What to feed guppy fry to grow faster. How to create favorable conditions for guppy fry and what to feed them. Why does a guppy have a crooked spine?

Guppy (lat. Poecilia reticulata) is an aquarium fish that is known even to people who are very far from aquarium hobby, let alone amateurs.

Perhaps every aquarist has kept a couple of guppies at least once in his life, and many started their journey with them, and even now keep luxurious, selected species of guppies.

To answer all the questions about them, you probably need to write a book, but we will try to consider the most popular ones.

The homeland of the guppy fish is the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, and in South America - in Venezuela, Guiana and Brazil.

As a rule, they live in clean, running water, but also like brackish coastal waters, but not salty sea waters.

They feed on worms, larvae, bloodworms and various small insects. Because of this feature, they even began to be massively populated in areas where there are a lot of malaria mosquitoes, since guppies eat its larvae.

Male guppies in nature are much brighter than females, but their coloring is still far from the aquarium breeding forms.

She must protect them from predators, since the fish is small and defenseless.

The aquarium fish guppies got their name from the name of the discoverer (Robert John Lechmere Guppy). Robert Guppy was the first to find and describe this fish on the island of Trinidad in 1866.

Description

A small fish, with males smaller than females, and usually reaching a length of about 5 cm.

A guppy lives for 2-3 years, as its small size and warm water speed up metabolism and shorten its lifespan.

As for appearance, it is almost impossible to describe. Guppies cross so often and so much that even dozens of selective forms can be counted, and even more common ones.

Males and females are strikingly different from each other, but we will talk about this difference later.

Difficulty in content

A great fish for beginners and pros.

Small, active, beautiful, very easy to reproduce, undemanding in maintenance and feeding, it seems that the list can go on forever.

However, we would warn novice aquarists against purchasing bright, selective forms of guppies. How to understand that the form is selective? If all the fish in the aquarium are strictly the same color, and the males have long and uniform fins, then these are demanding guppies.

If the males are all different, like the females, the coloration is a riot of colors and colors, then these are the guppies that the average aquarist needs.

The fact is that as a result of crossing, they become very beautiful, but also very capricious, losing their advantages.

Hybrid forms of guppies already have weak immunity and are very demanding in terms of maintenance. So if you just decide to try your hand at aquarium keeping, buy the simplest but colorful goops.

They will delight you no less than the selection forms, but they will live much longer and there will be fewer problems.

And for the pros, there will be selective forms of guppies - they need to be carefully sorted, bred and cared for even more carefully.

Feeding the guppy

It is very easy to feed them; they eat a wide variety of foods - artificial, frozen, live, even dry.

They eat flakes, granules and other artificial foods with pleasure, but it is better to choose well-known brands, such as Tetra.

Among the living, the best food to eat are bloodworms, tubifex, brine shrimp, and coretra.

It is important to remember that guppies have a small mouth and stomach, the food should be small, and it is better to feed it two to three times a day, in portions that the fish will eat in 2-3 minutes.

Guppies also love food with a high content of plant substances, so that their gastrointestinal tract remains healthy and their immunity high, buy, in addition to regular flakes, also with herbal supplements and feed them twice a week.

Separately, I would like to say about dry food - this is not branded food, but dried daphnia, which is often sold at poultry markets. I strongly advise against feeding fish with this food, even guppies. It is poor in vitamins, nutrients and is essentially just a dried shell. It inflames the gastrointestinal tract of fish and they die.

Like all tropical fish, guppies love warm water (22-25°C), but can live in a wider range of 19.0 - 29.0°C.

As for water parameters, for ordinary forms this practically does not matter. They adapt to local conditions so quickly that moving to a new aquarium is tolerated without any problems at all.

It would be ideal if the aquarium has: 7.0 - 8.5, and hardness 12.0 - 18.0, but the parameters can be completely different, which will not prevent the guppies from living and reproducing.

The aquarium can be small; 20 liters is enough for 5 fish. But, the larger the volume, the more fish you can contain and the more beautiful it will look.

It is best to have a lot of plants in the aquarium, as this will resemble the natural habitat and will significantly increase the survival rate of the fry in the general aquarium. Lighting can be anything from bright to dim.

It is advisable to use a filter; for guppies, an internal one is quite enough, but if there is an external one, then great. It’s just better to cover the holes in it with an additional fine mesh, since a powerful filter is not only capable of sucking in fry, but even adult fish.

Guppies cannot be called a schooling fish, but keeping them in pairs makes little sense. It is very small in size and in small quantities is almost invisible in the aquarium.

For guppies, the rule is simple - the more there are in the aquarium, the more impressive and beautiful they look.

Compatibility

A very peaceful fish that does not cause any trouble to its neighbors. But she can be offended, especially by large and predatory fish, which perceive the guppies only as food.

Guppies get along best with peaceful and small fish: - , .

Sex differences

It is very, very easy to distinguish a female guppy from a male. Males are smaller, slimmer, they have a large caudal fin, and the anal fin has turned into a gonopodium (roughly speaking, this is a tube with the help of which male viviparous fish fertilize the female).

Female guppies are larger, have a large and visible belly and are usually quite pale in color.

Even juveniles can be distinguished quite early; as a rule, those of the fry that first began to color will be males.

Guppy breeding

One of the easiest fish to breed is domestic guppies; they breed very easily in home aquariums.

The fact is that they are viviparous, that is, the female carries the eggs in her stomach, and a fully formed fry is born.

For the first hours he will lie down and hide, but very soon he will begin to swim and feed.

To breed guppies you need... a male and a female. Not even that, one young and active male is enough to court 3-5 females tirelessly.

That is, for successful breeding it is quite possible to keep one male for 3-5 females. More males are possible, since males do not fight with each other, but only compete. You will see how the male tirelessly pursues the female, but this is normal and you do not need to do anything about it.

The fact is that during such pursuits he impregnates the female and soon you will have fry.

Female with dark spot - coming soon!

What does it take for guppies to reproduce? Fresh and clean water, good and plentiful feeding and a couple of fish of different sexes.

As a rule, guppies are quite successfully bred in a community aquarium. But they also eat their fry, and neighbors will help if they are there. This means that it is better to place pregnant females in a separate aquarium.

How can you tell if your guppy is pregnant? In a pregnant female, the spot near the anus begins to darken, this can already be seen by the eyes of the growing fry, and the darker it is, the sooner she will give birth.

Place the mother in a separate aquarium, with the same water and thickets of plants, where the fry can hide from her (yes, she can eat her children). When the due date comes (maybe up to a month, if you were in a hurry to put her away), she will give birth without any problems.

Immediately after giving birth, the female needs to be bred. Taking care of baby guppies is quite easy, just like taking care of their parents.

What to feed guppy fry? You can feed them finely ground branded flakes (which you feed the parents), but it is better to feed them dry egg or branded food for fry. Note that there is such a relic of the past as dry food.

This is dried daphnia and cyclops and can still be found commercially. So, it is strictly not recommended to feed guppy fry this rubbish. The nutritional value there is slightly higher than zero; in fact, it is an analogue of battering ram. Will you grow a lot if you eat one ram? The same can be said for adult fish.

They need to be cleaned regularly so that any leftover food does not spoil the water. You can also add snails to this aquarium, for example or. They do not touch the fry, but will eat the leftover food.

How the fry is born:

It is important that the water is clean, but it is impossible to change a lot at once, since the fry are still weak and a large water change is dangerous for them. The easiest way is to change about 10% of the water every one or two days, or 25% once a week.

The water temperature for guppy fry is very important, and you need to keep it at 24-26.5 C.

With proper care and feeding, guppy fry grow quickly and within a month to a month and a half begin to color.

Frequently asked questions about guppies

What fish can you keep with guppies?

Some species have already been listed above, but you can also look at the article - everything on this list is well suited for keeping with guppies.

How do you know if a guppy is pregnant or about to give birth?

Typically, a female guppy gives birth to fry once a month, but the timing may vary depending on the water temperature and living conditions. Note the time since the last time she gave birth and observe. In a female ready for another birth, the spot becomes darker; the eyes of the fry are visible.

How does a guppy breathe?

Like all fish - dissolved oxygen in the water, do not forget to include aeration and filtration.

How long do guppies live?

About two years, but it all depends on conditions and temperature. The higher the water temperature, the shorter their life. Some fish live up to 5 years.

How often should you feed your guppies?

Every day, and in small portions two to three times a day. For example, morning and evening.

Once a week you can have a fasting day, but keep in mind that the fish will actively look for food and the first victims will be their own fry.

Why do guppies' tails break?

There could be many reasons, but the most common is old water that is rarely changed. Ammonia and nitrates accumulate in it, and they poison fish and destroy fins. Replace the water regularly with fresh water.

There may also be a sudden water change, injury or poor feeding when there are few vitamins.

If the guppy's tail is missing, then this is an alarming sign - either someone is cutting it off, and you need to carefully examine the fish with which it is kept, or it has contracted an infectious disease, and you need to take an even closer look at the other fish.

Why does a guppy's tail stick together?

Again - either old and dirty water, or an infection, or poor feeding. Try changing 20% ​​of the water once a week and monitor the condition of other fish.

Why does a guppy have a crooked spine?

Such fish are found in almost any species; as a rule, this is a defect from birth. If this happens in an adult fish, it may be due to the fact that it is kept in too small an aquarium, with a large number of fish.

In guppies, the spine is also curved due to old age, and this is normal, but the most common cause is fish tuberculosis or mycobacteriosis.

The disease is complex, and its treatment is not easy and does not always bring results. To avoid the spread of infection, it is better to isolate such fish.

Why do guppies only give birth to females?

An exact answer to this question has not been found. Apparently, when there is an excess of males, the laws of nature come into play and the population compensates for the females in order to preserve itself.

Is it possible to keep only one guppy in an aquarium?

It’s possible, although it looks a little sad...

Still, this is a cheerful and lively fish that loves company. If you are looking for a fish that would be beautiful, unpretentious and would live wonderfully on its own, then look towards the betta.

Do guppies need oxygen and a filter?

Not required, but recommended. You can buy an inexpensive internal filter with a sponge. It will perform its functions quite well and will not suck in fish.

Please note that if you bought a filter and it is placed higher (so that the surface of the water in the aquarium is in motion), then you have absolutely no need to buy additional aeration or, more simply, oxygen.

Does a guppy need soil and plants?

It's your choice. An empty aquarium is easier to clean, but it looks worse, the fry can’t survive in it, and the frogs themselves like to frolic among the plants. I am for an aquarium with soil and plants.

Does a guppy need light?

No, fish do not need light at all, other than what falls on the aquarium during the day. Plants need light to grow.

Do guppies spawn?

No, they are viviparous. That is, the fry is born completely ready for life and can immediately swim.

Sometimes he falls out in the egg, but it breaks and he swims. Sometimes it has a yolk sac, which it quickly digests.

Do guppies sleep?

Yes, but not like people. This is more of an active holiday, when at night the fish reduce their activity, but still swim.

And it’s better to turn off the lights at night, although some people don’t do this, but isn’t it dark in nature at night?

How many fry does a guppy give birth to?

Depends on the female, her age and size. Usually there are about 30-50 pieces, but sometimes there are 100.

How long does a baby guppy grow?

Very fast in good conditions. Males become sexually mature at two months, and females at three.

Can guppies be kept in sea water?

No, they tolerate lightly salted water well, but they die in sea water; these are freshwater fish.

Why do guppies swim on the surface?

They breathe oxygen dissolved in the water, and your aquarium does not have enough of it. Because of which? Perhaps it’s too hot, perhaps you haven’t cleaned the aquarium or changed the water for a long time, perhaps it’s too crowded.

Be sure to turn on aeration or filtration (place the filter closer to the surface of the water to enhance gas exchange) and replace some of the water with fresh water.

Why do guppies jump out of the aquarium?

They can do this either accidentally or because of bad water - for example, if it has not been changed for a long time and the soil in the aquarium has not been siphoned off.

The reason may also be a low amount of oxygen in the water, read about this above.

Why does a guppy's tail stick together or stick together?

Unfortunately, it is impossible to pinpoint the exact reason, even if the aquarium is near you. This may be improper feeding (monotoneous, only dry food or plenty of it), the water parameters may be unsuitable (too much ammonia), or it may be illness.

The minimum that needs to be done is to change some of the water, siphon the soil and change the type of food.

What kind of catfish can you keep with guppies?

Any small ones. More or less large catfish, almost all predators. The only exception is that it can be kept with guppies.

Well, any corydoras will get along great with guppies and will be very useful, eating up the remaining food from the bottom.

How to care for baby guppies?

The most unpretentious of the fry, they survive in the wild. But, if you regularly change the water, give enough food for them to eat in a couple of minutes and feed the fry two or three times a day, then they will grow quickly, color and delight you.

What to feed guppy fry?

There are no difficulties in feeding, they eat crushed flakes, but it is better to give brine shrimp nauplii or chopped tubifex.

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Just like fry of all types of aquarium fish, it is necessary to feed guppy fry only with high-quality live food. The most affordable live food cultivated at home can confidently include nematode worms, which are sometimes also called microfeed, microworm or vinegar eel.

This live food is suitable not only for guppy fry, but also for all poeciliid fish fry. You can learn how to properly cultivate microworms from my publication “Breeding nematodes at home.” You can also feed guppy fry with more nutritious live food, for example, Daphnia moina.

Daphnia is suitable not only for feeding guppy fry, but also for grown juveniles and adult fish. Read how to breed daphnia at home in my publication “Food for Daphnia fish.” Also, if you wish, you can order breeding of daphnia by mail for breeding it at home.

Some aquarists claim that guppies are simple and unpretentious aquarium fish and that guppies can be fed with dry and artificial food. But all these beliefs can be attributed more likely to the natural form, for example, Endler's guppy. The natural type of guppies is actually more unpretentious and hardy than the selected species. Fry of natural species of guppies and adult fish are less likely to get sick and die.

Fry of natural species of guppies are able to grow even on dry food, but with a noticeable growth retardation, and in order for the fry to grow well, they will still have to be fed with live food. Breeding guppy fish (usually with elongated caudal and dorsal fins) are weaker than natural guppies, so it is advisable to feed the fry of selective guppies only with live food.

In addition to live food cultivated at home, you can feed guppy fry with live food from natural reservoirs. Such food can be: rotifers, cyclops, daphnia, small bloodworms, coretra and tubifex.

So, how to keep guppy fry in an aquarium? The first thing you need to decide is one very important question: are you going to keep the guppy fry in a community aquarium or will you raise them separately from other aquarium fish.

If you decide to keep guppy fry in a community aquarium, along with adult guppies and other aquarium fish, you should know some important points for keeping guppy fry in a community aquarium.

The main point is the risk that guppy fry in a community aquarium may be considered by other fish, as well as by the parents of these fry themselves, as legitimate prey and a pleasant variety in the daily diet.

In order to increase the chances of guppy fry to survive when kept in a community aquarium, the aquarist should try to completely eliminate or at least reduce the number of predatory and aggressive fish in the aquarium where it is planned to keep guppy fry. It is also important to establish good nutrition for all the fish in such an aquarium; being well-fed, peaceful aquarium fish have less incentive to look for guppy fry and eat them.

In addition, the general aquarium where it is planned to keep guppy fry must be provided with a large number of small shelters; in such shelters, the guppy fry will be able to hide from larger aquarium fish. The best solution would be a large number of long-stemmed, small-leaved plants such as elodea. The same elodea does not even need to be rooted; the elodea floating at the surface of the water creates an excellent shelter for guppy fry, especially if the elodea is present in large numbers. In this case, food for the guppy fry (in a community aquarium it is better to feed the fry separately, but at the same time as the other fish) can be thrown right into the elodea thickets, where it will be difficult for large fish to reach and at the same time will be right in front of the fry’s nose guppy These are the nuances that you need to know in order to keep guppy fry in a community aquarium.

Having talked about how to keep guppy fry in a general aquarium, let’s move on to keeping guppy fry in a separate special aquarium for fry. Such an aquarium is often called a “piggyback” or “baby tank”. To keep guppy fry, we need an aquarium of 20-40 liters; in this regard, an aquarium of 30 liters is optimal.

Decorations and soil in such an aquarium will only make it more difficult to care for, so decorations and soil in an aquarium are undesirable for guppy fry.

Also, such an aquarium will require aeration and filtration. With the recommended planting densities of guppy fry in the aquarium below, a simple sponge filter connected to a compressor will be suitable as a filter. To maintain the temperature, you will most likely need a heater, and to provide daylight, a lamp; in this case, fluorescent lamps can be recommended, they are more economical and emit much less heat.

Depending on how many guppy fry are planned to be kept in the aquarium, suitable equipment for such an aquarium is selected, as well as a regime for caring for the aquarium, the frequency and volume of water changes in it are planned.

Ideally, at the first stage (raising guppy fry to teenagers and sorting them by gender), in a 30-liter aquarium it is better to keep no more than 2-3 marks of guppy fry, which do not differ much in size. Cannibalism is not observed when keeping guppy fry of different ages, but too much variation in age is still undesirable.

Based on the number of guppy fry recommended above in a 30-liter aquarium, the optimal care regimen for just such an aquarium is then proposed. It is better to change the water in it daily at least 20% per change, preferably 30-40%. Siphoning the bottom should also be done daily; it is most convenient to do it during water changes. It is better to wash the filter sponge at least once a week, possibly more often, depending on how quickly it becomes clogged.

In this case, it would be appropriate to recall that the aquarium filter and aeration should work around the clock without turning off, and the filter sponge itself should be carefully washed in water taken from the aquarium (but not in the aquarium itself, and the water used to wash the sponge should be returned to do not fill the aquarium, but pour it down the drain), this way we preserve most of the beneficial bacteria contained in the aquarium filter sponge, the site emphasizes. Water for changes in the aquarium must be left to settle for 12-24 hours, if the water is of poor quality, then longer, or use a water filter, preferably a carbon one, without any flavoring or aromatic additives; reverse osmosis filters have their own specifics when preparing water for an aquarium.

Guppy fry need to be fed 3-5 times a day, the calculation should be such that the fry can find food in the aquarium at any time.

In the first two or three days, it is advisable to make the daylight hours as long as possible, then gradually, over the course of 3-4 months, reduce it to standard. This condition is not critical, but it allows for an increase in the rate of growth and development when keeping fry and adolescent guppies.

The optimal temperature for keeping fry in the first 3-4 weeks will be 28 degrees Celsius. Then the temperature can be gradually reduced to 26 degrees, and after 3-4 months to 24 degrees. This temperature regime is not critical, however, an increased temperature allows for higher growth rates of fry and adolescent guppies in the first days, weeks and months of keeping.

It is best to feed guppy fry in the first 2-3 weeks with brine shrimp with an incubation period of no more than 6-8 hours - this brine shrimp has the greatest nutritional value and is optimal for raising fry and juvenile guppies. At 3-4 weeks, you can begin to include bloodworms, tubifex and other food and additives typical for adult guppies in the food for the fry, but the main thing is not to forget to grind the food, otherwise the fry may not swallow it.

Nutritional recommendations are also not of critical importance; guppy fry can be fed with regular dry crushed food for adult fish, but guppy fry will grow and develop much slower on such food.

Guppy fry should be sorted and placed by sex as soon as it can be determined. It is also desirable (but not critical) to sort and place fry and juvenile guppies by size, avoiding too much variation in this parameter between fish kept together (this also has a beneficial effect on the speed of development and growth of fry and juvenile guppies).

The main distinctive sexual characteristic of male guppies at an early age is the lower fin, which begins to gradually lengthen and curl, located next to the anus of the fish. This fin gradually curls into a thin tube - the gonopodium - this is the main sexual characteristic of the male guppy.

After the formation of the gonopodium, when guppy fry of different sexes are kept together, pregnancy of young females can be expected. To prevent such pregnancies, the fry are seated as soon as possible.

In addition, raising fry and adolescent guppies separately stimulates their growth and development, since when kept separately, the fish's energy is not wasted on flirting and chasing.

After dividing by gender, the number of guppies in nursery aquariums (the density of fish in the aquarium) must be reduced in accordance with the increased size of the fry (now more likely to be teenagers). However, by this time, teenage guppies can already be released into a community aquarium; by this time, adult guppies will not perceive them as prey, but we must keep in mind that the rate of development in a community aquarium will decrease somewhat, but this will not cause harm to the fish.

And for starters, some important points: guppy fry are very active and mobile fish, if the fry are lethargic and move little (except when they have to hide from older fish in a common aquarium, and even in the first few hours after birth), problems are possible with the quality of water in the aquarium.

If guppy fry do not eat during feeding, there may be problems with the water quality in the aquarium; a healthy guppy fry is a fry with a round belly and a rabid appetite.

More than 90% of problems with guppy fry are related to the quality of water in the aquarium and/or insufficient cleaning of the aquarium itself: siphoning the bottom, changing water, cleaning the filter.

Guppy fry begin to color differently and at different ages, depending on the specific breed of guppy.

A mark from one female guppy can contain fry from different males, and a female fertilized once can give birth several times. A pregnant female guppy may not look pregnant at all, may not lose weight after giving birth, and may spawn fry within a few days.

The female guppy marks her fry approximately every 30 days. Give or take a few days. The number of fry in a tag can be from several to one and a half hundred, usually 10-30.

For the first few hours after birth, guppy fry may lie on the bottom and practically not move.

Guppy fry with a yolk sac are underdeveloped fry that appeared as a result of premature birth of a female guppy; most often, premature birth of a female guppy occurs due to a sudden and massive water change or transplantation of guppies into a newly started aquarium (all the water there is fresh), will survive Whether the fry are premature or not depends on the individual case, but the mortality rate among them is very high.

This article outlined the bulk of information that may be required when raising guppy fry (almost everything written above is also true for platies).

I hope this article helped answer the question of how to keep guppy fry in an aquarium.

Most aquarists are actively interested in breeding fish, and with the appearance of tiny fry, the question of feeding arises. Proper nutrition affects many factors in the development of newly hatched fish and the condition of adult fish. Feeding fry is significantly different from feeding juveniles of a larger variety, so let's figure it out.

These fish are considered quite unpretentious, agile and common in many aquariums. When a female guppy spawns in a home pond, the small fry, almost immediately after birth, begin to swim and look for food.

The most important period in the life of guppy fry is the first week of their life. If during this period they are kept at a comfortable temperature and fed correctly, then the young will be able to enjoy good growth and active life.

If guppy fish do not eat properly in the first weeks of life, then they will lag behind in development and will not be as beautiful and healthy.

Immediately after the female spawns, experienced aquarists recommend planting her in another container. This is required so that the adult does not eat its offspring, which are 3-4 mm in size. It is believed that this is not typical for female guppies, but such cases occur often.

Based on all of the above, young fry must survive and find their own food.

Diet and nutritional features

Baby guppies eat completely differently than adult fish. Large individuals eat once a day, and their young require food up to 6 times a day. During 1 feeding, they must eat all the food served to them, otherwise it will settle to the bottom of the aquarium and form a lot of nitrogen, which poses a danger to the life of the fish. In this regard, it is recommended to change the water daily and take it from the container where the parents of the baby guppies live.

Baby guppies are able to eat the same food as mom and dad, but it is very large for them, so it is customary to crush it and grind it into powder with your fingers. This method is used by many fish owners, but in the early stages of their life it is better to use specially prepared plant, live and commercial products.

Baby guppies, even at the first stages of life, require a lot of food and frequent meals. Also, in order to provide the fish with a warm and comfortable atmosphere, many aquarists leave the lights on for 2-3 days and feed them every 3-4 hours. This allows the fry to get stronger, adapt to the new space and grow a little.

Food options for fry

1. Natural food of plant or protein origin. Often it is grown by aquarists themselves.
2. Products for initial feeding of fry. They are sold at any pet store.

Scientists have not yet determined which complementary feeding option is the best, but for such small fish, a good nutritional balance and avoidance of overfeeding are important.

Commercial feed

Retail chains regularly provide starter feed for fry, so purchasing them is not difficult. The most popular of them are dry mixtures and solutions from the German manufacturer Tetra.

Tetra BioMin

Lure Tetra BioMin Popular with aquarists. It is a dense paste specially designed for the smallest viviparous fish.

It includes:

• fish and beef liver (carefully ground to a powder consistency);
• Artemia;
• egg yolk;
• mosquito larvae;
• sprouted wheat flour.

The complementary food is in a tube, and to give it to the fish you should:

1. Dip the neck into water.
2. Make 1 small press.
3. After this, the food will separate from the tube and gradually dissolve in the water.
4. The fry will absorb water along with the paste, receiving nutrients.

Tetra MicroMin

Lure Tetra MicroMin– contains the most necessary useful elements for baby guppies. This complementary feeding option is made in the form of a dry powder. It is great for the smallest babies up to 10mm in size.

It includes:

• vitamins to stimulate the brightness of the color of fish - D, A;
• vitamin T, intended for active growth;
• calcium, carotene and other elements.

This mixture is absolutely safe for fish, because during production it undergoes a special ultraviolet treatment, which allows the food to be disinfected.

GBL

Lure GBL– contains all the necessary nutrients for the smallest aquatic inhabitants. The composition contains mineral supplements and proteins.

Sera

Feed Sera provides quality food products for baby guppies (German production). When choosing these products, you can select food separately for newly hatched and older pets. This mixture forms a film enriched with beneficial microorganisms, which the fry can absorb as needed.

Feeding guppy fry with spirulina:

Natural feed

According to experienced owners of home ponds, it is also necessary to give the fry natural food in crushed form. This is due to the fish approaching natural living conditions.

It is recommended to feed the smallest guppies, but after 1 week their diet can be diversified by adding microworms, brine shrimp, rotifers, cyclops and small bloodworms. Initially, aquarium owners purchase these products from pet stores, but after some time, they get the hang of it.

The most common homemade guppy food is egg yolk and dairy products.

Egg yolk feeding

Manufacturing process:

1. The egg is hard boiled;
2. Rub it on the finest grater and pour it into a glass of water;
3. The contents of the glass are thoroughly mixed until smooth, and then this mixture is added to the aquarium using a pipette.

Dairy feed

To prepare this complementary food, you need to hold a glass of milk in a water bath until all the liquid has evaporated from it, leaving a white powder. Next, we collect it, and the food is ready for consumption.

It is worth noting that foods made from eggs and milk are not complete, so they should be used together with other nutrients.

Live food

Breeding live food at home is a common phenomenon. The main representative of this complementary food is a microworm, consisting of pure protein, which is ideally absorbed by guppy fish.

To breed this worm successfully, a little preparation is required. Mix water with corn flour (to a thick consistency), add about 1/4 teaspoon of yeast and leave the mixture for a couple of hours.

Next you need to get the worm itself. To do this, you need to explore wet places in nature, find a small, white microworm there and put it into a prepared container with a pre-prepared mixture.

The microworm reproduces very quickly, so after a few days, it can already be given to the fry.

Feeding. First sexual signs

Proper care is impossible without feeding. For the first 3 weeks of life, they can be fed live dust and brine shrimp with an incubation period of 6-8 hours. In the first month of life, you can add bloodworms, chopped tubifex, and cyclops to the diet. It is important that the feed is crushed. You can also feed hard-boiled and chopped chicken yolk, alternating it with other foods. It is recommended to provide branded food for guppy fry.

Look at the newly born guppy fry.

As the fry grow older, they need to be sorted. When it is possible to identify the sex, especially of mature guppies, prepare an aquarium with water, diluting it with water from the fish tank. Guppies can breed from the age of 2-4 weeks, so to avoid early pregnancy of females, sorting should be done.

The dominant feature of male guppies in the early stages is the elongation and folding of the lower fin, which is located near the anus. Over time, this fin will develop into a gonopodium. Once the gonopodium is formed, it will be easier to determine the sex in the early stages. Raising fry of different sexes is good for their health. When kept separately, it is easier to care for them, and they do not waste their energy chasing each other.

If the fry do not take food during feeding, it means that the water quality does not meet the standards. Healthy fry have a rounded abdomen and a strong appetite. Many problems with raising fry are due to the fact that they are not properly cared for. This applies to cleaning the aquarium (bottom siphon, water changes, filtration, aeration).

The first signs of coloring in baby fish do not appear immediately, depending on the species or breed. Sometimes a female guppy is able to give birth to offspring from different males, or once fertilized, a female may give birth every month. The number of fry in one brood is about 20. Therefore, it happens that fry from several broods grow in an aquarium. The first time after birth, the fry can remain motionless at the bottom.

If you do not properly care for the female during pregnancy, she may give birth to premature fry ahead of schedule, in which the yolk sac will be visible. Premature birth of a female occurs due to frequent water changes in the aquarium, or due to the introduction of guppies into a recently started aquarium. The mortality rate among premature fry is very high.

How to properly care for guppy fry:: Aquarium fish

Guppies are very popular fish that can be bought in special stores at a relatively low price. If desired, you can also breed them, but only on the condition that the fry are provided with proper care.

Basics of caring for guppy fry in a community aquarium

The most important rule that must be followed by people who decide to raise fry together with adults is that you need to carefully monitor the amount of food and never let the guppies go hungry. The fact is that these fish may well eat the fry if there is not enough food. Moreover, it is advisable that the fry have their own shelter, a special part of the aquarium where you will pour some of the food for them. This will ensure the relative safety of small fish.


Choose plants with long stems and small leaves for the fry. They will help create a protected place in the aquarium and provide comfortable housing for the kids next to the adults.

Artemia can be used as food for guppy fry in the first weeks of their life. 4-5 weeks after the fish are born, add tubifex and bloodworms to their diet. Remember to grind the food thoroughly so that the fish can eat it. Give them food at least 3 times a day. In this case, it is advisable to sprinkle a little more food than they can eat immediately, so that later the fry have the opportunity to refresh themselves. Sprinkle the food as close as possible to the plants where the baby guppies live so they don't have to swim out to the adults.

How to keep guppy fry in a separate aquarium

Constantly monitor the appearance of the fish. Baby guppies should have a large, round belly. It is also important that they eat a lot and do not refuse food. If your babies don't want to eat, they may be sick or you may not be housing them properly or providing the appropriate care.
For guppy fry, an aquarium with a volume of about 20-40 liters with high-quality aeration and many small plants is suitable. At the same time, it is advisable not to supplement the fish’s housing with soil, otherwise you will only complicate the process of caring for the babies.
When raising guppy fry in a separate aquarium, it is necessary to constantly monitor the temperature and quality of the water. Under no circumstances should you pour unsettled tap water into a container - you must leave it for 2-3 days and only then pour it.
It is recommended to replace 30-40% of the water in the aquarium daily to keep the guppy fry comfortable. As for the water temperature, in the first 3-4 weeks of the fry’s life it should not fall below 28°C. Then you can gradually, over the course of a week, reduce it to 26°C, and then to 24°C.

Fish diet

Setting up a guppy aquarium

Guppy breeding rules

Breeding guppies and caring for their fry is quite simple. Fish that have reached the reproductive cycle begin to reproduce on their own while in a community aquarium. Before giving birth, the female's abdomen swells greatly and becomes almost square in shape. As a rule, they give birth within a month, so the pregnancy of the fish is easy to notice.

Already a few days before birth, a separate tank for the fry should be ready, since breeding guppies is fraught with the risk of the fry being eaten by the parents. To increase the chances of survival of the fry, you can place dense bushes of living plants in the general aquarium, which will create shelter. You can prepare a separate tank for the female, which has holes for the fry. After the female has given birth to her fry (sometimes this can happen within 24 hours or more), she can be transferred to the community aquarium almost immediately. But it is better to place the female guppy in a tank with a separator a week before giving birth. If the situation changes abruptly, the female may have a miscarriage.

The immune system of fry is not as strong as that of adults. Fry need to be fed frequently - 3-4 times a day. Guppy fry should measure 2.5 cm in length on the day they are placed in a common aquarium with adult fish. Starter food – brine shrimp larvae, branded food for guppy fry.

How to raise guppies:: Guppy fry, how to distinguish between gender and color:: Aquarium fish

Fish guppy- ideal for a beginner aquarist. They are unpretentious, happily eat a wide variety of food and are not too picky about their living conditions. Male guppies are very beautiful - they are distinguished by bright and long tails, and their bodies are covered with multi-colored spots. The colors of these fish are very diverse. One of the interesting features of guppies is that they are viviparous fish. They do not lay eggs, but immediately give birth to fully formed fry.

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You will need

• - aquarium with a capacity of 3-4 liters;
• - separate smaller container for raising fry;
• - a pair of guppies;
• - gravel for creating soil;
• - several aquatic plants;
• - fish food, live or dry;
• - a net for transplanting fish.

Instructions

1. To keep a couple of fish, you will need a 3-4 liter container, since guppies do not require a high oxygen content in the water. You can use ordinary gravel as soil, but it is better to ensure that the soil is collected from an environmentally friendly place. Don't forget to rinse the gravel thoroughly and boil it for 15-20 minutes to disinfect. If you want to complement the interior of the aquarium with driftwood and large stones, place them on the bottom before adding gravel. Plant the plants in the soil before filling the aquarium with water.

2. Place one or two opposite-sex pairs of fish in the aquarium. Female and male guppies are quite different from each other: the female is larger than the male, she has a more modest short tail and a greenish-gray color. You need to feed the fish once a day. They happily eat dry food, such as gammarus, or live food, such as bloodworms. Bloodworms should be given at the rate of 1-5 worms per fish, depending on the size of the fish.

3. Monitor the size of the abdomen of female guppies: as soon as it begins to increase, use a net to catch and place the fish in a separate container with water and plants. The water temperature in this vessel should be 1-2 degrees higher than in a general aquarium. Wait for the guppy to give birth. Depending on the age of the female, the number of her fry per litter ranges from 10 to 100 pieces. The older the fish, the more fry it can give birth to. Return the female to the community aquarium - the fry will not need her care. Let small guppies stay for 2-3 weeks separately from other fish, otherwise adults may mistake them for live food.

4. Baby guppies grow very quickly: within three months they will reach maturity. Males stop growing when they reach this age, but with each passing month they become brighter and more beautiful, and their fins and tails continue to form. The full flowering of the beauty of the male guppy occurs by the year. Females only grow in size. Until the fry reach the size of adult fish, it is better to feed them dry food, carefully rubbing it between your fingers or “live dust”.

5. If you do not plan to give away or sell young fish, take care of purchasing a larger aquarium so that the fish are not crowded. Under good conditions, guppies breed approximately once a month.

Video on the topic

note

Try not to overfeed your fish. If there is too much food, they risk overeating and getting sick.

Helpful advice

To prevent dry and live food from spreading throughout the aquarium (which can lead to water spoilage), purchase special floating feeders;
Fish will feel much better in an aquarium equipped with a special lamp for illumination.