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Before you get your fish, you will need to set up and prepare your tank. The first decision you'll need to make is what size tank to start with. If you are going to breed guppies properly, a guppy set up usually involves a group of small tanks, as opposed to one large tank. For a trio to be set up for breeding purposes, I recommend a 5 1/2 gallon tank. Most breeders use bare tanks with no gravel for guppies. If you want to have a decorative tank with gravel and an undergravel filter, you will need to get a gravel cleaning siphon for your water changes. The tube @ the end of the siphon hose is inserted into the gravel. This stirs up the the gravel and cleans it. For bare tanks,which I recommend, you will need a foam filter, or a corner filter and an air pump to operate these filters. You will also need a thermometer and a heater for your tank. Guppies are Tropical Fish, and are best kept at a temperature of 76 to 80 degrees. The warmer the better, as they are more active and eat more at a warmer temperature. They will also gow much faster.
I don't recommend usng water from a community type or other tank to start your tank. Although this does help 'seed' a new filter, you can also introduce things that can harm you guppies. If your tank and equipment has been used before, you need to sterilize it before setting it up for guppies. You can do this with hot water and a strong salt solution. Scrub the tank thouroghly, making sure to get the corners and under the rim on top. Also sterilize heaters, thermometers, air line, and anyhing else that goes in your tank. Rinse the tank out well to get the salt out. Then or if your tank is new, you are ready fill it up. Fill your tank with tap water of the proper temprature.You will ned to remove any chlorine or chloramine (chlorine & ammonia) that your water company puts in you water. You can get drops to neutralize this. Then set up your heater, air pump and filter and get everything running. Your tank is now up and running, and ready for fish. When you set a new tank up this way, it is very important to start with just a few fish. If you stock heavily right away, you will have problems. Your filter won't be able to start working quickly enough to keep up with the bacteria. So, you can start with a trio in a five gallon tank, as I recommended earlier. If you have a larger tank and plan to have more fish in it, you should still just add 2 or 3 fish at first. Feed lightly the first day or two, and then increase. After 5 or 6 days, your filter will start to function properly. Wait at least 10 days or more before you add more fish to a larger tank, and then, only add a few at a time. A trio in a 5 /12 gallon tank is fine. Once the filter is established, you can keep 5 or 6 fish in a tank this size. About 1 fish per gallon in a tank is good for guppies to fully mature in. With small fish, you can have more while they are young. You can keep an entire drop of guppies in a 10 gallon tank for about 3 months. Then you will need to cull,and sell some to reduce the number of fish in the tank. If you overcrowd, they will be stunted and won't reach their full potential. This should help you get your tank started.
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