pH Question

[Thicks083]

My 75 gallon tank has been up for a few months now, with a adequate collection of healthy, smaller fish. My father and I both noticed that our guppies haven't made the slightest attempt to mate. We've had these guppies for a few months now, and we're sure we have an equal ratio of male and female. Just recently I tested the water and realized the pH is a bit higher than neutral; perhaps 7.8 This could be the reason the guppies aren't mating, huh?
(I ended up taking baby guppies home from work anyway, but I would still like to see the grown ones I have try and mate).

 

[Kiara1125]

No. The pH where I live is 7.8 and my guppies breed fine. Plus, it's better to have 2-3 females per males. This prevents the females from getting harassed all the time. They will breed sooner or later, even if you're not seeing it.

 

[Thicks083]

Hmm, good to know, and thank you. I need to sort out who's what sex in there, and definitely fix the ratios so I can get some mating going.

 

[Helena21]

I also have a high ph and have kept many livebearers over the years. ive found that some just are not interested in mating at all and make no attempts to, but others are overly keen.. to the point of almost killing the females due to the amount of harassment. If you find none of your males want to breed, i would suggest just buying some more (if you have space).

Make sure you have a good male to female ratio though

 

[Kiara1125]

Here's how to tell the genders of Guppies: Males, for the most part, have a smaller body, have longer tails, and are more colorful. Females have a larger body, a less attractive coloration, and usually a very small tail.

Male Guppy

Female Guppy

 

[Thicks083]

That was actually incredibly helpful, thank you!

 

[SlateSpider]

Just think of them as... Peacocks!

 

[FlameTetra333]

Hmm, I always thought it was the other way around; Guppies won't breed in soft, low pH water.
I read somewhere that jacking up the temperature helps, maybe in the low 80's (80-82).

 

[Kiara1125]

Lol SS!!

Yeah, but that's because the higher the temperature, the higher the fishes' metabolism. A higher metabolism means a shorter life span. It's ok if you leave the tank in the mid 70's.

How many Guppies do you have approximately??