Guppies In A Bowl

[shasha]

I am facing the same problem. I bought two guppies just two days ago. Changed water twice since then. Have a big bowl with some gravel. I didnt know keeping fish in bowls was a bad thing. I dont want them to die hence i am planning to return them to their previous owner's large tank. Please help. I just want to know if they are fine. There is some reddish poop like thing at the bottom of the bowl.

 

[fluttermoth]

Sasha; I've split your post into a new thread, so you can get some more help.

Guppies do usually live near the top of the water, but if it looks like they're gasping for air, you might have a problem. Toxins from the fish's wastes build up in the water, and stop the fish being able to absorb oxygen properly. Clean water is the best thing for them.

As long as you change all the water, every day, your guppies should be fine until they go back to the big tank. You must make sure the new water is the same temperature as the old water, and it mustn't have any chlorine in it; you might need to let it stand for a day, or use some drops; I don't know if the water supplies in India have chlorine in.

In the longer term, if you would like to keep some fish, in a proper tank with a filter, we can help you with that too

Good luck; I do think you're doing the right thing returning the guppies, if you're not sure how to look after them.

 

[LyraGuppi]

Oop, Flutter stole my post.
 
+1 to Flutter!

 

[Antinerf]

1) Keeping fish in bowls is not necessarily a bad thing depending on the size- bigger is better. However, I chose a tank for the increased surface area, making it easier for a beginner like me to clean. Also, I couldn't find a bowl bigger than one gallon and a heater is a big deal for me since right now it's -5 degrees Celsius outside.

2) Red stringy stuff... I am worried now that they have worms.

 

[the_lock_man]

1) Keeping fish in bowls is not necessarily a bad thing depending on the size- bigger is better. However, I chose a tank for the increased surface area, making it easier for a beginner like me to clean. Also, I couldn't find a bowl bigger than one gallon and a heater is a big deal for me since right now it's -5 degrees Celsius outside.

2) Red stringy stuff... I am worried now that they have worms.

 
The point about bowls is that they, generally, don't have filters. Nothing wrong with a filtered bowl, so long as the filter is not overloaded.