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Guppy Clasification
By GuppyAdict, Section Ask Guppylog Posted on Wed Aug 29, 2007 at 12:25:55 PM PST Tags: (all tags)

I'm confused. I have been debating with fish lovers saying that Guppies are clasified as BRACKISH fish. I have read tons of books and not once have they been referred to as such. I know they do pretty well with a little salt in their water, but does that necessarily clasify them as brackish? UncleScott, Scott L and Guppygirl, is this correct???

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Guppy Clasification | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

What an interesting question! (none / 0) (#1)
by Scott Lockwood on Fri Oct 03, 2003 at 11:32:04 PM PST

I do not know that I would call them brackish, but I do know that they can tollerate salinity better than serveral other species, and tend to do well in environments with slight salinity.

"I love to visit PetSmart's Tropical Fish Dept. to see what new diseases are around today." -- inkmaker

Brackish?? (none / 0) (#2)
by guppygirl on Sat Oct 04, 2003 at 01:31:39 PM PST

I have heard/read that "in the wild" guppies come from many areas with "brackish" water.

Now, most guppies, and modern strains, (the kind you find in most pet stores), have not been kept in this manner.

Adding salt to an aquarium can kill certain species of other fish, so it is not a practice that I follow.

A knowledgeable manager at my LFS says that many of her friends raise their fish under "brackish" conditions, and then get upset with her when she won't take their fish.
She says that to reacclimate them takes considerable time, and is risky, so she's not interested.

So for what it's worth, if you are going to catch your own guppies, study up on it. If not, let the others continue on with their debate and just smile.
:-) :-) :-) :-)

Oh, and if you DO see a label on an aquarium in a pet store labeled, "brackish", act stupid and ask them to tell you what it means.
Chances are, they will have NO CLUE!! :-(

[ Parent ]

Brackish? (Spam) (none / 0) (#8)
by unclescott on Mon Oct 06, 2003 at 07:59:04 PM PST

Isn't that where they decorate the tank with bracks?

[ Parent ]

Do you know.... (none / 0) (#10)
by guppygirl on Mon Oct 06, 2003 at 10:22:53 PM PST

You actually made me look up "brack" to see if it
was a word??? =) Dweeb. =P THHHHH!

[ Parent ]

So, should I? (none / 0) (#3)
by GuppyAdict on Sun Oct 05, 2003 at 02:35:15 AM PST

Put a little salt in my tanks for my guppies? If so, how much? Or should I just leave it the way I have been doing it (no salt at all)?

I currently have a 6 gallon tank doing a fishless cycle and more then likely I will be doing the same for my 45 gallon tank.

Once my tanks are cycled, I was planning to just put guppies, platy's and possibly mollies. And then I would like to eventually get an algae eater too.

Will the salt hurt certain bottom feeders?

1 tsp for every gallon???

[ Parent ]

Using Salt (none / 0) (#4)
by guppygirl on Sun Oct 05, 2003 at 10:39:06 AM PST

Since they don't need it, I wouldn't put it in.

I don't know if it would hurt an algae eater or not, but if you use salt in your tank, you have to know if the fish you want to add can tolerate it.

That would mean researching all the fish you want to add, OR, relying on the knowledge of the people at your LFS.

Enough said?

If you still want me to send you the guppies that we spoke about, they are NOT used to any salt in their water.
I don't know if you could acclimate them successfully, with another variable(salt),in their water after such a long trip.
I think it would be risky.

I don't know what the rule is for adding salt, since I don't. I think unclescott knows though.

Hopefully, he will post in for you.
:-)

[ Parent ]

No, I will not add salt (none / 0) (#6)
by GuppyAdict on Mon Oct 06, 2003 at 03:53:55 AM PST

If it's not broken why fix it, right? I think I will stick with what I know and will not be adding any salt.

And yes, I still want those guppies we talked about. I should be done cycling in the next 4 weeks. Let me know if that schedule still works for you. Thanks!!

[ Parent ]

4 weeks (none / 0) (#9)
by guppygirl on Mon Oct 06, 2003 at 10:17:26 PM PST

Hey G.A.!!

Four weeks from now will be perfect, especially since there is only one female in the litter of four that were born last month.

If you want more than what you spoke to me about just let me know. Since they will be small, I can send you some extras, without adding any risk or
expense.

:-)

[ Parent ]

That sounds GREAT GG. (none / 0) (#11)
by GuppyAdict on Tue Oct 07, 2003 at 02:54:18 PM PST

Thanks so much. I can't wait to get your purple guppy and your babies.

My quarantine tank is close to completing the cycle. I'm thinking another 2-3 weeks for it to finish.

I'll keep you posted.

G.A.

[ Parent ]

I run my tanks saltfree (none / 0) (#5)
by Scott Lockwood on Sun Oct 05, 2003 at 04:02:06 PM PST

But, as long as guppies are the ONLY thing in the tank, a little salt won't hurt.

"I love to visit PetSmart's Tropical Fish Dept. to see what new diseases are around today." -- inkmaker
[ Parent ]

water hardness & sodium chloride (none / 0) (#7)
by unclescott on Mon Oct 06, 2003 at 03:50:17 PM PST

Hi G.A.!

So long as your tap water is fairly "hard" you have no need of "table" salt - except maybe for medicinal purposes. I'm far from a chemist, but the calcium and magnesium in your tap water (part of what is really giving it it's good taste) are also called salts. Those and trace elements like potassium (which also gets introduced in their food) are important for the guppies' growth and physical development.

Just keep to a partial (10-30%) water change every week or two and enough of those things should be added to your tank water.

You have raised a really good question about salt and bottom feeders. A number of them (be they catfish or loaches) don't do well with sodium chloride as guppies - which are "secondary fresh water fishes", meaning they have evolved from marine fishes (by way of killie fishes) "back when."

Don't use salt with the bottom feeders. Also, read up on what different species really need in their diet. :)

www.google.com and maybe http://www.scirus.com/ searches can be useful. See also Fishlinkcentral or the Krib.

[ Parent ]

Guppy Clasification | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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