Hello Dr. Novak, Have been watching your videos, for a few years now, and really enjoy the presentations. Your experiences with guppies are similar to mine. This is my 5th year in keeping guppies and would like to respectfully share some of my experiences with you. We are on well water and the TDS, out of the ground averages about 150 ppm. Other ground water parameters: 4 dGH 3 dKH 7.0 pH
5 ppm N03 I do buffer the water with a bit of baking soda and WonderShell. Keeping the parameters around 6dKH and 12 dGH, 7.3 pH in the aquariums. My guppies substantially did better with a TDS over 400 ppm. Actually had guppies thrive from a TDS 400-3000 ppm in the 'guppy tanks'. For me, anything below that, no so good. Aquariums are planted and well stocked with various community fish (mostly livebearers, platies, swordtails) Also have Corydoras and other bottom dwellers. Primarily feed Xtreme products (1 or 2 moderate feeding per day) and plants are fertilized very lightly, daily (potassium and Iron). Occasionally, some extra minerals. Never like to personally add nitrate or phosphate. As a side note: Strangely enough, the guppies didn't do well for me after feeding blood or tubifex worms. Seems like a good quality flake or tiny pellet worked much better. Small water changes are performed as needed (approximately every 4-6 months) The fish have been doing well and water is tested weekly. Thanks for reading and all the best to you Dr. Novak
I have a dirt-planted tank & have really good luck with guppies (oak leaves to treat hard water). I did have to fight a month-long nitrate/ite spike which I found out that the cories dug down into the substrate level. Capping it with sand evened things out & I haven't had a problem since. I feed 2x/day for the babies + cories, but I've also got some shrimp & an algae eater in there to help manage the extra, otherwise they get fed once every 2 days if there's only adults. I have a mix of guppies & regularly cull the older once so they don't inbreed badly. My black moscows, the redtail, platinum, dumbos & a couple wild ones are the hardiest & most vigorous, but I haven't lost a single one over 5 months, apart from culling.
The key with guppies is breeding them yourself in your own water. Keeping them alive is easy if you start by keeping the original pair/trio/colony in an set-up similar to the one they came from (in biome, pH, and temperature). My suggestion for anybody interested in starting a healthy colony of guppies: Either buy babies or start with a bare bottom sponge filter with 82F heater. Do daily water changes to siphon the bottom. Add a little salt. If they come from overseas they're used to pretty soft water so don't go TOO hard.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums yes sir for my red dragons, I kept them in bare bottom tote with sponge filter and a plant mat to save babies. I added 50% RODI and 50% my hard tap water. I also added rock salt. Then when babies were born I raised them in my tap without salt. Then the following generation I began adding substrate and plants. And now they can survive pretty bad conditions that many other fish wouldn’t/dont.
Hi, love your videos, very informative. In my country we couldn’t get kitty litter that are bake, only can I use clay leca ball as a substitute. thank you
Hello from my fishroom channel in Chicago, where I'm a subscriber to yours. That is the perfect tank for guppies. I can't fathom why you haven't had luck with these fish. In general, guppies like a higher PH but otherwise they are pretty darn hardy.
Here in Florida we have high pH and very hard water compared to Chicago. But for some reason even when I lived in Chicago, the fish never seem to live very long. The Guppies I have now are doing just fine. Will see what their longevity is.
Dr Novak, my experience is the same as yours. In the old days they would never die. I purchased Endlers guppies from Petsmart and had them in a 10 gallon (no plenum) and some would just drop dead for no reason at all and others would live without a problem. I feel that the strain has been so overbred that they are inherently weak.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums We also have liquid rock that barely passes as water where I'm at... I have good luck with tossing in a few oak leaves to bring it down & test it every month or so as the leaves break down to see if I need to add more. (Also seiryu stone makes water hard as well - for anyone else wondering why their water turned hard on them suddenly.)
I do think it has to do with getting the guppies from your neighbor whom has basically the same water parameters as you. Plus the fish are of a better quality and not being over breed. I use to have the same issue as you when I bought them from big chains pet stores. Then when I was attending aqua expo, Diana Walstad was there selling her 3rd generation rainbow guppies. I bought me a trio and now I have guppies galore. Although not the same water quality they are high quality fish. Love your tank!
⚠️I've got a question: I have high ph and want to grow plants with a plenum, can I add add peat to a plenum to lower the ph? I have added wood but it doesn't drop the pH enough only dropped it to 8.0 from being 8.2. What can I do and still use my well water. Expense is an issue.
If you make a Plenum and wish to grow plants after you do it and if you use kitty litter, double check your pH to see if it has gone down or up. You may realize you do not need any Peat.
My thoughts. Livebearers need extra GH minerals. Plus a quality food to get minerals. Tetra has among the highest starch % in the hobby cause excess energy which leads to overbreeding. A breeder always feed more and extra engery to get them to spawn. Finding a quality supplier and using extra minerals. Of course keep a solid KH to keep a stable pH, but also GH will help stabilize the pH cause of that plant load you have. Ive always wondered if your filtration method provides that mineralization or just denitraification.
Dr. Novak. Have you tested ORP of the tap water? I know you have hard water, but maybe the minerals are depleted before they are added to the tank. Adding extra minerals even a little at a time provides that more constant electrical charge without having to wait for a water change. We did testing with these shorter life fish like 2 year average and added mineral improved longevity along with with other redox balancing technique. Also another thought... we purchases a handful of cheaper ORP meters and 1/2 of them were damaged in some way and all gave different results. We thought we could see trends though. Talking with higher end meter manufacturer claim ORP is hard to measure anyways and a cheaper meter doesnt help. All this to say even with harder water maybe a little electrolyte suppliment will help boost immunity.
I've had that aquarium since 1987 and it is a reproduction aquarium. I bought in Chicago from a Fish store called Grand Aquariums. If you see any of these aquariums for sale, along with a seahorse stand in brass,, they are all reproductions.
Maybe those guppies that die. Are from inbreeding lines. Those fancy ones that die are more likely to be an inbreed strain, they are delicate maybe because they have a weak genes, which cause fin rot, drowsy and so on. If the water condition are not met from their former tanks, then they likely to die in week or month.
Hi Dr Novak, I've been having similar issues with guppies. They breed & multiply initially and then they start dying out. On a separate note, I had a question about the bcb bags/baskets. In your experience, which one works better and more efficiently in breaking down the ammonia, nitrites & nitrates in a sump having one or two large bcb baskets/bags or several smaller or medium sized bags?
I add 300ppms of calcium-magnesium-potassium to my tap water plus prime this brings my gh over 400ppms i put this water in a 55 gallon brute container and let sit for one day with power head, my 75 gallon guppy tank i use 3 inches sand and lots of plants. water temp 75 degrees i change 50 percent of water weekly and feed hans discus flakes 3 times per day with 3 cory cats. the key for me is the high gh my ph out of tap is 7.0 which i do not add chemicals only prime for the chloramines.
I know, that the limestone regulates the right ph and gh in guppy tank. You mentioned about magnesium, so maybe small amaunt of epsom salt would be also beneficial ?
I think I'm the only hobbyist who refuses to buy guppies hahaha. I've just never found them interesting. But super happy your latest batch is doing great. BTW, did you ever get the 125 you talked about a few videos back? You were planning to get two of the Brooklyn 40B stands to support the tank. I am really hoping that works because I do NOT like most 125 stands and can't pay prices for others. The two 40B stands has me very interested 😀
Hello Dr. Novak,
Have been watching your videos, for a few years now, and really enjoy the presentations.
Your experiences with guppies are similar to mine.
This is my 5th year in keeping guppies and would like to respectfully share some of my experiences with you.
We are on well water and the TDS, out of the ground averages about 150 ppm.
Other ground water parameters:
4 dGH
3 dKH
7.0 pH
5 ppm N03
I do buffer the water with a bit of baking soda and WonderShell. Keeping the parameters around 6dKH and 12 dGH, 7.3 pH in the aquariums.
My guppies substantially did better with a TDS over 400 ppm.
Actually had guppies thrive from a TDS 400-3000 ppm in the 'guppy tanks'. For me, anything below that, no so good.
Aquariums are planted and well stocked with various community fish (mostly livebearers, platies, swordtails) Also have Corydoras and other bottom dwellers.
Primarily feed Xtreme products (1 or 2 moderate feeding per day) and plants are fertilized very lightly, daily (potassium and Iron). Occasionally, some extra minerals. Never like to personally add nitrate or phosphate.
As a side note: Strangely enough, the guppies didn't do well for me after feeding blood or tubifex worms. Seems like a good quality flake or tiny pellet worked much better.
Small water changes are performed as needed (approximately every 4-6 months)
The fish have been doing well and water is tested weekly.
Thanks for reading and all the best to you Dr. Novak
Right now I'm basically feeding them tiny pellets that are a lot better than the tetra food. Thanks for all the information
Wonder Shell for the win!
I have a dirt-planted tank & have really good luck with guppies (oak leaves to treat hard water). I did have to fight a month-long nitrate/ite spike which I found out that the cories dug down into the substrate level. Capping it with sand evened things out & I haven't had a problem since. I feed 2x/day for the babies + cories, but I've also got some shrimp & an algae eater in there to help manage the extra, otherwise they get fed once every 2 days if there's only adults.
I have a mix of guppies & regularly cull the older once so they don't inbreed badly. My black moscows, the redtail, platinum, dumbos & a couple wild ones are the hardiest & most vigorous, but I haven't lost a single one over 5 months, apart from culling.
The key with guppies is breeding them yourself in your own water. Keeping them alive is easy if you start by keeping the original pair/trio/colony in an set-up similar to the one they came from (in biome, pH, and temperature).
My suggestion for anybody interested in starting a healthy colony of guppies: Either buy babies or start with a bare bottom sponge filter with 82F heater. Do daily water changes to siphon the bottom. Add a little salt. If they come from overseas they're used to pretty soft water so don't go TOO hard.
I think you're right because every time I introduce new guppies, they always seem to die.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums yes sir for my red dragons, I kept them in bare bottom tote with sponge filter and a plant mat to save babies.
I added 50% RODI and 50% my hard tap water. I also added rock salt.
Then when babies were born I raised them in my tap without salt.
Then the following generation I began adding substrate and plants.
And now they can survive pretty bad conditions that many other fish wouldn’t/dont.
Hi, love your videos, very informative. In my country we couldn’t get kitty litter that are bake, only can I use clay leca ball as a substitute. thank you
If the balls are small enough between, I would say 1-4 mm in size.
Hello from my fishroom channel in Chicago, where I'm a subscriber to yours. That is the perfect tank for guppies. I can't fathom why you haven't had luck with these fish. In general, guppies like a higher PH but otherwise they are pretty darn hardy.
Here in Florida we have high pH and very hard water compared to Chicago. But for some reason even when I lived in Chicago, the fish never seem to live very long. The Guppies I have now are doing just fine. Will see what their longevity is.
My experience; prone to dying but after some generations rock solid, that support your theory.
Dr Novak, where do you get your kitty litter these days? The Walmart ones disintegrates and turns to mush after a while.
I buy my kitty litter at Winn Dixie here in Florida.
How is the water spigot tank doing?
I took that aquarium down and replaced it with a 6 gallon aquarium. However, it did great when it was up.
Dr Novak, my experience is the same as yours. In the old days they would never die. I purchased Endlers guppies from Petsmart and had them in a 10 gallon (no plenum) and some would just drop dead for no reason at all and others would live without a problem. I feel that the strain has been so overbred that they are inherently weak.
Adding like 5$ worth of crushed coral, does good things for guppys, for me.
We do have extremely hard water here in Florida.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums We also have liquid rock that barely passes as water where I'm at... I have good luck with tossing in a few oak leaves to bring it down & test it every month or so as the leaves break down to see if I need to add more.
(Also seiryu stone makes water hard as well - for anyone else wondering why their water turned hard on them suddenly.)
I do think it has to do with getting the guppies from your neighbor whom has basically the same water parameters as you. Plus the fish are of a better quality and not being over breed. I use to have the same issue as you when I bought them from big chains pet stores. Then when I was attending aqua expo, Diana Walstad was there selling her 3rd generation rainbow guppies. I bought me a trio and now I have guppies galore. Although not the same water quality they are high quality fish. Love your tank!
I think these guppies are a better quality and we're not under any stress whatsoever.
⚠️I've got a question: I have high ph and want to grow plants with a plenum, can I add add peat to a plenum to lower the ph? I have added wood but it doesn't drop the pH enough only dropped it to 8.0 from being 8.2. What can I do and still use my well water. Expense is an issue.
If you make a Plenum and wish to grow plants after you do it and if you use kitty litter, double check your pH to see if it has gone down or up. You may realize you do not need any Peat.
My thoughts. Livebearers need extra GH minerals. Plus a quality food to get minerals. Tetra has among the highest starch % in the hobby cause excess energy which leads to overbreeding. A breeder always feed more and extra engery to get them to spawn. Finding a quality supplier and using extra minerals. Of course keep a solid KH to keep a stable pH, but also GH will help stabilize the pH cause of that plant load you have. Ive always wondered if your filtration method provides that mineralization or just denitraification.
Dr. Novak. Have you tested ORP of the tap water? I know you have hard water, but maybe the minerals are depleted before they are added to the tank. Adding extra minerals even a little at a time provides that more constant electrical charge without having to wait for a water change. We did testing with these shorter life fish like 2 year average and added mineral improved longevity along with with other redox balancing technique. Also another thought... we purchases a handful of cheaper ORP meters and 1/2 of them were damaged in some way and all gave different results. We thought we could see trends though. Talking with higher end meter manufacturer claim ORP is hard to measure anyways and a cheaper meter doesnt help.
All this to say even with harder water maybe a little electrolyte suppliment will help boost immunity.
What's the origin of that nifty vintage looking aquarium? Actual antique or modern reproduction?
I've had that aquarium since 1987 and it is a reproduction aquarium. I bought in Chicago from a Fish store called Grand Aquariums. If you see any of these aquariums for sale, along with a seahorse stand in brass,, they are all reproductions.
Maybe those guppies that die. Are from inbreeding lines. Those fancy ones that die are more likely to be an inbreed strain, they are delicate maybe because they have a weak genes, which cause fin rot, drowsy and so on. If the water condition are not met from their former tanks, then they likely to die in week or month.
Hi Dr Novak,
I've been having similar issues with guppies. They breed & multiply initially and then they start dying out.
On a separate note, I had a question about the bcb bags/baskets. In your experience, which one works better and more efficiently in breaking down the ammonia, nitrites & nitrates in a sump having one or two large bcb baskets/bags or several smaller or medium sized bags?
I add 300ppms of calcium-magnesium-potassium to my tap water plus prime this brings my gh over 400ppms i put this water in a 55 gallon brute container and let sit for one day with power head, my 75 gallon guppy tank i use 3 inches sand and lots of plants. water temp 75 degrees i change 50 percent of water weekly and feed hans discus flakes 3 times per day with 3 cory cats. the key for me is the high gh my ph out of tap is 7.0 which i do not add chemicals only prime for the chloramines.
Thanks for sharing
I know, that the limestone regulates the right ph and gh in guppy tank. You mentioned about magnesium, so maybe small amaunt of epsom salt would be also beneficial ?
I think I'm the only hobbyist who refuses to buy guppies hahaha. I've just never found them interesting. But super happy your latest batch is doing great.
BTW, did you ever get the 125 you talked about a few videos back? You were planning to get two of the Brooklyn 40B stands to support the tank. I am really hoping that works because I do NOT like most 125 stands and can't pay prices for others. The two 40B stands has me very interested 😀
I've given up on guppies until now they're doing great. They remind me of when I was a child they're there doing so well.