Guppies...

[Sweet Angel]

Hi all,

Question for guppies keeper :

1. Do you ever experience guppies jump out from tank?
I kept guppies in office nano tank for about 7 months now.



Recently I found female guppies missing. This morning I found one female guppy died on the floor so I assume they jumped out from tank.

Is this possible...? As far as I know this fishes is very peaceful fish & they rarely get stressed.
They were okay too in the nano tank, they lived happily... Anyone knows what caused this...?
I do water change almost everyday about half of tank, because I don't put any filter.
And for your information, this case never happened before (they've been in that nano tank for about 7 months).

2. Is it okay if I mate the male guppy with it's own F1 (it's own daughter ) ?
Will they have "bad juveniles" such small tail, not as big & wide as their father...?

[Rupert]

I also use to have some “jumpers” mainly females and a couple of times I saw them quick enough to put them back in the water. Guppies can get excited when people [food] are around and they will go to the water surface aggressively waiting for the food.

I didn’t like the fact that when I went close to the tank that it disturbed their normal behavior so I tried & successfully did changed their behavior.

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=13391

[Justikanz]

Frankly...

I think a guppy are too big for this tank. Let alone guppies...

Back to your queries:

1) Yes, guppies do jump. They are peaceful fish but as prone to stress as any other fish. They do not really live stress free lives eh... In a small tank, and with an over-zealous male, or worse still, males), guppies will fight... It is just a matter of time, stress gets the better of them and some decide to jump to try to find a better place to live in...

2) Yes and no. The fish you bought, especially if they are of a certain colour strain, had been created by mating the fathers with their daughters to fix the strains. However, excessive inbreeding will cause problems later... So, if you have a bigger tank and want to breed them and keep the strain pure, obtain new females or males every once in a while.

Oh, and I don't think the term 'F1' can be used this way... If I don't remember wrongly, it is used to describe the first generation of fries born in captivity to wild parent fish.

[Sweet Angel]

I also use to have some “jumpers” mainly females and a couple of times I saw them quick enough to put them back in the water. Guppies can get excited when people [food] are around and they will go to the water surface aggressively waiting for the food.

I didn’t like the fact that when I went close to the tank that it disturbed their normal behavior so I tried & successfully did changed their behavior.

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=13391

Hmm... strangely the jumpers do their jump when I wasn't in office, because I've lost two female guppies now, the first one I didn't find its body, the second one I found it's body on the floor this morning.
They jump at night...? Or somebody/something scared them when I'm not in office...?


Justikanz,
I kept one male guppy with 4 female guppies in that nano tank (the photo taken before the females get bigger, so I hadn't mate them).
Now I only have one male & 2 females...
If there's female want to deliver juveniles, I moved the female to another tank (bigger & more dense plant), so the chances for the juvenile to survive is bigger (difficult to get eaten by its mother).

In getting pure strain, do you mean we can't breed from the same male & female over and over again...?

Thanks for the F1 correction...

[Justikanz]

Oh, by the way, if anyone at night were to switch on/off the lights suddenly or something was kocking on the tank, the fish will be spooked to jump. Afterall, the open top is a great place to jump from.

[chris]

In getting pure strain, do you mean we can't breed from the same male & female over and over again...?

Thanks for the F1 correction...

You can do so too, the only constraint is their life span.

If you do not have a pure strain, work both ways, "father-daughters" and "mother-sons", select guppies that have the appearance which you are seeking.
Once you notice how certain traits are inherited, breed your guppies in the same manner, till you achieve a consistency in the offspring.

on the other hand, for a pure strain, keep and select the offspring from each combination (line) separately and inter-breed guppies from each line every year.

I had noticed that you have an albino strain. It will take a little more space and work to maintain generations.

Female guppies are better jumpers due to their shorter caudals!

[Kingfisher]

They do jump occassionally in my case. So do my swordtails. So now I cover the top with mesh.

[Sweet Angel]

They do jump occassionally in my case. So do my swordtails. So now I cover the top with mesh.

Ya I know mesh cover will make us safe from jumper, but it will disturb the look of the tank
So I guess we better pick non jumper fishes to keep in a small beautiful tank...

[jhseah]

I think most fishes will tends to be jumpy especially when the lights are being turned on.
How about adding a cover/mesh before you leave the office and remove during office hrs?
Troublesome but safe than sorry.
Just suggesting

[Sweet Angel]

jhseah : good idea! But maybe I'll try if I find another jumper, until now the remaining fishes are ok, no jumper...

Chris : sorry forgot to thank you, very useful information you've posted, many thanks...!

[magic1980]

yes, my guppies also jump.
sometimes will just find a dried body under the tank when sweeping.
quite sad.