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4K views 24 replies 9 participants last post by  MsNaFew 
#1 ·
Hey there and hiya,

I'm so glad to have stumbled on this site, just when I was about to start raving about guppies, fry and how I go about saving them all ( drooling was soon to follow, along with giggling hysterically and acquiring a talent in the art of basket weaving ) so good for me, bad news for the fiance, who was more than happy to say, "Well babe, maybe you should just reconsider this hobby thing". :crazy:

ANYWAY, I bred and raised guppies when I was....hmmm....MUCH younger than I am now, though nowhere near the quality of gupps I've seen and been lucky enough to purchase a few months ago, when to my delight, my 7 year old Dennis the Menace of a son expressed an interest in breeding guppies. So consider me and my personal tormentor of a son ( specializing in white hair and remarks such as, "Watch THIS!" ) a guppy hobbyist beginner.

I STILL maintain that I got back into this for him, not ME. No, REALLY. ;-) I'm trying to be practical and curb the impulse to buy everything I think I MAY need, but rather go about this calmly ( a trait unknown to me and totally foreign ) and therefore remain solvent in the financial area.

So...classic case of "Oh boy! I got great gupps! Yay! Uh....how do I keep them that way and manage to save a few fry?" sigh

With that said....I am here to learn. I've gotten several gorgeous Black Moscow guppies and wanna continue that line. Wish me luck, I imagine it's gonna be fun and patience inspiring!

Great to be here, will try not to pester and/or otherwise annoy everyone. Hey, I did say TRY!

:fish:MsNaFew,( guppy hobbyist in training)
 
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#4 ·
Hiya, thanks for the welcomes and yes, I do have guppies- my mind boggle of the evening and annoyance to my guy, would be several females conspiring and giving birth simultaneously- ( my guy just rolls his eyes as I flit back and forth, muttering darkly about this female eating that females fry and how they did this on PURPOSE, and so on. LOL So as the beginner guppy hobbyist, I'm not making te grade. Guess this would be a learning curve....

Yep and before I put you guys to sleep yammering on about how the heck am I to save fry ( I'm the best sleep aide out there) I also have a male and female Betta, which my son has determined to take on a his personal mission to breed ( good luck pal ) as well as a pair of black mollies and a pair of sunburst platies ( all in other tanks ) as well as an albino cat and a freshwater flounder.

We love aquarium fish out here in the boonies. I really like the info I've managed to find this evening, so much I didn't know and apparently, I'm complicating things wwayy more than they need be, going by a lot of the DIY projects that have me smacking my forehead as I realize how much money I could've saved. I just won't mention that fun li'l fact to my guy....
 
#5 ·
I breed bettas, and it is something that requires lots of betta experience and months of research, not to mention worm cultures and jarring 200+ fry. Just be careful when trying this because ywith out properly conditioning them the female or male could be killed. Bettafish.com has a lot of good info on bettas, I highly recommend you take a took before trying to breed bettas. :)
 
#6 ·
Hi and you are right on that one, without a doubt. The way I see it is if I can't manage to save the Black Moscow guppy fry that three females have gleefully decided to drop on me, thereby officially annihilating what few remaining brain cells I have left in my possession, and judging by the info I've scanned on Betta breeding on this site as well as the one you so kindly provided...well, my son is gonna have to wait.

We ( he ) has a gorgeous red delta male and a brilliant blue female, both of which I'm quite fond of, their having been members of our little family now, for over a year and each with a personality all their own- I want no drama, fin rippage, or rampaging child who needs no assistance in that particular department, following a Betta demise after a lovers....disagreement.

Honestly, by the time I feel ready to try my hand at tackling breeding them, they'll be ready for the old fish home! So thank you for the link, it's been nice to peruse and lust after, all the different Bettas I've seen pictured.

Please excuse me, I've got to go back to saying discouraging words to my pesky females and their early morning breakfast. Really?! Is it too much to ask, to leave me a few fry?! LOL
 
#8 ·
Hello and welcome to TFK :wave:

It sounds like your addicted to fishkeeping already and you'll find a lot of folks here with the same ailment.

Good luck with your gupps and post some pics. when you get a chance.
 
#9 ·
Amethyst,

Wow! Thank you, thank you, thank you-for all of the great info! I never expected more than a few welcomes and hey howaya's, when I joined the site and I gotta say, I'm blown away. I realize now that what I THOUGHT I knew, about fishkeeping is either outdated ( NO old chick jokes please-I'm still 19...in my mind anyway ) or just completely wrong.

This site is great! I haven't been so into a hobby since....well, when I was about 12 and breeding and raising guppies ( back when we wrote on stone tablets ) in a ten gallon tank with a few gallon bowls for babies! LOL

All I can say is I don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' no babies ( guppies anyway ) And this was supposed to be a relaxing hobby, to help me de-stress after taking care of persnickety patients all day. I was up until 3 am this morning, me, a grown woman of the advanced age of 37 (sshh) peering into a tank, anxiously waiting for these gupps to drop. They haven't, by the way....probably waiting until I'm not standing over them. ;)

Thank you for all of the info, the black mollie is definitely ready to pop and now chasing her mate around. My platies, well um, I know I have a male and female for certain but she' just isn't into him' I guess, because he doesn't court her and she doesn't even notice him. Oh well. LOL Such is life.
 
#14 ·
Amethyst,

Wow! Thank you, thank you, thank you-for all of the great info! I never expected more than a few welcomes and hey howaya's, when I joined the site and I gotta say, I'm blown away. I realize now that what I THOUGHT I knew, about fishkeeping is either outdated ( NO old chick jokes please-I'm still 19...in my mind anyway ) or just completely wrong.

This site is great! I haven't been so into a hobby since....well, when I was about 12 and breeding and raising guppies ( back when we wrote on stone tablets ) in a ten gallon tank with a few gallon bowls for babies! LOL

All I can say is I don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' no babies ( guppies anyway ) And this was supposed to be a relaxing hobby, to help me de-stress after taking care of persnickety patients all day. I was up until 3 am this morning, me, a grown woman of the advanced age of 37 (sshh) peering into a tank, anxiously waiting for these gupps to drop. They haven't, by the way....probably waiting until I'm not standing over them. ;)

Thank you for all of the info, the black mollie is definitely ready to pop and now chasing her mate around. My platies, well um, I know I have a male and female for certain but she' just isn't into him' I guess, because he doesn't court her and she doesn't even notice him. Oh well. LOL Such is life.
You're welcome. By the way, until last summer my experience with "breeding" guppies was older than yours - probably older than you (37 is still 19, isn't it? but then, I'm almost 52, and I don't care who knows). I was able to get back into the hobby last year because I moved my office into a house that had a 47g empty tank in it, complete with stand, glass cover, and light fixture - even the bulb was still good. They told me they'd haul it away, unless I wanted to keep it. I kept it, added a filter (the one there had died) and a heater, and fish! I wanted guppies because I had them as a kid, and we tried to save all the babies - yes, in bowls, without heater or filter - I'm surprised any of them lived! I discovered platys and cories while investigating compatible tank mates, and I was off and running.

I've had I don't know how many babies since then - until recently I only pulled a few out now and then. At the moment I have about 135 platy and guppy fry - two drops of each - between 3 and 6 weeks old. Most, if not all, will be going to a locally owned petstore in another couple of months.

Anyway, even though I'm sometimes up till all hours changing tanks, trying to get a parasite outbreak under control, or sewing moss onto plastic canvas to make tank dividers, it is very much a relaxing hobby. I can sit and look at my fish for hours. They all have names, except the fry and the neon tetras. I'll no doubt name any fry I decide to keep, but I can't tell the neons apart well enough to name them. Have fun with your new hobby! If you spend time watching your fish, they will teach you most of what you need to know, and you'll be an expert before you know it.

By the way, I haven't had any molly fry yet, so let me know if what I've said about guppies and platys holds true for mollies, too.
 
#13 ·
Guilty as charged! LOL

Whoa.... Speaking of charged....got to grab the mailman before he knocks on the door, thereby alerting my poor beleaguered guy to another tank delivery! And condemning me to another round of " But babe! Just where do you think you're gonna put THAT one? Seriously?!"

Gotta run!
 
#15 ·
You sound very much like me! I am up and running hither and yon, to the amusement of my guy and my son is usually my willing helper. I have treated outbreaks of parasites and dropsy, learning about all sorts of things the hard way. LOL but the way I see it, I haven't lost any fish and I will remember the things I've learned. Well....except for remembering to balance my MTS habit with that of my bank account.

I can and do watch my fish for hours on end, so very relaxing unless I'm on fry patrol. This has definitely provided me a chance to focus more on fish and less on work related stress. As for tank mates, I'm wondering about the theory I read somewhere yesterday, I cannot remember where, that mollies are less likely to eat their fry. Hmm....guess I'll find out shortly!

As a hobby, I couldn't have chosen better, as it has drawn my son in, away from video games ( bleh ) and provides both us an outlet, as we both suffer from mexican jumping bean disorder ( ADHD ) ;) So all in all, I only wish I had done this sooner!

Still, I just wish I could convince these females to drop and get on with raising the fry and encountering, I'm quite sure, a whole new challenge, such as- where to put them, who to cull and who to breed. LOL I love it!
 
#16 ·
Welcome to Tropical Fish Keeping forum. As you've already found out, there are lots of helpful members here.:-D

Byron.
 
#19 ·
Hey thanks! LOL Yes, a willing partner and often an accomplice! My son often whispers to me, "Mom, we just really NEED t and I won't tell if YOU won't!"

My son will look with me at different strains of guppies on AquaBid and other places, to get ideas ( We currently have a powerful lust that's hard to deny for these full platinum guppies, they are SO gorgeous and I MUST have, I mean, WE must have them, and the other 20 gal long, and the...where was I? ) as well as to best plot and plan on the DIY stuff, to hopefully save money.

I've come to the conclusion that being a nurse doesn't adequately support my, I mean OUR habit!
Yes indeedy, I couldn't have picked a better mother-son bonding hobby if I had tried, and to me, that's worth everything. Now, about these full platinum guppies....
 
#20 ·
Wow, we are a lot alike - I even share your diagnoses - ADHD and MTS both. They aren't a good mix, because the impulsivity of ADHD makes it even harder to control the MTS.:p

Fry patrol - ain't it fun? I separated another guppy mom yesterday, and now I have another 18 guppy fry, in my 3g quarantine tank, in addition to about 100 in my 20g long and another 30+ split between two other tanks. (I moved 14 of the oldest guppies (6 weeks old Monday) to my 10g a few days ago, since it was only housing 2 adult guppies and one very small but adult male platy. I moved another 2 dozen or so to my 14g with my 7 neon tetras yesterday.)

Then I went out and bought a 66 quart (16.5g) Sterlite bin for 6.99 at my local grocery store as a second grow out tank. I have it full of water, as well as filter media and gunk from the tanks I changed recently - 2 Saturday, 3 Sunday, 1 to go - to start the cycle. If I can manage to stop myself from raising more fry until these are old enough to sell, then I can breed the guppies I bought specifically for that purpose without needing more tanks. Maybe the bin could even hope to be used as a bin for something other than fish someday. Maybe. ;-)
 
#21 ·
Ah yes indeedy, aint ADHD just ducky? LOL ugh...I drive my guy to distraction, he's a "Norm" though my son I and understand each other exceedlingly well ( poor kid ) I was searching for something my son and I could do together, a mother-son bonding activity, I just never thought of the added bonus of driving my guy insane was included.

It's funny ( you gotta be there probably ) to make this vein he has dead spang in the middle of his forehead stand out and visibly throb. My son and I laugh ourselves into muscle cramps ( we AREN'T mean, just paybacks is all ) so when my son stage whispers " Should we tell him about the albino catfish?" it's more rewarding than say, a kick in the maximus. My son and I have bonded beautifully.

"We want fry! Want 'em now! Jeez ladies, how long ya gonna hang on to 'em? Give 'em up! " was this morning's chant by my kiddo upon seeing no results. So, still patrolling for fry out here. As for SteriLite bins, LOL that's seriously was my very next project! We have much in common! You made my day!
 
#24 ·
Ah yes indeedy, aint ADHD just ducky? LOL ugh...I drive my guy to distraction, he's a "Norm" though my son I and understand each other exceedlingly well ( poor kid ) I was searching for something my son and I could do together, a mother-son bonding activity, I just never thought of the added bonus of driving my guy insane was included.

It's funny ( you gotta be there probably ) to make this vein he has dead spang in the middle of his forehead stand out and visibly throb. My son and I laugh ourselves into muscle cramps ( we AREN'T mean, just paybacks is all ) so when my son stage whispers " Should we tell him about the albino catfish?" it's more rewarding than say, a kick in the maximus. My son and I have bonded beautifully.

"We want fry! Want 'em now! Jeez ladies, how long ya gonna hang on to 'em? Give 'em up! " was this morning's chant by my kiddo upon seeing no results. So, still patrolling for fry out here. As for SteriLite bins, LOL that's seriously was my very next project! We have much in common! You made my day!
Be careful about using your kid to set up your man. It could seriously backfire!

By the way, I have another pregnant guppy and a pregnant swordtail. If my sterlite bin was ready, I think I'd put the swordtail in it and see what happens. Unfortunately, I can't. Not only is it not cycled, it isn't even heated yet. While changing the water on my fry tank Saturday evening, I dropped and broke my filter. Major bummer. Actually, I might be able to blame it on my cat - I had the filter case sitting on the edge of the sink, and the cat was playing with the cord, and it fell. Anyway, a little tiny piece of plastic broke off the edge of the motor casing, where it screws in to the rest of the filter, and now it won't hold water at all. So last night I ordered 2 filters - one to replace that one, and one for the sterlite bin, and a heater for the bin. And I don't have a kid to help cover up with my partner. Just kidding. Anyway, if Cremesicle, my orange and white swordtail, hasn't dropped yet when I get the filter and heater, I may put her in there - even though I bought it for extra room for the fry I'm already raising. I still have 2 platy drops and a guppy drop - around a hundred fry between 4 and 6 weeks old - in 20g.

As for the DIY projects - I have several 8x10 pieces of glass, a couple of strips of plexiglass, and 2 or 3 pieces of plastic canvas. Together they make up the future cover for my 20g long, and a temporary cover for the sterlite bin. So far, I haven't gotten farther than putting two pieces of plastic canvas, cut to size, together with a wall connector thingy and put it on top of the 20g to keep the fishies in and the kitty out. I have completed 2 tank dividers with moss, and a moss carpet, as well as tying moss onto several rocks and pieces of driftwood... Well, anyway, I'm supposed to be e-mailing a bunch of stuff to an attorney tonight, and it's almost 3 am. Guess I should get to work. ;-)

By the way again, I took a bunch of new pictures of all my tanks tonight. If I have time, I'll upload them later.
 
#25 ·
No, No, LOL What my son and I do is tease him. It's all in fun, he pretends as though he's ( my guy ) not into this hobby, but I caught him red handed this morning, on fry patrol for me.' I just don't want them eaten," he muttered amidst my snorted laughs. He's such a softie.

He may not necessarily like my MTS but he's just happy that we've found a way to reach my son. It's been a tough school year. The kid's scarily brilliant but lacking in the social skills. Makes it particularly painful for me, as I was and still am, the same way. I chose to simply find what works for us. ;)

Yeah, upload those pics when ya got time, would love to see 'em!
 
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