zzpw3x Posted March 5, 2004 Share Posted March 5, 2004 My 4 yr old likes guppies, and wants to put one in "her" reef tank. I know they can be acclimated to SW, but I am not sure if they are reef safe. My guess is yes, but I wanted to check with you all and get some feedback. Dale Link to comment
Tempest Posted March 5, 2004 Share Posted March 5, 2004 I didn't even know that guppies could be acclimated to SW. Are you sure you aren't thinking of mollies? Link to comment
zzpw3x Posted March 5, 2004 Author Share Posted March 5, 2004 I have personally acclimated them as high as 1.018 and they were fine for 6 months. They were meant as food for my BW puffers but puffy didn't care for them. Others have told me they are fine in full SW, which isn't too far from where I have been. Dale Link to comment
offsprg01 Posted March 5, 2004 Share Posted March 5, 2004 yes they can be aclimated to sw. they shoudl as they mature be aclimated to bw (1.015-1.018 ) becuase in their natural environment they swim down river as the mature. as far as them being reef safe, i guess so. i don't see them trying to eat any corals as they are not present in their natural habitat. note: the "pretty guppies" are inbred and thus suffer from a weaker immune system. so aclimate them very slowly over a week or so to keep their stress levels to a minium. also guppy fry would (in theory) be a good food source for a reef. hmm posiblities. ??? maybe ??? let us know how the guppy thing works out. Link to comment
BlackSumbel Posted March 5, 2004 Share Posted March 5, 2004 I have a trio of guppies in a tank up to 1.019. Soon to be up around 1.022. They acclimate fine (mine were dumped right in, because they are for food), another is in my nano-reef at 1.022, and doing just fine. They don't bother anything, and really don't seem to notice that there is such a thing as "food" in the tank. This one seems to think he's a barnacle blenny, because he lives in a barnacle hole. Weird freakin' fish, I tell you. BTW, these are show quality guppies, from show breeder stock about five years back. Link to comment
Aiptasia Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 The key is going to be gradually bringing up the specific gravity of the water with each weekly water change, until the guppies are acclimated to full strength seawater. You can best accomplish this by placing the guppies in a small quarantine tank (5-10 gallon) that's been cycled, and gradually acclimate them from freshwater, to brackish, to seawater. Guppies should be harmless denizens in a reef tank. I'd be much more worried about corals, inverts and "bully" saltwater fish making a meal out of them than of any harm the guppies might do. Link to comment
maroonclown Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 Aren't guppies and mollies scavengers? That would make them benificial additions that have very little impact on the tank. Link to comment
BlackSumbel Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 They also eat algae. Mollies being a little bit more fond of it. If you put a pair in the tank they also provide bite-sized dinner for corals and other fish. YUM! -Sumbel Link to comment
maroonclown Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 I wonder; if if it is so bad to feed FW fish to marine fish, would keeping the guppies in seawater change their nutritional value? Link to comment
BlackSumbel Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 I would think so. As well as changing their diet. Sort of gutloading them, over time. Link to comment
Von digity Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 I once converted a youngish FW scat to SW in the matter of 8hrs (4 salinity increases). It lived with me for a year till I gave it up (too aggresive). We named it skanky, skanky the scat. Anyways, I've heard if you don't feed mollies, they'll become super duper efficient algae eating machines. And they'll turn into cows and graze all day long. Link to comment
BlackSumbel Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 Ive just dumped fish strait in. Guppies can only be killed by two things. Larger fish, and kryptonite. Link to comment
1fish2fish Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 One of the things that makes guppies a poor food for SW fish is that they lack omega 3 fatty acids since their diet generally lacks them. In a marine environment they should get plenty in their diet and therefore they should have improved nutritional quality. If nothing else they will have a gutload of foods containing them. LOL I see molly and guppy breeder box refugiums in the future! Link to comment
digz Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 Originally posted by BlackSumbel Guppies can only be killed by two things. Larger fish, and kryptonite. I just fell to the floor laughing! Link to comment
treszoks Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 Damnit! I knew I should have stayed away from the crushed kryptonite sandbed! *curses lex luthor fish store* Link to comment
Blennybabe Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 I have three mollies in my ten gallon nano. I use them for breaders to fead my frogfish who is in another tank. They are great breeders and they eat algea like I eat chocolate. I like them. Right now I have 14 babies in there. I will probably feed the parents when my frog gets hungry. Then Ill raise these ones until they are big enough. They are really nutritious. I feed the foods soaked in selcon and zoe. they are the healthiest mollies I have ever seen. Sometimes, I will go to a petstore and ask them if they have any mollies with ich that I can have for free or for cheap. the saltwater kills the parasite and the mollies get healthy really quick. THey are great fish... Link to comment
digz Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 So guppies & mollies can go saltwater? wow. How high salinity? Link to comment
maroonclown Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Natural seawater (about 1.026 sg). Link to comment
Speedy Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Wooo-hooo! Very cool! I didn't know that! However, for some reason I think my Yellow-stripe maroon will make sushi of the very pretty little guppies. Link to comment
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