# Guppy Colony Tank



## Axelrodi202 (Jul 29, 2008)

Is it possible to maintain a high quality strain of guppies in a colony tank setup, or is a divided tank the only way?


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## amcoffeegirl (May 26, 2009)

In a large enough tank it is possible but easier in separated tanks. I like to keep one breeding tank for the couples i want to pair up. 5-10 gallon.
Then one tank for females- another for males to grow out.
Each 10-15 gallons.
With heavy culling in one tank it can be done but with high quality guppies you want to let them grow out to see which are your next breeders. In limited space you won't be able to grow out most of the drops and will be culling before you can see all traits. 
Space will be the limiting factor. Guppies drop fry every 30 days and it takes 2-3 months to see your quality colors and finnage.
I do colony breed in 2 tanks but I remove all females after 2 drops and let the babies grow out with the dad's. Then select my best females and start over.

Bump: I have even selected lovely female guppies at chain stores and kept them alone in a 5 gallon tank until they dropped fry and started a colony that way. Surprisingly usually they breed true. Got blue moscows this way and snakeskins.


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## Fishly (Jan 8, 2010)

Yes, you can. However, it's not as fast or precise and you must cull ruthlessly.

The reason multiple tanks are used is so you know exactly which breeders are producing each generation and so you can use different lines within a strain to work on different traits. There are no strains of guppies that throw perfection in every drop. Most breeders have several lines for each strain and cross the lines to produce their show fish. Whenever you buy fish from a breeder, they will usually give you fish from only one of the lines. You'll then have to use those fish to create different lines of your own.

For instance, you might get a trio of fish that need work on body shape and dorsal color. So you take the fry and pick the two males and two or three females with the best bodies and put them in one tank. Then you take the two males and two or three females with the best dorsals and put them in another tank. Discard the rest of the fry. 

Now breed each group separately for three or four generations, picking the ones with the best bodies or dorsals for each new generation. After the third or fourth generation, you breed a good-dorsal male to a good-body female and a good-body male to a good-dorsal female. Keep each cross separate until they're old enough to see which cross worked best. Then you take the best fry from that cross and split them into the two lines again. Over time some traits will improve and others will degrade, so you'll change what each line is bred for as time goes on.

To breed fish in a colony, you remove any fish with exceptional faults as you see them. Gradually, your standards get tighter and tighter as your fish get better and better. This is how shrimp breeders do it. But it only works if you remove the culls before they're old enough to breed. Unless you're okay with killing the culls, you'll want another tank for growing them out until they're old enough to sell.


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## Axelrodi202 (Jul 29, 2008)

Thanks for all the info. Will probably end up doing a 15 gallon divided 3 ways if I go the fancy guppy route

@amcoffeegirl: Could you elaborate more on your colony tank system? When you say select the best females are you referring to the original parents or out of the offspring?


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## amcoffeegirl (May 26, 2009)

Axelrodi202 said:


> Thanks for all the info. Will probably end up doing a 15 gallon divided 3 ways if I go the fancy guppy route
> 
> @amcoffeegirl: Could you elaborate more on your colony tank system? When you say select the best females are you referring to the original parents or out of the offspring?


Yes out of the offspring I select the best females and breed back to the males that I already have. I forgot to say that yes I cross lines from time to time. And one other problem with having all the fish in one tank is if you do get an illness in the tank then the whole colony is wiped out. 
Lost japan blues this way. It's very sad.

15 gallons really isn't very big. I do it in a well planted 15 but really just enough to keep the tank full and I'm not using expensive guppies anymore. Or long tails. 
Excellent book called the theory and practice of guppy breeding.
By Philip Shaddock
He also has a book on guppy care and management of his tanks which I found fascinating.
In his book he stated that he had a 55 with wild guppies which he would colony breed.
But most of his tanks were (I believe) 5 gallon for breeding purposes. Each of his tanks would have 2 sponge filters. He wouldn't allow a sick fish to remain in his fish room.


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