Tasty Treats For Tetras And Guppies

Guppies and tetras are both popular choices for fishkeepers, especially beginners, due to their small size, tolerance of mistakes, and colourful bodies. They are also similar in that they are both omnivores and can live together peacefully in the same tank.

In the wild, guppies will eat algae, plant remains, vegetable matter, tiny crustaceans, diatoms, aquatic insect larvae, and other sources. Mosquito larvae are their primary source of food.

In captivity, guppies can be fed a varied diet including high-quality flakes, live or frozen food (like mosquito larvae, daphnia, bloodworms, and brine shrimp), and occasional vegetable supplements (cucumber, peas, lettuce, and boiled zucchini).

Tetra fish eat many of the same things as guppies. Fish flakes are the most common and convenient food for your fish, but it's important to add other food types to avoid health problems. Freeze-dried foods are a great option, as they are more convenient and safe than live food, but carry the same benefits. Frozen foods are also a good choice, although they are more expensive. Live food such as brine shrimp and tubifex worms can be given occasionally, but live food carries a risk of transmitting diseases.

High-quality flakes formulated for tropical fish

Tropical fish flakes are a great option for feeding your guppies and tetras. They are formulated to meet the nutritional needs of tropical fish, such as guppies and tetras, and provide a complete and balanced diet. These flakes are typically made with high-quality ingredients and are packed with essential vitamins and minerals.

One of the key benefits of tropical fish flakes is their convenience. They are easy to feed and store, making them an excellent choice for fish owners. The flakes are also designed to be the perfect size for small to medium-sized fish, ensuring that your guppies and tetras can easily eat them without any hassle. Additionally, they are formulated to produce less waste, resulting in cleaner and clearer water in your aquarium.

When choosing tropical fish flakes, it is important to select a reputable brand that uses high-quality ingredients. Look for flakes that are free from preservatives and artificial additives. The ingredients list should include a good balance of protein, carbohydrates, and essential nutrients. Some common ingredients in high-quality tropical fish flakes include salmon, whole herring, shrimp, plankton, spirulina, and various vitamins and minerals.

It is also important to note that while tropical fish flakes are a convenient and nutritious option, they should not be the only food source for your guppies and tetras. It is recommended to supplement their diet with other types of food, such as freeze-dried, frozen, or live food, to ensure a varied and well-rounded diet. This can include items like mosquito larvae, daphnia, bloodworms, and vegetables like cucumber, peas, and lettuce.

By offering your guppies and tetras a combination of high-quality tropical fish flakes and other supplementary foods, you can ensure that they receive the nutrition they need to stay healthy and thrive in their environment.

Live or frozen food

Guppies and tetras will happily eat live food that fits in their mouths. This includes mosquito larvae, daphnia, microworms, brine shrimp, and bloodworms. You can buy these from a pet store, or catch them yourself. If you're catching them, make sure you only collect small quantities of larvae to prevent them from hatching into mosquitoes. You can also feed your fish vegetables such as cucumber, peas, and lettuce, but these should be finely chopped.

Frozen food is a good alternative to live food, and you can buy it from most tropical fish stores or online. Frozen food should be soaked or thawed in water before serving to make it easier for your fish to eat and digest. You can also buy freeze-dried food, which has a longer shelf life.

If you want to breed your own live food, daphnia, microworms, and brine shrimp are all good options. Daphnia are easy to culture, but they crash easily, so it's best to maintain more than one culture so you can reseed if necessary. Microworms are a bit low in nutrition, but they're also easy to culture. Brine shrimp are the most protein-rich option, but they need to be kept in hot and salty water for the eggs to hatch, so you'll need to set up a separate tank or hatchery.

Vegetables

Guppies and tetras are omnivores, so it is important to feed them vegetables as part of a balanced diet. Guppies, in particular, can develop nutritional deficiencies if they are only fed protein meals.

Some vegetables that are safe to feed guppies and tetras include:

• Peas (fresh or frozen)
• Sweetcorn (fresh or frozen)
• Cucumber (but not the jelly parts)
• Zucchini/Courgette
• Lettuce
• Romaine lettuce
• Spinach
• Potato/Sweet potato
• Carrot
• Pumpkin
• Bell peppers (green, red, yellow, orange)

Some vegetables should be avoided, such as broccoli, cabbage, and anything that smells like onions. These can contaminate the water in your tank and foul it.

It is also important to remove any uneaten vegetables from the tank after a few hours, as they will start to go slimy and break down in the water. Hard vegetables like carrots can be left for up to 12 hours.

To prepare the vegetables, simply wash and cut them into small pieces. Some vegetables, like peas and sweetcorn, should be boiled for a minute first. You can also blanch vegetables like lettuce and bell peppers by giving them a quick boil before putting them in the tank.

It is best to use a vegetable clip to keep the vegetables in place, as they may float otherwise, and be harder for the fish to eat.

Feeding methods for vacations

Guppies and tetras are omnivores and can eat a variety of foods, including flakes, pellets, live food, and vegetables.

If you are going on vacation, there are several methods you can use to feed your guppies and tetras:

• Automatic feeder: You can use an automatic feeder to dispense food at regular intervals. Make sure to supply enough food for the duration of your trip and set the dispenser to release food once or twice a day.
• Feeder block or gel feeder: These are blocks of dry or gel-covered food that are left in the tank and eaten slowly. However, test these products before relying on them, as they may cause dangerous chemical changes or be ignored by the fish.
• Manual feeding by a friend or neighbour: You can ask someone to feed your fish their usual flake food once every two or three days. To avoid overfeeding, portion out the food in a pillbox or container with the day of the week marked.
• Fatten them up: If you are going away for less than a week, you can simply feed your fish larger amounts in the days leading up to your vacation.
• Live food: You can put a portion of live bloodworms in the tank the day before you leave. They will bury themselves in the substrate and pop out when you are away, providing food for your fish.

It is important to note that some sources advise against using feeder blocks, as they may cause an ammonia spike in the tank, which can be harmful to fish. Additionally, guppies and tetras can go without food for up to a week, so for shorter vacations, it may be best to simply leave them without food.

Baby guppies

Guppy fry also like to be in the light for a significant portion of the day. Try to keep the lights on in and around your tank for at least 12-16 hours per day. The reason guppy fry like to be in the light for so long is so that they can grow properly. Guppies that don't receive enough light as fry often grow in deformed ways, as their spines may not grow properly.

It's important to keep the water as fresh and clean as possible. This means doing partial water changes quite regularly to ensure that your guppy fry are growing in a clean environment. 50% water changes around twice a week is a good amount to start with. However, this number can change based on the size of your tank and the number of guppy fry in it.

Frequently asked questions