
Guppies are omnivores with a varied diet—they will eat anything from store-bought fish flakes and pellets to live or freeze-dried foods, insect larvae, vegetables, and meat. They also graze on algae and spirulina. Guppies are not fussy eaters and will happily eat almost anything you offer them. However, they have small stomachs and can easily be overfed, which can lead to health issues.
In the wild, guppies eat anything that lives or falls into the water and fits in their mouth. This includes insects, vegetation, aquatic insect larvae, and algae. In an aquarium, guppies eat commercial pelleted or flaked fish food, a nutritious homemade blend, bloodworms, brine shrimp, cooked egg yolk, cucumbers, peas, and lettuce.
Adult guppies should be fed once or twice a day, with a 12-hour difference between feeds. Baby guppies, or fry, need to be fed more frequently—between four and eight times a day.
Characteristics | Values |
---|---|
Diet | Omnivorous |
Commercial food | Flake food for tropical fish, veggie pellets, brine shrimp, bloodworms, daphnia, mosquito larvae, beef, egg yolk |
Live food | Brine shrimp, bloodworms, mosquito larvae, earthworms, fruit flies |
Home-made food | Finely-chopped vegetables, fruit, hard-boiled egg yolk, beef heart |
Feeding schedule | Adult guppies: once or twice a day; Baby guppies: 4-8 times a day |
Overfeeding signs | Tubes of waste dangling behind the fish, Potbelly, Cloudy and dirty tank water |
What You'll Learn
Commercially available fish food
Guppies are omnivores and will eat almost anything you offer them. There are hundreds of companies that produce fish food for both adult guppies and fry.
Flakes
Flake food is the most common food for guppies. It is recommended to feed guppies a good quality flake food that is high in protein once a day. Quality flake foods will have the ingredients listed on the label. Flake food intended for tropical fish often includes natural colour enhancers that will make your guppies appear brighter and more colourful.
Pellets
Pellets are often too large for a guppy's mouth, so it is worth pre-soaking or crushing them first.
Freeze-dried
Freeze-dried foods are another option for guppies. These include:
- Brine shrimp
- Blood worms
- Tubifex worms
Veggie pellets
Veggie pellets contain greens such as algae, plankton and spirulina. These are high in vitamins B, C, D and E, as well as containing iron and calcium. Spirulina tablets help guppies resist skin infections and have healthier fins and tails.
Other options
Other options include:
- Sera Guppy Gran Nature Food
- Hikari Tropical Fancy Guppy Fish Food
- Freeze-dried daphnia
- Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Fish Food
- Tetra TetraMin Tropical Granules
- Biomass Tropical Fish Food
- Aqueon Shrimp Pellets
- TetraColor Tropical Flakes
- Tetra TetraMin Tropical Flakes
- Purify Series for Tetra Fish Food
- Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Fish Food, Small Granules
- Tetra Pro Fish Food, Tropical Color Crisps With Color Enhancers
- Tetra Goldfish Flakes
- Hikari Tropical Semi-Floating Micro Pellets Fish Food
- Cobalt Aquatics Color Enhancing Flakes with Probiotics for All Tropical Fish
- Aqueon Tropical Flakes
- Aqueon Tropical Granules
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Live or freeze-dried food
Guppies are omnivores, meaning they eat both meat and vegetables. In the wild, they are opportunistic feeders, consuming insects, vegetation, aquatic insect larvae, and algae. In a home aquarium, guppies can be fed a combination of commercial and live or frozen food.
Live Food
Live food options for guppies include:
- Brine shrimp
- Bloodworms
- Mosquito larvae
- Earthworms
- Fruit flies
- Daphnia
Live food carries a risk of transferring disease to the tank, so it is important to research the species before feeding it to your guppies.
Freeze-Dried Food
Freeze-dried alternatives to the above can be purchased and fed to guppies. These include:
- Brine shrimp
- Bloodworms
- Daphnia
- Tubifex worms
Freeze-dried food is a more nutritious option than commercial food but does not carry the same risk of disease transfer as live food.
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Vegetables
Guppies are omnivores, so vegetables are an important part of their diet. While guppies can survive on just guppy pellets or flakes, adding vegetables to their diet will give them the nutrients they need.
Some vegetables you can feed your guppies are:
- Mustard greens, zucchini, peas, spinach leaves, and kale
- Cucumber—remove the jelly bits and seeds, then cut into small slices
- Lettuce/romaine lettuce—rip into small pieces by hand, no need to cook
- Sweetcorn—boil for a minute to soften, then add to the tank
- Potato/sweet potato—cut grooves into it with a knife so there’s something for them to grip, then dice into very small bits
- Carrots—boil for about a minute to soften, then dice into small pieces
- Pumpkin—serve raw, cut into small pieces
- Bell peppers—cut into small pieces and remove all the seeds, then boil for a minute to blanch
Avoid feeding your guppies broccoli, cabbage, onions, or the jelly parts of tomatoes or cucumber, as these can contaminate your tank and foul the water.
You should remove any vegetables left in the tank after three or four hours, as after this time they will have lost most of their taste and the fish will be less interested in them. They will also start to go slimy and foul the water. Harder vegetables like carrots can be left for up to 12 hours.
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Meat
Guppies are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and meat. In the wild, they will eat anything that fits in their mouths, including meat from animal sources such as:
- Insects
- Insect larvae
- Mosquito larvae
- Brine shrimp
- Small crustaceans
- Water fleas
- Fish fry
- Other dead fish
Guppies can also be fed meat by their owners. It is recommended that guppies are occasionally fed meat as a treat, rather than as a staple part of their diet. Some meats that guppies can eat include:
- Beef
- Beef heart
- Chicken
- Chicken breast
- Shrimp
- Feeder fish
- Egg yolk
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Baby guppies (fry)
Baby guppies, also known as "fry", have tiny mouths and high protein requirements. They need to be fed separately from the adults, and their food must be crushed into a fine powder or ground so they can eat it.
Fry should be fed a combination of protein sources and vegetable matter. Good sources of protein include baby brine shrimp, microworms, finely chopped beef heart, and a mash of egg yolk and water. Vegetable matter can be used in smaller quantities and can take the form of infusoria, fresh and finely chopped dark green lettuce, or small pieces of boiled spinach.
Fry should be fed several times a day—between five and eight times, to be precise. Growing fry have greater energy needs than adult guppies and smaller stomachs, so they need tiny amounts of food more frequently. If the water becomes dirty or cloudy, reduce the amount of food and make sure it is small enough for them to eat.
Fry will mature within 10-12 weeks if they are well cared for. After about 2 months, they should be considerably larger and will only need to be fed 3–4 times a day. After about 4–5 months, they can be switched to an adult diet and fed 1–2 times a day.
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Frequently asked questions
Guppies are omnivores and will eat anything that lives in or falls into the water and fits in their mouth. This includes insects, vegetation, aquatic insect larvae, and algae.
The best diet for guppies is a protein-rich plant and animal-based nutrition from multiple sources. Guppies can eat store-bought fish flakes, veggie pellets, live or freeze-dried foods, insect larvae, vegetables, and meat.
Adult guppies should be fed once or twice a day, with a 12-hour difference between feeds. Baby guppies, or fry, need to be fed between four and eight times a day due to their high protein requirements and tiny stomachs.
Signs of overfeeding include tubes of waste stuck to the rear of the fish, swollen bellies, cloudy or dirty water, and leftover fish food floating in the tank.