Too many guppies

[sharkbait]

I've just set up a new tank and a colleague at work asked if I wanted any guppies as she had plenty. ....well (sorry folks) I'm not a big fan of guppies, but a few different fish whilst my new tank settled down wouldn't be a bad idea. So I said I'll have four or five.
The next day a bag of 16 guppies of varying size and gender sat on my desk.
AsI gradually stock up my tank....I seem to be suffering from a surfeit of guppies.
Any ideas how to get rid of them without feeding them to next doors cat???

 

[canis_lupus]

o man that's a lot of guppies! maybe c if your lfs wants them.....just give em away and don't ask 4 anything......if they're healthy the store might take them.....i don't really know tho......maybe if you know other ppl with tanks just put a guppy or 2 in a bag, tie a bow and voila! gifts 4 all (just kidding) make sure if u do give them away that the ppl acctually want them other wise they're gonna b in your shoes sorry that's all i can think of...i wuz tempted 2 feed my feeder fish 2 my cat but i just took it 2 the store.....

 

[AllusiveLife]

I know you're not a guppy fan from the information You've given me... But I think there are plenty of people in England and you could probably find someone close to you knowing how there are 2000 registered people on these forums and the majority of them are from the UK... Why not place them into your tank and let them have fun for a little bit....

 

[aernympha]

kool sharkbait i live in surrey too!!!

 

[sharkbait]

Thanks for the comments folks.
I think sorting them into m and f might be an idea and seeing if I can give them away. ads in Tesco's maybe. At the moment they are nice and small and provide some interest at the top of the tank, however in the long term they will take up much needed "fish inches".
I like the idea of instant presents for all your friends though

Can you get guppies neutered?

 

[Alien Anna]

Can you get guppies neutered?

Just keep them in same-sex tanks, that's the obvious answer!

 

[AquaNut]

I wouldn't worry too much about 'fish inches' and guppies. They stay almost exclusively at the top of the tank and really don't take swimming space away from most other tank inhabitants. Just make sure there is enough filter media (I sometimes add a good old fashioned corner box filter full of floss to heavily stocked tanks) to support the bacterial load.

How many gallons is your tank, and what other types of fish are you planning to keep? If you don't put the females in breeding traps, very few fry will survive in the community tank - it's not like you're going to have thousands of them.

I know this probably won't be a popular idea with a lot of people around here, but it's not unusual to keep guppies in a tank with larger fish as a source of live food. (not the full grown guppies, but their fry!). Many angelfish breeders keep guppies with the fry - it's the simplest and cleanest way to provide a constant supply of excellent quality food.

 

[aernympha]

i was thinking of doing that... feeding unwanted livebearer fry to cichlids

 

[AllusiveLife]

Can you get guppies neutered?

Just keep them in same-sex tanks, that's the obvious answer!

no he said get them neutered not make then turn gay...

 

[CrystalizedGuppy]

If you lived near me I would gladly take them. But I live in the US and in California yet! Some LFs will take them with no questions asked. I had to do that with goldfish once......they took it gladly without even looking at them. Maybe you could try that.....I wish I could take them.

 

[sharkbait]

Thanks for the advice. I'm planning on about 7 cardinals and 5 or so larger tetras, a dwarf gourami, perhaps an angel and a swordtail or two in a 20 gallon UK tank. Perhaps a small shoal of guppies at the top would still be OK?