# would like "proper" instruction for a guppy bowl



## namor (Jun 9, 2011)

long story short I cannot move with my 55g, im going to have to put all my cherry shrimps in my 10g and id like to save 3 male guppys for my lil 10g; id like to keep descendants of my original guppys forever, ideally. 

my 10g is gunna b 4 the cherries really, I do <3 them. so if I was going to keep lets say a 1g bowl, how many females could I keep in there without having to do waterchanges on it more than once, ugh mayb twice a week, how much should I feed etc etc? I know how we all feel about keeping fish in a bowl, I totally agree, goldfish are awesome, but I haven't been able to find good advice on the matter. all I could find is webpages about why you shouldnt keep fish in bowls. 
id rather not do trial and error, I do have plenty of females and im sure ill get the hang of it, perhaps after a couple die. any advice would be helpful, thanks!


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## jamnigh (Apr 24, 2013)

Guppies really wouldnt be able to be kept in a bowl. They need a heater and a filter. If you were to do that, you would be doing a wc about once a day.


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## namor (Jun 9, 2011)

guppies "need" a heater your right, so do bettas. Ive had mine a few years now. they've bred at room temp b4.

ive outcrossed my guppies with "feeder" guppies and a coule of different fancy varieties. they result is a more robust, energetic, hardy, and imho more enjoyable fish. theyre a lil less flashy but more beautiful that most typical stock variety tetras and the like imho


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## jamnigh (Apr 24, 2013)

You are correct, guppies will actually breed in just about anything, its a survival tactic for them. But that doesn't mean it is good for them. I would strongly suggest getting even just a little 3 gallon tank for them. In a 1 gallon bowl you will be doing water changes very often to just keep the levels down to where they wont die.


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## namor (Jun 9, 2011)

keeping waste levels down just enough so a fish is able to survive, that is the key to successful fishbowl keeping. its wrong I agree. I have no experience in keeping bowls

so hypothetically speaking two females in a 1g, how often should I feed and do water changes? Im going to try it anyway if I cant find any solid advice, and through trial and error ill probably figure it out,

people kept guppies in bowls back in the day. some people kept them in jars.

as I mentioned I have no experience keeping bowls. I am aware of the hardy nature of the guppy, and I cant imagine with the right touch and balance I cant keep guppies alive for a year, maybe a lil less, mayb a lil more, in a bowl. and yet having no experience I have yet to achieve this.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

A liquid test kit will take the wondering about waterchanges out of the picture.Simply test daily to know when to change.And honestly changing 1/2g a day is no harder than feeding.I would only feed every 2 or 3 days.My salts average being fed every 3 days fine,they even continue to grow and are active.Add a live plant (anacharis) to help water quality and the fish can eat it!


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## namor (Jun 9, 2011)

thank you coral bandit! as far as stocking, would two females for a gallon bowl be ok, or am i better off stocking with juveniles (how many u think is okish?), or 1 very pregnant female?

i have loads of anacharis, ill research a little and figure out a viable means of getting the bowl light without effecting temperature too much. i also have extra anubias java fern java moss marimo balls and moneywort, you think one of those would be better than or as viable as anacharis?


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

Personally, I say skip the bowl. Too small and guppies are too active. You're better off getting a larger tank that will be less work to maintain, has more options when it comes to filters, heaters, decorations and plants.


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## namor (Jun 9, 2011)

long story short not possible right now. my 55g will be inert and in storage soon  and one day ill be able to live somewhere where ill have it all fired up, im giving most of my guppies up for food at a pet store i used to work at, keeping a couple of males with my rcs in my 10g and my desire is to keep a bowl to keep females going. keeping 1 small tank is the limit right now


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

What ever plant grows the fastest(to me anacharis) and the fish will nibble on.Anacharis doesn't need much light either,and is a great oxygenator.The fats growth will help with nutrient uptake.I would only stock 2 or 3 juvis if possible.


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## namor (Jun 9, 2011)

perfect coral bandit thank you soooo much

perhaps ill do a walstaad bowl at some point, but for now ill keep it simple. 

its amazing how hard it is to find good info on how to do certain things old school sumtimes. a guppy bowl is old school. true bred fancy guppies are too inbred and weak for this type of setup imho. i find making your guppies genetically diverse "mutt" guppies makes them a lot more awesome, and hardy, and resilient.

is bowl keeping less ethical? perhaps it is less ethical, and i may even be of that opinion, but dont we all keep species that are meant to be in millions of gallons of water, not 5 or even 500? is this not in and of itself at least the slightlest bit unethical lol?

i dont argue ethics and morality, especially with strangers btw so we wont even go there ; - )


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

None of us come even close to providing what nature does.Be it a 1' aquarium or 6' aquarium they didn't come from puddles!


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