Guppy Fry Care???

[turtle10]

Hi sorry for posting in the betta section but I feel I will get more responses this way, it is important.


As with betta care sites, many of the guppy sites have conflicting info when it comes to fry care. Are there any betta lovers out there that have knowledge and experience with guppy breeding?

I have no males, my females were already hit when I got them lol. I have one in a separate 10 g filled halfway who looks like she is going to give birth any time. She has squared off a bit I think and I can see the babies eyes in her.


Once the babies come, what am I supposed to do?

I would love to hear of your experiences when breeding and raising fry.

[coolcucumber]

They are usually born with a yolk sac, so i dont feed mine for 1-2days. I start then to be on the safe side. mine always love crushed really small freeze-dried bloodworms, only once a week because it's unhealthy too often :) Then i just feed normal tropical fish flakes, and you can feed them bbs if you have some.

[turtle10]

Originally Posted by coolcucumber

They are usually born with a yolk sac, so i dont feed mine for 1-2days. I start then to be on the safe side. mine always love crushed really small freeze-dried bloodworms, only once a week because it's unhealthy too often :) Then i just feed normal tropical fish flakes, and you can feed them bbs if you have some.

These are all the foods I have:

Nutrafin Tropical Fish Flakes
Hikari Freeze Dried Brine Shrimp
The san francisco brand frozen brine shrimp
a microworm culture


Could I use any of these?

I feel like such a newbie when it comes to guppies!

[coolcucumber]

Those are all fine. Many people raise their guppies on flakes crushed really small alone, so anything else will definatly help them grow faster :) Livebearers are generally the easiest when it comes to baby fish, since they are born free-swimming. the biggest danger is having the babies gulped before you can do anything xD Make sure you have something for the babies to hide in. Java moss works well.

[turtle10]

Okay, I have Java Moss, hornwort, anacharis, some plastic plants, and some other type of moss in the fry tank.

[coolcucumber]

That should be fine. Good luck with your guppies :)

[turtle10]

Thanks!

[indjo]

Livebearers are the easiest to care for. The problem is (as stated above) spotting the female before she gives birth and separating her from others to reduce the chances of fry being eaten. If seen from above, her belly usually looks more round than oval (not always). From below, her anal should be much wider than usual.

You can feed fry any small food (natural or crushed). I usually use live tubefix to power grow them until they begin to show their fins and color. Then I use small pellets. And I prefer to use a tank that has algae (don't know the name or type - definitely not hair/thread algae) on the floor and sides so they can snack on them between feedings.

Good Luck.

[turtle10]

I have algae wafers that don't disintegrate for longer than a day. They are hikari brand algae wafers, would this be okay to use instead of algae? There isn't any algae in the 10g where the soon to be mama is.

[coolcucumber]

You could try it. I used to give my bristlenose algae, but my mollies and guppies would eat it all. i'd try a small piece to see if they like it.