Evening star., 1952-06-27
Readers Clearing House
RAISING GUPPIES.

(From Mrs. c. C. L., Bethesda
Mrs. P. P. j., Alexandria: ]
hope you are never completely
successful in raising guppies.
Under ideal conditions you can
start with one paiT and in a year
have over 212 million of these
colorful fish.
You should start with a rec
tangular aquarium; the size de-
pendS on the space available and
number of fish you wish to keep
However, a 10 to Is gallon tank
is generally recommended for
raising young in a tank with
grown fish. Coarse white sand is
used on the bottom, / inch to 2
inches deep. Grade sand so sedi-
ment slides toward the front for
easy cleaning. Partly fill aquarium
with city faucet water. Don't use
we'll or spring water unless prop
erly treated to remove harmful
minerals. Select aquarium plants
of your choice and set in sand to
crown of root along back of tank
so the fish will have plenty of
swimming space in front for you
to view them.
If it is desired to raise the
young in this tank you should
plant the back of the tank thickly
and also have mass of floating
plants for the young to hide in.
After setting your plants, fill the
tank and let it set for two days
before putting in any fish. This
gives time for harmful chlorine
and other gases to pass from the
water.
The temperature of the water
that the fish are in and the
temperature of the tank water
should be the same whenever fish
are transferred. This can be ac-I
complished by floating the con-
tainer with the fish in the
aquarium until the temperatures
are within l or 2 degrees of each
other. Let the fish swim from
the container to the tank. Don't
dump them.
Guppies are extremely hardy
and will survive in water as cold
as SIS degrees. but water tenpera-
ture of 68 degrees will cause them
to breed about once every three
months, and temperature of 70
degrees will cause them to breed
every four weeks. A piece of glass
should cover the aquarium to keep
down evaporation and hold the
water at a more even tempera-
ture.
Feed once a day all they can
eat in or 10 minutes. Too
much food fouls the water and
turns the sand black. Prepared,
dried fish food, daphnia. white
worms, brine shrimp. mosquito
larvae, chopped fish and hard
boiled egg yolk will all be en-
joyed. Dried food is acceptable,
but a change of diet every few
days is appreciated.
The plants need some light,
either sun or artificial No light
and the plants die. Too much
light and green algae grows too
fast and you can't see the fish
for the green, clouded water.
Syphon off the bottom of the tank
as required. Replace water lost
in syphoning or evaporation with
aged water. Never change water
unless completely fouled.
Guppies breed when about 8
months old. The fry will number
from 10 to over so. I keep my
guppies in a 7-gallon tank and
usually find two to six new ones
left after each new brood. The
rest have been eaten. usually by
the mother. However, this high
mortality rate keeps my guppies
and other tropicals from running
us out of our home. Two or three
guppies per gallon of water will
survive with no outside aeration.
More per gallon of water will re-
quire a pump and artificial aer-
alton.
For further information see
one of the many reputable aqua
rum supply dealers around town
/ am sure any of them will be
glad to answer any of your ques-