of vitamin D. This is a high-quality vitamin food. I fed the guppies with dry and live food and noted differences in the behavior and development of the fish. When feeding with live food, the fish attack it, then their activity drops noticeably, which means you can stop feeding. When feeding dry food, the fish also pounce on the food and immediately eat it - this means that the portion has been selected, right. If the fish do not eat the food within 5 minutes, then the remains should be removed and the portion reduced. I noticed that in different aquatic environments the time for eating food was different. The food was instantly eaten only in activated water, and in tap water it was necessary to remove the remaining food with a net. I alternated feed. With this feeding, the activity of the fish increases.

The life of a guppy is short - about 3 years. By the end of the fifth or sixth month, and sometimes earlier, the fry become adult fish and are able to continue their race. Adult females have a rounded shape, a thick abdomen, on which a dark spot stands out. The darker it is, the faster you can expect more offspring. In order to get good fry, you need to carefully select several pairs of guppies based on color, size, as well as healthy and active ones.

In order not to harm future offspring, plump females are placed in another aquarium until the fry appear. Studies have shown that in tap water the fish did not give birth, since the hatching of fry depends on the conditions of detention, feeding, the volume of the aquarium and the stocking density. In “live” water, the fish gave birth after 45 days. The female guppy lays a different number of fry. The number of fry depends on both the age and size of the female, and the conditions in which she lived. Our female is young, she is only 5…6 months old. Therefore, I brought only 15 fry. Literary sources indicate that a female guppy raises her offspring in tap water for 25 to 60 days. Consequently, “living” water has a positive effect on the maturation and reproduction of guppies. In “dead” water, the fish did not give birth to offspring, because 66 days had passed, and this exceeds the period for raising guppy offspring. In “dead” water there is an excess pH >7, and this may cause infertility in the female.