Guppy Shortage???

[FishmasteR2002]

I bought a pair of Fancy Guppies for 5 dollars at my LFS yesterday. I went to this other LFS that I had never been to and they hardly had any guppies and the ones they had were ugly and over priced. Are you experiencing a guppy shortage in your area as well? Just asking because I'm think about breeding them. :)

[JamisonBWolsh]

Trust me when I say this: THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!

[eywses]

No shortage here. Every fish store and department store I've been to recently has them (including Wal-mart). I've seen some really pretty ones too, makes me wanna go get a ten-gallon, but I don't even have room for a ten-gallon in my house :p

[DodgeIntrepidV6]

Yes there is a shortage here in CT. As of yesterday, Petco, 2 lfs, and one stop pet shop lack guppies. Occasionally when the lfs gets them in they're only male. BTW has anyone ahd problems getting female bettas... I never see them anymore.

[NJ Devils Fan]

I am with JamisonBWolsh.

[ArkyLady]

I sure don't see how there could possibly be a shortage, they breed like maniacs :)

If you're interested in breeding them though it's possible you might be able to do so anyway. I've been thinking about it myself since I have no idea what else I'll do with all these guppies and mollies I have here. Seems to me the LFS would have the advantage of losing far fewer of them to deaths when they get a shipment in since they aren't being thrown from truck to truck for a day and a half. You could just bring them to the store whenever. Does anyone else do this? I doubt they pay very much for them, but they're going to breed anyway whether you sell the babies or not.

I've thought about breeding a few types of fish and trying to sell them to pet stores locally. We only have one LFS in town, but there are dozen or more in 3 different cities within a 70 mile radius of me. Is it even worth bothering with? I know a person wouldn't likely make a real living doing this on a small scale, but if it just funded the obsession I'd be happy :D

[ewok]

dodge i sent you a msg.....

i have seen female bettas at hamden and wallingford petcos recently too.

i was wondering if you want my female guppies, the last male died, but the females should be impregnated anyway. i have like 6 or 8 adult females and am working on downsizing..... i would imagine we could work something out.

edit: btw, sorry for the threadjack.

[Finzzup]

Guppies are everywhere in my area! I am almost sorry I didn't decide to leave my Betta in his jar and get Guppies instead -- so many of them are just beautiful!!!!!

Yesterday at my local Walmart, I noticed they had about two dozen female Bettas instead of the normal 2-6 that are there and normally there is one shelf that has all the male Bettas and yesterday they had two shelves.

Anticipation for Christmas?

[FishmasteR2002]

Well I remember when guppies cost 99 cents a piece. Now they are 5 dollars for a pair? Just checking. I might be breeding them any good sites on how to? Thanks. :)

[tamara323]

five dollars a pair? not here.

at the lps i normally go to they have them for about $0.75 each, and fancy guppies for $0.99 each

which is great for me, because i'm getting a school of them soon, just waiting to check out their new stock

[JamisonBWolsh]

There are certain "grades" of guppies. The common fancy guppies are 99 cents a piece. Nothing special about them the different colors reflect the price. I have seen pairs selling for 50 dollars easily.

[DodgeIntrepidV6]

-Ewok I have my 5 1/2 gallon cyclign now for breeding. When it is done and if your still interested I would like to buy some females from you. I only have 1 now in my 55. I'll let you know when my tank is ready, appreciate your offer.

Sorry for highjacking too, I'm all done

[JamisonBWolsh]

http://www.showguppies.com/


Here is a good website with pictures of indivuduaL fancy guppies and their prices... It will start to give a clue how much these fish and go for!!!! the site will give you info on keeping and breeding your own strain!!!


I, myself, am not interested in this type of fish

[appaloosatb]

At our LFS Fancy Guppies go for $5.99 a pair. Green King Cobra Guppies are also this price, feeders are $0.12ea, and Endler's Livebearers (only males are sold) are $4.29 a piece. It's always interesting to see how prices differ depending on where you are!

[Serrateeth_2002]

I am defining EVERYWHERE,they are found in drains here,if i don't want to waste my money,i'll just net them from the drain.

[JamisonBWolsh]

seriously? in the drains?

[Serrateeth_2002]

Yup,in drains and canals,more common in canals than drains,there are even bettas and tilapias(a kind of cichlid)in canals.

[JamisonBWolsh]

hmmm..perhaps yuo can catch them and setup a website and sell WILD Bettas and Wild GUPPIES. Im sure there are alot of people would like a wild betta... have you caught these fish before? Of course, sewers, canals, and drains arent exactly places one wants to be...

[Serrateeth_2002]

not exactly wild,people buy them then release or they escape from reserviors and mangroves

[JamisonBWolsh]

I was just reading an article where this guy goes to someplace (a swamp) in thailand to catch wild bettas. Supposedly it is VERY hard to do. He said it took him 2 hours to catch 1 pair. Wild bettas look REALLY nice fish.. They also apparently change in coloring by location...

[Serrateeth_2002]

Wild ones have short fins,they look more stout than the domesticated ones but usually it is the terrain that makes it hard to catch,guppies are hard to catch IME.This is off the topic i think.