I have been mentored along by several top IFGA breeders including Stan Shubel, Paul Gorski, Bill Carwile, Harold Morgan and Dr. Jim Alderson. Continued thanks to all of them. Paul, Bill and Jim have all been to my fishroom and have given their nod of approval to my rearing methods. Although all three commented that I do have a different way of doing things. My methods are a compilation of things I have read about or seen, or have just come up with while lying awake at nights thinking.

The previous two paragraphs haven't been written for the purpose of name dropping or boasting, but just to give a little credibility to my methods and short career as a guppy breeder.

My breeders are set up in 5.5 gal. tanks. Usually two males and 5 females, between the ages of 3-5 months depending on the strain. I don't take any fry the first 30 days, but collect at least one drop from each female after that. I like to get at least five drops from each set of breeders. I feed my breeders BBS twice daily, dry food 2-3 times daily and either frozen bloodworms or frozen beefheart once a day.

My females drop in 1 gallon acrylic tanks, using a plastic weave to form a tube for the female and thus protecting the fry. I change 50% of the water every 2-3 days and use only an airstone at this point, just to keep the water stirring. Once the fry are dropped, I remove the female and replace the airstone with a small sponge filter. The sponge really just acts as a mechanical filter because at this point I change 90-95% of the water daily. My fry rack consist of three levels. The newborn go on the top and every time I add a new drop to the top row, someone else gets moved down a level. The temperature is really no different between levels, it is just easier for me to see the newborn fry when siphoning tanks if they are on the top shelf directly under the lights. I also add a baby (½") dwarf bristlenose pleco at this time to help keep the algae from the lights and the food to a minimum.

I start the fry out with BBS twice a day and I feed them way more then they can eat. My philosophy is that if there are dead shrimp on the bottom, every baby got all the shrimp it could eat. I also feed them what I call the "Alderson Mix". It is a combo of finfish starter (from a local dealer), black gold and total gold (both are Sander's products). The fry are fed this every time I enter the fish room as long as they come to the top for it. The fry stay in these 1 gal. tanks until they are 6-8 weeks old. Their removal depends on drop size, growth rate and availability of 5.5 gallon tanks. I have had fry in them as long as 10 weeks, doing 90% water changes twice daily and they have done well. I only recommend 6-8 weeks though.

From the fry rack the juveniles move to 5.5 gallon tanks. These are all located on the top row of my racks and average about 75-76 degrees Fahrenheit. This move is in conjunction with culling. I cull all below average sized males, all males which are showing more color than the group average and any other males which just aren't up to quality. I also cull out all but the ten best shaped females. (As a side note if this is a halfblack strain, I keep the five blackest bodied females and then pick the next five for size and shape.)

I have had as many as 50 fish in my 5.5 gallon tanks. I do at least 50% water changes every other day, more on tanks that are stocked heavy. These tanks have two small box filters with floss and crushed coral. I change one filter every two weeks. The juvies are fed heavily with BBS twice a day and get a finfish starter ( a crumble with the same basic make up that I give to the fry) every time I enter the room as long as they come to the front of the tank for it. They are also given frozen beefheart or frozen bloodworms every other day or so. Each tank has a dwarf bn pleco and a dwarf corydoras cat, plus a sprig of java fern. I constantly cull through these tanks as part of my daily routine.

From the 5.5s the juvies move to either the middle or bottom rows of my racks, wherever there is a 10 gallon tank available. This move is made at 3-5 months. I usually select my breeders at this time. I cull through the remainder of the fish, trying to reduce the number of males to 12-15. If it is a good batch and I end up with a lot of males I my split them between two 10s, but I try to keep it to 12-15 males per 10. I also cull all but two of the remaining females, these go into the tanks with the males. I may keep extra females, but I put them in a separate tank at this time. Two females with the potential show males is plenty for them to chase. I make 40-60% water changes on these tanks every four days. These tanks also have two small box filters with floss and crushed coral and I change one filter every two weeks.

Once in the 10s the juvies get BBS twice daily, the finfish crumble and another mixture of flakes that has a little less protein but a bit more fat. They are only fed a combination of the latter two twice daily, and they have to beg for it. If they show no immediate interest when I enter the room they don't get fed that meal. Again they also get the beefhaert and bloodworms about every other day.

Once the males reach 6 months I really start watching their food intake. They hardly ever get BBS and then when they do it is very little. Just a taste. They only get one large meal of the dry food in the morning and only occasionally get any beefheart or bloodworms. I carefully watch their body and fin development. Any signs of chestiness or fin problems and the feed is cut back. I also may change more water on the larger, older males. There is no routine to this, I just try to extra special care of the larger finned show males.

Well that is my routine. I'm not preaching that it is the best, but it has worked for me up until this point. I must say that I am always looking at options and I am constantly tweaking things trying to get the best growth of size and finnage. Competing in the IFGA is very tough, and yet very rewarding. The show competitions aren't for everyone, but if the bug hits you it is hard to get away.