I'm trying to get into the Aquarium hobby simply because it was a dream of mine since I was a little kid to keep fish. I did keep fish as a kid but it was a little kid experience. I'm now 24 years old and interested in recreating this joy as well as being successful at keeping/breeding fish.

I would consider myself quite new to the hobby of Aquariums knowing little to nothing about keeping fish other then the things I've been studying the last few weeks.

My Grandfather and my Aunt kept fish. My Grandfather as a kid gave me his 10 gallon tank. Later he gave me his 20 gallon high tank. I still have them and using the ten gallon right now.

The ten gallon tank waiting it to finish cycling. I have a couple of feeder goldfish. I have one Air Stone, An Elite 800 Air Pump. AquaClear 30 Power Filter (Hang on the side), One Vallisneria Plant, rocks at the bottom. I have a heater, it works but not on. It is currently inside the tank. One of those black thermometers that stick to the outside of the tank.

Yes I know feeder goldfish gotta go and I overstocked. They are only there because doesn't matter if they die and they are hardy while my tank is cycling. They will go back to the store once my tank is done cycling. I also treat them extremely well feeding them live foods to keep up their health in such horrible conditions.

Here comes the question:
I'm looking for four guppies, one male and three female. What guppies should I get which are easy to breed, don't cost very much, and are breed worthy. Where I could possibly sell the Livebearers back to the store for a small amount or store creadit. I already know how and what to feed my babies. Just check out my name.

One more question, It would be very helpful if someone could direct me to resourcse, links, books, or articles on breeding livebearers.

Welcome to the forum. The ALA has a lot to offer in terms of knowledgeable people.

When it comes to guppies I am not one of those knowledgeable people but I do have a favorite. I love Endlers livebearers. It’s actually the only guppy that I have kept. They seem to be smaller than many domestic strains. They also seem to sell really well at club events like auctions and swap meets.

Which brings me to the next part of your question. I am not sure were you are from but try to locate a local club. (look in the back of an aquarium magazine as they have lists by state) You will probably find much better fish for breeding from local club members, and of course ALA members, than you will at most pet stores. The difference between the farmed fish and the locally breed fish is very noticeable. I know that local stores in my area like when they can get high quality fish from local breeders and that includes guppies as they are always good sellers.

As for what you can sell back to stores you will have to ask them. Try to find some mom and pop stores and ask them how much credit for each fish you can expect. It usually is not very much unless you have very good fish and they can sell them for a premium which sounds like what you would like to do.

When it comes to livebearers I mostly keep and breed Goodeids and apparently Limias as I always seem to have 2-3 species swimming around my fish room. A good resource for goodeids is www.goodeiden.com, but that doesn't really help you with guppies.

Good luck

I'm interested and willing to try and breed any livebearer.

I choose Guppies because of the small size and the lack of equipment for breeding. Currently, one ten gallon tank and one twenty gallon (super long) tank.

I'm from the Bay Area (around Berkeley area) and would love to attend some shows or clubs shows. I joined this forum in hopes to learn about livebearers and thought maybe I could go to an Annual ALA Conferance some day.

Are there any fish magazines you recommend?

Thanks for the website btw I'll spend time learning about these goodeid species.

Most Goodeids can be kinda tricky. I prefer to put them in larger tanks of 29 gallons and up but have had them in 10 gallon tanks without any problems, of course that depends on which species. And before I forget the website that I was actually thinking about is www.goodeiden.de. It is a German site with an English option. Although www.goodeids.com is good too.

Guppies are a good option. They are definitely more sellable to stores than most if not all goodeids. Plus there is a lot you can do with them in terms of color forms and they are small enough for a 10 gallon tank, at least to breed them. Growing them out you will probably need more space.

If you can find them I have also always liked golden teddy (Xenophhallus umbratilis) merry widow (Phallichthys amates) or micropoecilia picta the red form. These all stay small and could be kept in a 10 gallon tank and probably sold to local stores.

I have always liked Tropical Fish Hobbyist but there are others that I buy as well.

Thrifty Fisher do you keep Zoogeneticus Quitzoensis?

No I have not kept them. Last year I had Zoogeneticus tequila and they did well in the cool summer but they were not destined to be long term tenants of my fish room.

I live in San Francisco and would be willing to give you some wild caught endlers from original stock and talk more about what is in the bay area feel free to emai me gerard94114@yahoo.com

Gerard, What Wild Caught Endlers are you refering to?

My wild Caught Endlers came from Armando Pou. I consider his to be the purest wild caught you can get. Since his was about the last ones caugh there is better genetics. I will not even keep guppies. I recently heard of someone who had a male guppy jump out of one tank and into the endlers and ruined all the work so I just wont have them. I want to keep lines pure.
gerard94114@yahoo.com

Armando Pou is well known to be one of the few people who have actually gone on collecting trips and returned with endlers livebearers. My own endlers livebearers came from a collection that he made around 1998/1999 but they passed through other hands before I got them.

That is quite a good offer you have received. I met Gerard in person at last year's ALA convention and would also recommend that you accept any mollies he is willing to offer you. He has done some very nice work with his mollies. A 20 gallon tank is a great size for breeding a colony of endlers. My own 20H is full of a colony of them that gives me a constant surplus for my local fish club auctions.

If you are interested in specific livebearers, a benefit of ALA membership is access to the Trader, which is published several times each year. It is a place where members can advertise things they have for sale or things they are looking to buy. I happen to be the present publisher but that merely means that I organize the ads that members wish to post and put them together for a physical printer to publish. It is no big deal unless you are one of the people advertising wants or items for sale. If you are one of those people, it is a big deal for you.