All about Guppy Fish - Guppy Fish Diseases & Care

Guppy Fish
It does not matter if you are planning to bring a guppy fish home, or if you simply wish to know more about this aquatic beauty, consider reading this article on the guppy fish facts and its care and get all the information you need.

Guppy Fish
The binomial nomenclature of the guppy fish is Poecilia reticulata and its popularity as freshwater aquarium fish is well known across the world. This fish is considered as one of the ideal ones to start off with for beginners and is especially, recommended for children. You may come across several variations of the guppy fish which can be bred and kept in captivity, with ease. There are although, no special requirements of this fish, proper care and attention ensure better health and longevity. The guppy fish is known to be prone to many diseases and this is where you have to watch out for taking its proper care.

How to Take Care of a Guppy Fish

The first aspect in guppies care is about deciding on a proper shelter. These fish are social fish and prefer living in groups, rather than being solitary. You can put more than 10 - 15 guppies in a fish tank that can hold about 40 liters of water. The temperature preferred by the fish ranges from 23 - 24 °C to 19.0 - 29.0 °C. The water, if vegetated, then there is nothing like it. Get a submerged aquatic plant such as a Vallisneria Spiralis. This plant grows all the way from the bottom and reaches up to the surface, thus, providing your fish with a good place to hide, play, etc. These fish tend to be annoying to other species of fish when kept together in the same tank. Some fish may bite the guppies and some may take them as their meal. So, be careful about the breed of fish you are going to keep along with your guppies. Read more on types of freshwater fish.

Guppy fish food consists of a wide variety of choices. These include bloodworms, micro worms, fruit flies, brine shrimp, earthworms, mosquito larvae, flakes, lettuce and freeze dried foods. Feed your guppy three times a day and in small amounts. They have small stomachs and are not capable of consuming large amounts of food at one feeding. Take care not to overfeed your guppy fish. After having provided them with food, wait for a few minutes and observe if all the food has been consumed. If not, then you are probably giving too much food than required. A flake food diet suits well for these fish, however, more nourishing, is a live-food diet. So maintain a balanced diet, by supplementing flake food with live food, from time to time.

You need not arrange for an extra setup for breeding your guppy fish. All you have to do is to put the males and females together and let Nature run its course. To attract a female, a male often displays a courtship dance by spreading its fins and curving its body. You can identify a pregnant guppy fish by observing its physical characteristics. A pregnant guppy will be plump and often bear a black spot on its belly. One important point to take a note of, is that adult guppy fish are known to eat their own young ones. In order to prevent this, you can move the fries to another aquarium. However, always use water from the old aquarium. This is due to the fact that a change in the water parameter may cause a threat to the survival of the fries.

Perhaps the most vital aspect to be kept in mind is about the guppy fish diseases. Like all other fishes, even this species is prone to suffer from various kinds of ailments. To prevent the occurrence of a situation where your fish may fall ill, maintain the quality of the aquarium water. The water must be free of ammonia and must have a pH of 7. The hardness and carbonate hardness of the water has to be maintained and so should be the temperature. Keeping all such points in mind will avoid almost all kinds of diseases.

Know more on:

* Guppy Fish Diseases
* Guppy Fish Care

Before I conclude, guppy fish are available in colors of red, green and blue and the variations which you can chose your favorite from, include:

* Bottom and Double swordtail guppy fish
* Fancy guppy fish
* Fantail guppy fish
* Flagtail guppy fish
* Glass guppy fish
* Grass guppy fish
* King Cobra guppy fish
* Lacetail guppy fish
* Long fin guppy fish
* Lyretail guppy fish
* Mosaic guppy fish
* Peacock guppy fish
* Red tail guppy fish
* Rounded guppy fish
* Snakeskin guppy fish
* Triangle tail guppy fish
* Tuxedo guppy fish
* Veiltail guppy fish

Once you have a look at all these different variations of guppy fish, you would have the sheer feeling of bringing each one of them home.

By Rajib Singha
Published: 5/19/2010

source taken from: http://www.buzzle.com/

Guppy Fish Diseases

There are various guppy fish diseases like fin or tail rot, fungus in the mouth, disorders in the swim bladder etc, that can affect guppies. This article aims to give you a detailed information about guppy fish diseases.

Guppy Fish Diseases

One of the most popular aquarium fish, the guppies are scientifically named as Poecilia Libestes Reticulata. The guppy owe their origin to parts of Trinidad and Guyana, however, now they are found in many countries. Guppies are a very peace-loving fish and they like to live in their own communities as other species hurt them with their long fins. Guppies are found in various colors and shades. Lack of proper fish care can lead to various guppy fish diseases. Some common guppy fish diseases have been discussed below.

Tail or Fin Rot

Fin rot or tail rot is a diseased condition among the guppy fish that is primarily due to bacterial infection. Often, the aggressive behavior of few guppy fish in the aquarium leads to damage and hurt in the fins and tails, that indirectly favors the growth of fungus. Bacterial infection is marked by disintegration and shredding of the fins, that is usually accompanied by light colored red marks/spots at the ends of the tail and on the fins. Poor quality water in the fish tank is a common reason of tail or fin rot. Treatment of tail rot or fin rot is administered by removing the guppy fish from the aquarium tank and putting in some other water tank with better water quality. Antibiotics can also be given to treat fish rot.

Haemorrhagic Septicaemia

One of the dangerous guppy fish diseases, haemorrhagic septicaemia occurs due to a particular class of bacteria that grow in the blood. This guppy disease manifests itself as deep sores, ulcers and lesions on the body of the fish especially the tails and fins. This condition may be due to the poor fish care like rough handling while transporting and overcrowded aquarium. If a guppy fish is affected by this disease, then it is necessary to isolate it from the rest, so that the bacteria is not able to infect other fish in the aquarium tank of fish tank.

Sores and Wounds

Sores and wounds generally occur due to aggressive behavior of the fish in the aquarium. The fish may be injured due to improper handling and care during netting and shipping. It is necessary that extreme care is taken during shipping of the live fish. Fish hobbyists are generally aware of the careful methods that are required in transporting fish from one part of the country to the other. For instance, the guppy fish must be placed in the plastic bags that are 1.5 to 2 millimeter in size and the plastic bag must be labeled with an adhesive tag.

Mouth Fungus

Fungus problems are common guppy fish diseases. Basically, weak guppy fish or the injured ones are more susceptible to fungal diseases wherein one can see whitish patches on the body of the fin. Any damage of the skin/gills or keeping the guppy fish in a fish tank that is very cold can lead to development of fungus on the fish body. Besides the body, guppy fish can show fungus symptoms on the edges of mouth. A white layer near the edges of mouth are the indication of fungus infection. A bacterial disease, though not exactly like fungal diseases also effects the guppy fish.

Swim Bladder Problems
A quite rarely observed problem in guppy fish is the disorders related to swim bladders. For example, a guppy fish may show unusual fish behavior by swimming very faster and in a particular angle in the aquarium. Though the cause of this guppy disease is not known it is believed that crowded fish tanks make them feel uncomfortable and so that behavior. Another swim bladder infection that is more dangerous than the former one is a severe viral infection of the swim bladder. The guppy fish stops eating or eats very less than the normal and may develop cysts at the bottom of the swim/air bladders.

These are some of the guppy fish diseases that can be harmful to the health of your guppy fish. It is absolutely essential that proper methods of guppy fish care are adopted so that you can easily treat the fish for the various diseases.

By Kundan Pandey

source taken from: http://www.buzzle.com/