Damn Fancy GUPPIES!!!!

[Guest]

Why oh why do they die so quickly???

I checked the booklet. Those damn things are supposed to live for 12-18 months. We just got them about a month ago.

Grrrrrr.

Now we have a sad daughter, as the pretty rainbow-tailed one keeled over today.

Hard lessons learned young, I suppose.

It is sweet to watch her little brother try to console her (he just carried some cookies and juice back to her in her room - you know, comfort food).

Household turmoil.

Looking forward to having a few drinks later for my own comfort.

 

[BlackShanglan]

Ah, sweet lad. What a nice thing to do.

Sorry about the guppy. That's a tough thing to have happen so young. I hope that they take it well.

 

[carsonshepherd]

A watery grave.... salut.

 

[moonlight elf]

Why oh why do they die so quickly???

I checked the booklet. Those damn things are supposed to live for 12-18 months. We just got them about a month ago.

Grrrrrr.

Now we have a sad daughter, as the pretty rainbow-tailed one keeled over today.

Hard lessons learned young, I suppose.

It is sweet to watch her little brother try to console her (he just carried some cookies and juice back to her in her room - you know, comfort food).

Household turmoil.

Looking forward to having a few drinks later for my own comfort.

Sorry

It was very sweet of him to comfort her, my brother used to do the same for me and I adore him for it.

 

[brightlyiburn]

Most fish acctually require a good deal more care than you would think. Most of them need a decent sized tank with a filter that's kept clean, and a heater to regulate the water temperature, because a lot of them will die if the water is too cold. Also, you must be careful not to overfeed them, and you should keep an eye out for finrot.

What? I had fish when I was younger.

 

[rgraham666]

Any fish are a pain to keep.

If you have guppies, you're lucky you didn't get the standard guppy surprise. One morning you wake up and you have two hundred tiny guppies you didn't have the night before.

And the morning after that 195 of the little ones are gone because the parents ate them.

Try explaining that to a kid.

 

[SeaCat]

Any fish are a pain to keep.

If you have guppies, you're lucky you didn't get the standard guppy surprise. One morning you wake up and you have two hundred tiny guppies you didn't have the night before.

And the morning after that 195 of the little ones are gone because the parents ate them.

Try explaining that to a kid.

RG,
I used to raise the damned things. They were a blast to watch, and after I figured it out not to hard to keep going. I had a fifty gallon tank with something like the population of Tokyo in it. The trick was, after you got a group the size you wanted, to get a Discus Fish. That would keep the population from doing a China Syndrome on you. (You would also get the worlds fattest Discus.)

Cat

 

[minsue]

 

[Guest]

Thanks, everyone -

I think she'll feel much better tomorrow. But it really made mom and dad teary-eyed to watch little brother try to make things better.

We have such a small tank we only bought three fish - didn't want to overcrowd the thing. We kept it clean and there's a good filtration system and a solid bubbler. We even bought the food they suggested.

And we only bought fancy guppies which the pet store clerk assured us are MALE. Although the two fishies that are left are most interested in each other. So they are either lonely or happily homosexual.

So - we move on. We do have a larger tank in the basement, however. I think we're going to bring that up and prepare it and buy a few more fish. I have a feeling they'll do better in the bigger tank. I guess.

I know nothing about the care of fish. I am the granddaughter of a commercial fisherman, so I know how to catch 'em, clean 'em and cook 'em. This is a learning experience for us all.

Thank you all for the kind thoughts.

 

[HornyHenry]

You're lucky

My boys and I bought 2 baby guppies to replace a dead fish.
We still had 2 Gold Barbs, full grown.
One of the guppies thought he was a piranha!
He promptly killed the other little guppy, worked hard on the barbs, killing one in about a month, then within 6 months, killed the other gold barb.
Meanest little fish I've ever seen.
I let him live alone and die of loneliness months later.

 

[Kiss Me]

You really need to give yourself a 30 minute crash course in guppy keeping, just google for guppies or head to a fish forum site like http://www.aquariacentral.com/ and have a look through the freshwater sections and search out some guppy info. It's amazing how many little things pet shops don't tell us that are fatal to the little guys. Fish definitely cope better in a larger tank since the water conditions are much more stable. If the two fish you have left have a small, penis like protuberance under their belly then they're male, if one does and the other doesn't the stork will be there in about 28 days. They will often swim around each other but you'll be able to tell mating behaviour when the male constantly swims close, flexing his little bit of equipment for a split second in the females direction. If you purchase more fish, do check on the websites what will cohabitate nicely with your guppies since petshops often will let you take anything home, regardless of whether they'll get along. Oh and make sure if you add more guppies there are more females than males or the males will chase them to death trying to constantly mate.. I had one once that kept trying to mate with a dead female while I was getting her out of the tank....... horny little bastards.