Guppy

Quite a long time but also take into consideration that a long life for a guppy is around 2 years. They quickly learn and remember who feeds them and where to go for food. They also learn to hide if they see someone aproach their tank with a net after experiencing it a couple of times. They learn to avoid certain areas that are or may be inhabited by predators. I would say that their memory would be on a par with ours and most other living creatures. All creatures have to have the ability to learn by experience and remember certain things in order to survive.

One would assume that the brighter, livelier and more "flashy" the male is the more likely he is to gain access to a mate.

If you are doing everything right they do it simply because they can. The basic rules are :- 1 inch of fish needs at least 1 gallon of water (an active Guppy needs at least 3 gallons but 10 gallons is better for a couple). :- Every tank needs a permanently running cycled filter. :- Every tank needs at least 50% of its water replaced every week.. A Guppy likes a pH of around 7 to 7.2 and a temperature of around 70F to 75F. They should be fed as much as they can eat in 15 minutes every morning and evening.

The only difference in her behaviour happens when she is about to release her young. At this time she will tend to hang in shady or dark places. Sometimes close to the substrata. She will make sudden dashes between these places. While this dashing from place to place is going on she will be releasing a few or sometimes only one of her fry.

Algae is a water purifier and will not kill Guppies at all.

Yes, make sure the water is changed regularly. The tail will grow back but will never be as good as the original one. There will be a reason the guppy has been loosing its tail. If the problem is fungus then you need to fix the bad water problem that is causing the fungus by changing the water regularly. If the problem is fin nipping by other occupants then you will need to separate the fin nipper(s).

All fish produce Ammonia.

The tadpole may well make a meal of the guppy or at least bit chunks of the guppys fins. I would not advise it.

No, guppies are livebearers which means they have live babies (called guppy fry). The females and males will eat them once they are born, but some will live by hiding or if you put them in a breeding trap.

They are omnivores so the answer is no.

They come from creeks, rivers pond in Trinidad, Tobago and most of the lesser Antilles

Goldfish can produce over 1000 fry when they spawn this is why it is very important for goldfish breeder's to perform culling (pick out the best specimens and dispose of the rest). Goldfish breeder's usually select around 50-60 fry that appear to have good potential.

they should mollies arnt that aggresive but if the guppies are small enough it is possible the mollies will eat them but its not likely

NEVER flush a guppy down the toilet.

The most painless way is to freeze them in cold water and put it in your freezer, or to add a small percentage of alcohol to water. They will go to sleep and die.

But, why would you want to kill your guppy? I would recommend giving it away to a pet store or a friend. I would only consider killing a guppy if it was very sick with a disease. (Even then, I would question my intentions). Otherwise, there is no reason why the guppy should suffer.

It may be excited. Most small animals breath rapidly when they are being held or if you are reaching out for them. It's not bad or contagious but if your hamster is breathing unevenly, bring it to the vet immediately!

I keep platies, which are closely related to guppies, and their breeding habits can be bizarre to say the least. If I were you, I wouldn't be that worried. I have had platies swell to enormous proportions, drop about ten biggish fry and then miraculously shrink back. It might be a hormone thing. I have had my girl Ranger throw six fry, remain huge, wait another two days and then throw another twenty eight. I have seen livebearers - mostly guppies - that are obese so that they look like they are pregnant when they're not. (Males). Fish can get fat and its possible that yours has been overfed. Also, livebearers eat their fry. If your female was really big, then she dropped the fry and shrank back down but you only saw two, it's likely that she or her tankmates ate the fry. When they are about to have babies a hormone stops them eating them as soon as they are born, but after about twelve hours it goes away and they will eat their fry. Most fish will eat small fry. If she is having trouble, looks uncomfortable or stays at that size without having more fry, ask the people in your local pet shop. They generally know a lot.

Because they are scared. This doesn't mean that they don't like their environment or that they aren't being kept properly, but they have little fish brains, and often a human walking past the tank is enough to scatter them. They also like to feel secure and if they aren't hunting for food they will often hide. If you are scaring them just by walking past, make a point of walking past more often - you will slowly make them less timid. Guppies hide so they will not get eaten by bigger fish.As soon as they are born, even the mother will eat them. Like any other small/baby fish or animal in water. They're scared.

I do not believe so. I have never heard of or seen this occurring naturally.

No, this is not possible, guppies can only mate with other guppies.

Actually, yes. The offspring are all sterile males. So you can't get any further fish from the mating.

Do not be missled. Guppies and Mollies are totally different species and can not breed together. To say that a cross between a Guppy and a Molly is possible is like saying that a Human can be crossed with a baboon. It CAN NOT BE DONE naturally.

Melchisedec and Christino (the last contributor) are spot on. As with many living things,and in many of the sciences the 'taxonomists' are continuously re-defining and re-naming many genera and species. I know of some trees that have had their species changed 4 or 5 times over the last 10 years or so. I am quite sure that the new species name for the old 'Lebistes reticulatus' ie Guppy which is now 'Poecilia reticulata' may well be changed again and the old name for molly which is now 'Poecilia' was 'Molenisia sp. may also be changed again. It is quite obvious from simple observation that the two fish are not of the same species. Some taxonomists obviously need to get away from the microscope and use their eyes (observe) and use common sense occasionally.

Guppies are lots easier to breed than bettas. Guppies mainly do three things. 1) Swim. 2) Eat. 3) Breed like crazy. All you need to breed guppies is a few males, a half-dozen females, a birthing tank, and patience. My wife and I bought 5 female guppies to add to our community tank, and they were pregnant when we got them from the pet store. Bettas, on the other hand, require some pretty complex steps, a large amount of space, lots of equipment and supplies. Breeding bettas is not for the faint of heart or for those who do not have a huge room to use for them. When bettas breed, they lay upwards of 500 eggs, and once hatched and grown a bit each of those 500 small bettas will need their own betta jars. Special food is required for betta fry (namely a salt brine culture) then as they get a bit bigger you need another food type (daphnia). Breed guppies, its tons easier and lots cheaper. Just a correction to the previous answer... even IF a betta does lay 500+ eggs, you certaintly won't have to house 500+ fish as on average about 60% of the spawn will die before full maturity. Occasionally a larger percentage will survive, but NEVER has there been a 100% survival rate with ANY size spawn.

That will be a little crowded, but if you do frequent water changes they'll probably be just fine.