Guppies!

[Tracy G]

Has anyone done Guppies in a Nano tank? I know to get them in salt you just do it slowly but can you get them to reproduce and thrive in a 8-10 gallon nano?

[jimlin]

are you planning on breeding them to be used as a food source? even if they were able to survive being in saltwater, they probably will live a short life.

[Glenn]

I've transitioned mollies to pure saltwater but never guppies ... Sailfin mollies are the easiest but in an 8-10 gallon tank, I'd stick with regular black mollies. (And, like guppies, mollies are livebeares - the fry make great fish food for anything that can catch them.)

[Tracy G]

I've transitioned mollies to pure saltwater but never guppies ... Sailfin mollies are the easiest but in an 8-10 gallon tank, I'd stick with regular black mollies. (And, like guppies, mollies are livebeares - the fry make great fish food for anything that can catch them.)

sounds good. Will give it a try

[treesprite]

Guppies are at the less-salty end of brackish. They can make the transition, but eventually weaken under the strain on their bodies to keep up with the high salinity of a marine environment, which results in shorter than normal lifespans. (For a while I did "true brackish" w/ a 1.01 SG, because I was afraid to take the full leap from FW to SW.)

Edited February 11, 2013 by treesprite

[jimlin]

it would work if you bought brakish water raised guppies, the problem is the ones that you normally find in the fish stores are typically fresh water raised which makes the transition a little tough.

[Tracy G]

it would work if you bought brakish water raised guppies, the problem is the ones that you normally find in the fish stores are typically fresh water raised which makes the transition a little tough.

makes sense. I wonder if I did it really slow like over a few months would it work.

[jimlin]

you can try it and let us know how it went. i would probably keep a few in brakish water and make their fry full saltwater if they are not to be used as a food source, but that may take a couple of months to accomplish.

[treesprite]

In the past I've read instances of people trying already - the guppies die early. Even then, it is hard on them and unfair of us to force them into an unnatural environment. We strive to give our animals a healthy environment, yet some of you seem to feel it's ok to put guppies in a marine tank. May as well put ten tangs in a 10 gallon tank.

Edited February 11, 2013 by treesprite

[Origami]

Here is a discussion that a few of us engaged in a while back. Wogga had performed an acclimation on a few guppies but we never received feedback on the longer term viability of them in salt water.

 

http://wamas.org/forums/topic/50258-guppies-successfully-acclimated-to-sw

[Tracy G]

In the past I've read instances of people trying already - the guppies die early. Even then, it is hard on them and unfair of us to force them into an unnatural environment. We strive to give our animals a healthy environment, yet some of you seem to feel it's ok to put guppies in a marine tank. May as well put ten tangs in a 10 gallon tank.

how many tangs you think I could get to survive in a 10 gallon tank? Was thinking of setting a 10 gallon Tang tank in my kitchen.

[Tracy G]

The reason I ask on the guppies or mollies is I have had guppies in the past (in a tropical tank) and they were really cool. I loved how easily they reproduced and would be cool to teach my 4 year old about it. I heard the fish could thrive in a marine environment so why not have the best of both. If it is harmful to the fish it would not be something I would do. Thanks for the info everyone.

[treesprite]

Certain mollies can be kept in full saltwater without any problems, and doing it is a common practice.

 

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/mollies.htm

http://www.afae.it/pages/tematica/articolipoecilidi/The_great_molly%20salt_debate.htm

http://tylerlewellyn.hubpages.com/hub/Keeping-Breeding-and-Raising-Saltwater-Mollies