CATDOLL : CATDOLL: What equipment do you need to raise guppies?

What equipment is needed to raise guppies

To raise aquarium guppies, you must first prepare the necessary breeding tools. Guppies are the most common aquarium species of tropical fish, and are also a popular and sought-after aquarium pet. It is best to choose a professional aquarium tank to raise guppies. Generally speaking, the more common ones are probably one foot, one foot and two, one foot and three, one and a half feet, and two feet. At the same time, breeders can make plans when they first raise guppies, and reserve space for future expansion in advance to prepare for long-term breeding and breeding of guppies. Raising guppies requires a high-quality filtration system. Because the fish tank is an extremely closed environment, the fish excrement has been accumulating in the water. If there is no way to eliminate these wastes, it will seriously affect the growth and development of guppies. For this reason, the filtration system is more important in the artificial breeding environment. For raising guppies, choosing professional lighting is necessary for the growth of guppies. Generally speaking, guppies in the dark are less likely to accept bait; the color of guppies will also be duller. In the presence of light, the speed of grabbing food will increase, reducing the chance of excessive pollution of water quality by leftover bait, and the color of guppies will be brighter. Guppies are tropical aquarium species, so in an artificial breeding environment, good temperature control and heating equipment are needed to balance and stabilize the temperature of the living environment of guppies. Guppies have a strong ability to adapt to the environment, and generally water temperatures of 18-30 degrees Celsius are acceptable to guppies. However, during the breeding process, maintaining a stable water temperature is also a necessary condition for the healthy growth of guppies.

Guppy feeding precautions

Guppy tropical fish

After the newly bought fish get used to the new environment, you can start feeding them. Generally, after the fish are placed in the water tank for half a day, if you find that the fish start to peck at the wall or sand on the bottom of the tank, it means that you can start feeding them. Some fish refuse to eat when they change their environment, so you need to feed them the feed they like. You can feed them a balanced amount of artificial feed and daily feed. Pay attention to the amount to avoid leftovers, because the leftovers will rot and damage the water quality.

Several reasons that cause tropical fish to become sick and die:

1. Drastic changes in water temperature - The best temperature for tropical fish to survive is 25°C, but different species have different temperature requirements, some require as high as 30°C, and some prefer 20°C. Therefore, on average, 25°C is a generally acceptable temperature. In addition, we must avoid drastic changes in water temperature, and the generally allowed temperature range is 2 degrees.

2. Too high stocking density - Many people see that aquariums can put many cute fish in one fish tank, so they also raise many fish in their home fish tanks. This kind of breeding method will kill all the fish. If you raise many different kinds of fish, you must consider the suitable space for each fish and reduce the number of fish. No matter what kind of fish, it is never a good thing to have too many small fish in the tank. The principle of raising tropical fish is very similar to raising goldfish. It requires a relatively wide water surface and a normal proportion to the number of fish to ensure that the tropical fish has sufficient oxygen supply.

3. Types of feed - The feeding habits of tropical fish vary from species to species and can be roughly divided into three categories: animal, plant, and omnivorous. Therefore, we must understand the type of fish in the tank, what kind of food they like to eat, and classify them for feeding.

4. Diseases - There are many reasons why tropical fish may become sick, including infection from purchased sick fish, white spot disease caused by too low temperatures, and water quality deteriorating due to leftover food or decomposition of fish feces and waste.

Newly purchased tropical fish often carry germs or parasites. Because the disease is mild and no obvious symptoms have yet appeared, it is not easy to detect when purchasing. If you put it directly into the fish tank without using drugs, it will become sick in 2-3 days at the fastest, or 1 to 2 weeks at the slowest, and even cause death. Even if the newly purchased tropical fish is healthy, it may be injured during capture and transportation, causing bacterial infection. Therefore, it is very important to disinfect newly purchased tropical fish to prevent diseases.

There are two commonly used anti-disease disinfectants. The first is table salt, which is safe, effective, and easy to obtain. Add 100-300 grams of table salt to every 10 kilograms of water to make a 1-3% concentration of salt water. Disinfect for about 5-20 minutes. The length of the bathing time depends on the water temperature. It can kill most germs and parasites.

The second is potassium permanganate, which can be added directly to the fish tank. The concentration of the drug is 0.03 grams of potassium permanganate for 10 kilograms of water. It is inconvenient to weigh 0.03 grams of potassium permanganate. Therefore, first weigh 1 gram of potassium permanganate and fully dissolve it in 1 kilogram of water, that is, prepare a solution with a concentration of one thousandth, store it in a Coca-Cola bottle for use, and then use a straw or syringe to draw 30 milliliters of potassium permanganate solution and add it to 10 kilograms of water. Change the water 24 hours after medication. However, it should be noted that for small tropical fish. Potassium permanganate is highly toxic. After using the drug, pay attention to observe the activity status of tropical fish. Once abnormalities are found, rescue immediately, that is, change a large amount of water or take the tropical fish out.

The accumulation of organic matter such as leftover bait and excrement in the fish tank will cause the water quality to deteriorate. There are two forms of organic matter in the water. One is the undissolved granular solid organic matter, and the other is the organic matter dissolved in the water. The dissolved organic matter will be decomposed by bacteria into toxic ammonia nitrogen and nitrite. If there are enough beneficial bacteria (such as nitrifying bacteria) growing in the water, the toxic ammonia nitrogen and nitrite will be decomposed into non-toxic substances (nitrates). Therefore, water purification has two purposes: 1. Filter out the undissolved solid organic matter; 2. Cultivate enough nitrifying bacteria to decompose the toxic ammonia nitrogen and nitrite in the water.

There are two specific processing methods:

The first is to use water treatment circulation equipment. Large and medium-sized fish tanks use circulation filtration equipment, and small fish tanks can use biochemical cotton. There are many types of commercial water treatment circulation filtration equipment, including built-in and external types, and you can also make it yourself. The general structure consists of three parts. ① Cylindrical shell made of stainless steel or plastic; ② Filter cotton, quartz sand, plastic biochemical balls or biochemical ceramic rings, etc. are placed in the cylinder; ③ Small water pump and pipe. The function of filter cotton and quartz sand is to intercept large particles of organic matter in the water, so they need to be cleaned frequently.

The function of the biochemical balls and ceramic rings is to serve as carriers for cultivating beneficial bacteria, or in professional terms, to cultivate biofilms. The main purpose is to cultivate a sufficient number of beneficial bacteria to decompose toxic ammonia nitrogen and nitrite in the water into non-toxic nitrates.

Small fish tanks can be equipped with 1-2 biochemical cotton and an air pump. Biochemical cotton has the function of filtering solid organic matter and cultivating bacteria.

The second is to add beneficial bacteria regularly. There are many varieties of beneficial bacteria, the most common ones are photosynthetic bacteria, nitrifying bacteria, Bacillus, etc. Most of the products sold on the market are compound bacteria. For example, a product called EM produced in Japan consists of four categories and more than 80 strains of bacteria.

Some people have done experiments, regularly adding beneficial bacteria, the water in the fish tank can be kept for a year without changing the water.

Some necessary conditions for breeding tropical fish

1. Water

1. Water quality

All water in nature contains different chemical components to a greater or lesser extent, and some chemicals will directly affect the growth and survival of fish. Tropical fish have higher requirements for water. Tap water, river water, well water, lake water, etc. can be used directly to raise goldfish, but they cannot be used to raise tropical fish directly, otherwise the fish will get sick and even die.

The so-called water quality mainly refers to the hardness and pH value of water.

The hardness of water is determined by the amount of calcium, magnesium and iron salts in the water. It is divided into hard water, soft water and neutral water. Well water and spring water are mostly hard water; tap water and river water are mostly neutral water; rainwater is soft water. Neutral water should be used for breeding tropical fish. Although the pH value of tap water in cities basically meets the living requirements of tropical fish, water plants often add some chemical disinfectants and purifiers when treating water, so the water often contains chlorinated water. The water should be dried for 2 to 3 days, or dried in a cool and dark place for a week before it can be used.

2. Change the water

Fish have to constantly metabolize and excrete feces while they are alive. The bait for fish is also constantly oxidized and decayed, which will affect the water quality. Therefore, the water in the fish tank should be changed regularly and timely to keep the water fresh. Water change is divided into partial water change and full water change. Partial water change is also called water addition. Water addition means that the amount of water should be added according to the amount of water drawn out from the fish tank. It is not necessary to remove the fish and aquatic plants from the tank when adding water. Generally, the amount of water added should not exceed one-fourth of the total water volume of the fish tank each time. When adding water, pay attention to the temperature of the newly added water, and try to keep it consistent with the water temperature of the original fish tank. The number of times of water addition is one to two times a week in autumn and winter, and two to three times a week in spring and summer. The specific number of times depends on the turbidity of the water in the fish tank. If the filtration conditions are good and the water quality is clear, the number of times can be appropriately reduced. If the filtration conditions are poor, the number of times can be appropriately increased, but it should not be too frequent, otherwise the fish will get sick.

2. Temperature

Temperature is the most important condition for the survival of tropical fish. Fish cannot survive without suitable water temperature. Tropical fish have strict requirements on water temperature and are extremely sensitive to water temperature.

The water temperature for tropical fish is generally between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius. However, different types of tropical fish have different requirements for water temperature. For example, guppies, red swordfish, black Mary and other fish species can tolerate water temperatures of around 10 degrees Celsius without dying, while swallow fish, tiger barbs and other fish will die when the water temperature is below 18 degrees Celsius. Most tropical fish are very sensitive to water temperature. If the water temperature changes by ±2 degrees Celsius, they will catch a cold. If the water temperature fluctuates up and down for a long time, the fish will suffer from various diseases. Therefore, the water temperature should be kept constant as much as possible. The water temperature should not be too high. If the water temperature is high, the fungi in the water will multiply too fast and affect the water quality. The normal temperature for most fish to live is between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius, and the breeding water temperature is between 25 and 28 degrees Celsius. There are two common ways to control water temperature, which are natural control and artificial control.

Natural control is to place the fish tank in a sunny room, so that the fish tank can receive sunlight to increase the water temperature. The water temperature change of a small fish tank is relatively small. On the contrary, the small fish tank has less water and the water temperature change is large. If the room conditions allow, it is better to make the fish tank as large as possible.

Artificial control of water temperature mainly uses heating measures such as stoves, kangs, and heaters to heat. In recent years, the market has seen an increasing number of electric heating appliances, which is a better heating method. Most products have automatic temperature control functions and should be preferred.

3. Oxygen

Any living thing needs oxygen to survive. Without oxygen, there is no life. Tropical fish also cannot survive without oxygen. The oxygen needed for fish survival is obtained by absorbing dissolved oxygen in the water through the microvessels in the gills, and then brought to the body through the blood circulation system. Carbon dioxide is also discharged through the microvessels in the gills. The amount of dissolved oxygen in the water directly affects the growth of fish, so it is necessary to ensure that there is enough dissolved oxygen in the water. In addition to obtaining dissolved oxygen in the water by adding water and changing water, it can also be produced by photosynthesis of aquatic plants in the water.

There are special oxygenating devices on the market - air pumps. It is convenient and simple to use air pumps to add oxygen. You can choose a suitable air pump according to the size of the fish tank. The price is relatively cheap.

4. Fish Food

Although there are many types of tropical fish and their habits vary greatly, their feeding habits can be roughly divided into three categories: carnivorous fish, which account for the vast majority of tropical fish; omnivorous fish, which account for a small part of tropical fish; and herbivorous fish, which account for a very small part of tropical fish.