Tips I learned for buying guppies

[MichelleTCM]

I wanted to share what I've learned over the past 6 months trying to own a school of live guppies. 6 months ago I didn't realize this was going to be such a massive feet. With much trial and error and heart break I now have figured out out what works for me. I also believe Canadian guppies are not beginner level fish after this experience. I have literally not had another fish die on me but these beautiful buggers just don't want to live.

First and Foremost, during this process I bought guppies from basically every store in Ottawa and even looked at some in Gatineau. I don't feel the need to name any store specifically because the quality seems to be pretty much the same everywhere due to the state of medicine in the fish industry in Canada. Early on I had theories that if I just didn't buy them at X store anymore it would work better, but no that wasn't the case.

I cannot count the number of guppies that have died on me in the process from literally everything. Ick, fungal infections, bacteria, a weird string like thing poking out of their mouths and not eating, and many undiagnosed that became clamped, lethargic, have clear stringy poop and are weak. I realized early on I was not alone because many of the stores I purchased them from would then have a catastrophic death event in the tanks I purchased from.

What I Have learned:
1) Stake out the tank you plan on buying from for a few days before purchase. This is particularly hard with females because they seem to sell out everywhere so fast. It is possible though. I go in for a couple days in a row before buying to make sure the group as a whole isn't in crisis. I look for deaths in the tank, if the group is all at the top of the water not really moving, if they respond to your finger near the glass with interest and if the store employees say that the tank has been generally ok.  You have to be realistic in expectations though because there will always be deaths in the guppy tanks, its more of an is this a considerably ok number of deaths and is the group generally still active and curious.
2) Hand pick the guppies. Not all in a group are equal. Be diligent to look that the guppy is swimming in all depths of the tank (specifically not just the top). That is will follow your finger when its run along the glass. That its body is plump and not skinny or too small. That there are no bumps, white spots, fuzzy spots, red spots indicating a trauma or scoliosis. That it seems to have the strength to handle it's fin size with its body size and that the fins are relatively undamaged and open. Fin clamping can be hard to notice if you aren't used to seeing it but you can kind of compare the fin sizes and shapes to the others around it.
3) Make your ratio 3 females to 1 male. I know 2:1 is recommended but I have had more success with 3:1. Mainly because near the beginning of this journey I would have 2:1 then 1 female would die resulting in me not having enough time to get more females quarantined and in there before the male harasses the remaining female to death. It also seems to cut down on stress related issues to have that extra buffer for the males attention.
3)Quarantine with medicine even it you bought the healthiest looking guppies in the valley. I found a parasite medicine has been the biggest decider on if the fish will live or not. I had only been using bacteria and fungus medicines at first and found a huge improvement in keeping them alive when I added the parasite treatment as well. As well I use a small amount of aquarium salt to help their immune systems.
4) Keep a close eye on their health especially for the first couple weeks. Watch to make sure everyone is eating food, that no one is floating at the surface lethargic and that there are no bumps, spots or anomalies appearing on them anywhere. I have had a particularly large issue with fungus around the gills, mouth and spots on their bodies within 1 to 2 days of bringing them home. Fin clamping is also a pretty consistently an indicator something is going wrong.

I left it out put having the proper tank parameters and feeding the correct amount of food as well as normal maintenance but those are very important too just unspoken. Though I will say I bought an Oxygen test when the guppies would float near the top of the water thinking it was my oxygen level but it turns out that it's just a sick guppy symptom and my oxygen was fine.

I hope this is at least a little helpful for anyone else taking on guppies for the first time. It can all be found spread out on the internet but I know I wish I had it all concisely in one place 6 months ago and if anyone has anything to add, I'd appreciate hearing it