Baby Guppy Diet Essentials

Baby guppies, or fry, are born live and ready to swim. They are tiny, measuring only 6-10mm in length, and have a voracious appetite. They need to be fed small, crushed food several times a day, and their diet should include protein-rich options such as bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, and microworms. It is important to separate baby guppies from adult fish, as they are at risk of being eaten by their parents and other adult fish in the same tank. They can be kept in a separate breeding tank or container, or a breeding box can be placed inside the main tank to keep them safe.

Live food sources for baby guppies

Live food sources are an excellent way to provide your baby guppies with essential nutrients for optimal growth and development. Here are some of the best live food options for your baby guppies:

Brine Shrimp

Brine shrimp are an excellent source of live food for baby guppies. They are small crustaceans that can be easily digested by juvenile guppies and are packed with proteins, making them a nutritious meal. You can either buy them from a local fish food store or hatch them yourself at home using a brine shrimp hatchery dish.

Micro Worms

Micro worms, including microworms and vinegar eels, are another great option for baby guppies. Their small size makes them easy for the fry to consume, and they are rich in essential nutrients. You can find microworms in freshwater bodies like lakes and streams, or you can purchase them from a retail pet store.

Daphnia

Daphnia is a safe and reliable food option for baby guppies. They are high in nutritional value and are not hazardous to the guppies' breeding tank. You can add live daphnia to the tank, giving them time to grow, ensuring a constant food source for your juvenile guppies.

Bloodworms

Bloodworms are a popular treat for guppies and can be given as a supplement to their regular diet. They are high in protein and can be purchased from a fish store or caught yourself by running a net through standing water.

Mosquito Larvae

Mosquito larvae are another natural food source for guppies and can be easily collected. They provide a good treat for your baby guppies, but be sure to acquire small quantities to prevent them from hatching into mosquitoes.

Earthworms

Earthworms are suitable for baby guppies but must be shredded and rinsed before being offered as food.

When feeding live food to baby guppies, it is important to ensure that the food items are small enough for the fry to consume and that you do not overfeed them. Live food provides a great nutritional boost for baby guppies, promoting healthy growth and development.

Commercial foods for baby guppies

Commercial foods are a convenient and cost-effective way to feed your baby guppies a nutritionally complete diet. They are formulated to meet the specific nutritional needs of guppies and are available in a wide variety from different manufacturers.

Pellet Food

Pellet food is available in different sizes and forms, with some pellets made to float and others that sink. The most popular option is veggie pellets, which contain greens such as spirulina, algae, and plankton. These ingredients are rich in vitamins B, C, D, and E, as well as essential nutrients, calcium, and iron. Spirulina is particularly beneficial as it helps guppies resist skin infections and promotes healthier fins and tails. Pellet food is also slow to dissolve, which can be beneficial for some fish tanks. However, as a dehydrated food, pellets can sometimes cause blockages or impactions in guppy fish, so it is important to pre-soak them before feeding. Examples of good quality pellet food include:

• Bug Bites Fish Food by Fluval
• Northfin Food Community Formula
• Float Surface Feeder by New Life Spectrum

Wet Food

Wet food includes frozen and live food. Guppies enjoy eating live wet food, such as mosquito larvae and tubifex worms, but frozen wet food is a safer option. Good choices include freeze-dried bloodworms and frozen brine shrimp, which are a fantastic source of protein.

Flake Food

Flake food is often used by aquarists who want to feed their fish a healthy diet. It is inexpensive and dissolves quickly in water. Flake foods are made from a variety of ingredients, including wheat flour, rice, soy, corn, and other cereals, as well as vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. There is a wide variety of vegetarian flakes available, as well as flakes rich in proteins that can be used as an alternative to meat. Some good options include:

• Aqueon Tropical Fish Food Flakes
• API Tropical Flakes
• Fluval Color Enhancing Flakes
• TetraMin Plus Tropical Flakes

Commercial Fry Food

Commercial fry food is designed to meet the nutritional needs of baby guppies. It is typically small in size to make it easier for young fish to eat. Examples include:

• Ultra Guppy Nano Bits by Cobalt Aquatics
• Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets
• Sera Micron Nature

How to feed baby guppies

Baby guppies, or "fry", are born live and ready to eat. They have a voracious appetite, with a digestion cycle of 20-30 minutes, so they're ready to eat every half hour. However, this doesn't mean you should feed them continuously. For optimal growth, feed them 5-10 times daily. If you're keeping guppies as a hobby, a few feedings a day is sufficient.

Guppy fry will eat anything their adult counterparts do, as long as the food is crushed into small enough pieces for their tiny mouths. Live foods such as baby brine shrimp, microworms, daphnia, or vinegar eels are optimal, but frozen or dry foods are suitable alternatives. Crushed flake foods or specialised high-protein powder foods are also great choices. You can also give them an extra protein boost by feeding them hard-boiled egg yolk paste twice a day.

A diverse diet ensures your fish receive all the essential minerals and vitamins. You can even make your own homemade fish food.

How often to feed baby guppies

Baby guppies, or fry, have tiny mouths and high protein requirements, so they must be fed small amounts of food frequently. They should be fed around 5-6 times a day, every 2-3 hours, for the first 6 weeks of their lives. After the first 6 weeks, it is okay to decrease feedings to 3-4 times per day, or every 4-5 hours.

Baby guppies require a mixture of protein sources and vegetable matter. High-quality protein can be supplied in the form of baby brine shrimp, microworms, finely chopped beef heart, and/or 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.

It is important to note that baby brine shrimp should not be fed to guppies until they have grown into juveniles, as shrimp that are too large can be difficult for the fry to eat.

Additionally, it is crucial to monitor the amount of food given to baby guppies, as overfeeding can lead to swim bladder problems, which can be fatal.

What to feed baby guppies to help them grow

Baby guppies, or "fry", are born live and ready to swim. However, they are very small and vulnerable to being eaten by adult fish, so it is important to separate them from adult guppies and other fish. This can be done by placing the pregnant guppy in a separate tank or breeder net before she gives birth, or by providing hiding spots in the tank, such as live or artificial plants.

Guppies typically reach sexual maturity between 4 and 6 months of age and can give birth every month until they are about 2 to 2.5 years old. A female guppy can deliver 20-60 fry in a single birthing event, and this birthing cycle usually occurs roughly every 30 days.

Guppy fry have a fast digestion cycle of 20-30 minutes and are often ready to eat every half hour. However, this does not mean you should feed them continuously. For optimal growth, it is recommended to feed them 5-10 times daily if you are breeding guppies for profit. If you are simply keeping guppies as a hobby, a daily feeding suffices.

Guppy fry will eat anything that adult guppies do, as long as the food is crushed into small enough pieces for their tiny mouths. Live foods, such as baby brine shrimp, microworms, daphnia, or vinegar eels, are optimal for fry. If these are not available, frozen or dry foods are suitable alternatives. Crushed flake foods or specialised high-protein powder foods are also great choices. An additional protein boost can be provided in the form of hard-boiled egg yolk, which can be transformed into a paste and fed to the fry twice daily.

A diverse diet ensures that your guppies receive all the essential minerals and vitamins for healthy growth.

Frequently asked questions