Breeding Guppies Questions

[Randy West]

I have a 29g with;
EBA
Peppered Cory
Pleco
2-Platys
6-Guppies (2M 4F)
1-Fiddler Crab
I made a diy crabitat from an open mouth wine jug. Im thinking of purchasing a atlantis crabitat so my question is this....
If i allow the jug to fill with water and put substrate in it will that suffice as a place to fry? If so will they naturally find it? If its not a good place why? Im trying to create hiding spots without buying dividers. Thank you.

 

[Viridis]

How big is the jug? do you plan on adding a filter to it? is it big enough to fit a net into?

Fiddler crabs are brackish/marine crustaceans (despite the "freshwater fiddler" labels many petstores put on them), so I would suggest separating it to another tank with at least brackish water and a decent land area. They can survive in fresh, but they need salt to do well.

 

[monkeybike]

Get a bunch of Hornwort, good fry hideout.

 

[jcomp29]

Most guppy fry like to swim around plants and dive into them when chased. I would recommend a mix of java fern, java moss and hornwort. If the plants are left in a bunch the fry will swim around them and have a greater chance of avoiding the other fish.

 

[Randy West]

How big is the jug? do you plan on adding a filter to it? is it big enough to fit a net into?

Fiddler crabs are brackish/marine crustaceans (despite the "freshwater fiddler" labels many petstores put on them), so I would suggest separating it to another tank with at least brackish water and a decent land area. They can survive in fresh, but they need salt to do well.

I think you misunderstand. The jug is 1g. Its submerged under water at this moment filled with substrate, air and airstone and is a dry habitat for the crab. I want to know if i let it fill with water would the jug suffice for the fry. I dont follow why i need a filter for the jug. Or maybe i misunderstood your answer. Logic says yes they could hide in it but id have no way to feed them because the food would not fall into the jug since its on its side.

 

[Randy West]

Most guppy fry like to swim around plants and dive into them when chased. I would recommend a mix of java fern, java moss and hornwort. If the plants are left in a bunch the fry will swim around them and have a greater chance of avoiding the other fish.

Those are all live plants tho correct?

 

[jcomp29]

java fern, java moss and hornwort and all live plants, but they do make plastic plants that will serve the same purpose. These plants do not require any special lighting so they are easy to grow. The advantage of the live plants is the fry can pick at them for food without risking swimming out with the bigger fish to find a meal.

 

[Randy West]

java fern, java moss and hornwort and all live plants, but they do make plastic plants that will serve the same purpose. These plants do not require any special lighting so they are easy to grow. The advantage of the live plants is the fry can pick at them for food without risking swimming out with the bigger fish to find a meal.

Thank you. So java is minimal? I started a thread asking about it. Id like to have live plants because of the benefits it provides to water quality. Will my crab eat the .live plants?

 

[jcomp29]

Fiddler crabs will usually pull up and eat the live plants. Use can use the java moss and hornwart as a floating plant. Therefore the crabs cannot get to it and the guppy babies can hide in it. Most of my guppy babies stay at the top of the tank, so they will prefer the floating plants