Recommendations and tips for caring for guppy fish fry

With their brilliant colors and lively activity, guppy fry are a delightful addition to any aquarium. For both novice and experienced aquarium enthusiasts, seeing these tiny fish develop from hatchlings into fully grown guppies is a rewarding experience.

For guppy fry to develop healthily, proper care is required. Everything from the proper arrangement of the tank to the right feeding methods is essential to their survival and growth. Your fry will flourish and realize their full potential if you provide a secure and caring environment.

It can make a huge difference to comprehend the particular requirements of guppy fry, such as water temperature and quality. You can give your young guppies the best care possible by adhering to a few important guidelines and suggestions, which will lay the groundwork for a lively and active aquarium.

Birth fry

A guppy in her pregnancy has a distinct appearance from other fish. Her belly has grown significantly, and the dark area next to her anal fin has expanded. The fish’s behavior, which includes becoming restless, trying to hide in the plant thickets, and retiring, also points to the impending birth. Once the aquarist notices these characteristics, actions must be taken to protect the future progeny. The female must first be relocated to a different aquarium. To allow the guppy to adjust to the new surroundings, this should be done beforehand. Premature birth should also not be permitted since it will result in the premature fry’s death.

Take note! Should the appropriate time for separation be missed, allow the fish to give birth in the main aquarium. The fry need to be released into a tank that has been ready after being gently captured with a plastic cup after birth.

The guppy’s body trembles and it freezes at birth. Fry appear one after the other within an hour. Some rise to the top before falling. Babies that are weaker can’t crack the shell, so they sink to the bottom and lie there until they get stronger. In order to give the female enough time to separate after giving birth, the process needs to be watched carefully. If not, the infants will end up as food for their mother.

Creating the necessary conditions for keeping

Though they are thought of as unassuming fish, guppies need extra attention when they are young. Everything needs to be set up for the fry to grow quickly, healthily, and energetically:

1. The size of the aquarium for guppy fry must correspond to the number of individuals. The more newborns, the more capacious the vessel. It is preferable for the fish to be kept in a separator fixed in a common tank.
2. Lighting in the first 3-5 days should be around the clock. Then you can gradually reduce the duration of daylight to 16 hours a day.
3. The optimal water temperature for fry is +28ºC. In the cold season, a water heater may be required.
4. Clean, oxygen-rich water is an indispensable condition for the health and growth of fish. To maintain the aquatic environment in the aquarium, the necessary equipment is installed: a filter, an aerator, and the bottom is regularly cleaned. The filter should be covered with fabric so that the fry are not sucked inside.

A feeding schedule is necessary for the proper management of guppy fry care. The babies risk dying if they are fed whatever they have to and the feeding schedule is not followed.

How and what to feed guppy fry

A newly born fish has an incredibly small mouth opening. Puppies grasp food whole; they are incapable of biting off and grinding it. Accordingly, the fry is limited to consuming the tiniest food, which is ground into dust. A caregiver for a guppy fry needs to keep an eye on the quantity and quality of food being fed. The health of the fish is harmed if they eat too much and too frequently.

Feeding frequency

The first five to seven days are critical because if the fish make it through this week, they will probably continue to grow healthily. This is the crucial time to figure out the guidelines and feeding schedule for guppy fries:

• every 4 hours – in the first week;
• 4 times a day – until the end of the second decade;
• then switch to three times a day feeding.

Here, in "live dust," the fry start to eat. With its appropriate size and energy composition, this is the perfect food.

Natural food

Live food is the ideal food for fries to grow. Protein encourages growth that is active. In guppies, moving larvae, worms, and protozoa arouse the hunting instinct. The smallest fish can use infusoria, or "live dust," which has a size range of 0.15 to 0.25 mm.

Fry food can be independently grown at home by filling a jar with aquarium water and setting it on the windowsill. The tiniest algae, called phytoplankton, will emerge in a few days. This food is drawn into a syringe and then poured into a container holding baby guppies.

You can feed the fry brine shrimp larvae, or nauplii, a little later. This is a high-calorie delicacy that frequently leads to fish obesity. Nevertheless, nematodes, or microworms, can be used in its place. The fry can eat bloodworms, tubifex, and other larvae once they are one month old. Furthermore, you can safely rub dry food between your fingers to feed older fish.

Commercial food

Growing food from scratch is a challenging and unpleasant process. As a result, you can always purchase prepared fish food. A few brands stick out from the rest of the branded food for guppy fries:

• Sera micropan, micron – powder that forms a film on the water surface. The fish rise to the surface of the water and are saturated as needed.
• Tetra mikromin – powder food, formulated taking into account the needs of guppy fry. Contains vitamins, microelements. Disinfected with ultraviolet light.
• Tetra biomin – paste, easy to use. You just need to lower the tube into the water and squeeze out the appropriate portion.
• JBL – specialized food intended for viviparous fish. Its composition is dominated by easily digestible proteins.

Substitutes for live food

Live food cannot be substituted with anything else because the digestive system is the best organ for absorbing it. However, there is a temporary substitute for larvae, worms, and insects in their absence: food items from the human table. Homemade food can be fed to fry:

1. Chicken egg yolk. Peel a hard-boiled egg, grind the yolk, dilute with aquarium water. Put the mass in gauze, fold it into a knot and squeeze into the aquarium. This type of food quickly spoils, pollutes the water.
2. Cured milk. It decomposes more slowly, fish eat it more willingly. Cured milk should be poured with boiling water, the casein will curdle like cottage cheese. Throw the clot into a sieve, rinse off the whey. Place the lump in the aquarium, wrapped in gauze.
3. Dry milk. A real delicacy that the fry devour with incredible speed. The product has a high nutritional value, but it should not be given to the fish often.

It is inappropriate to use such products in place of live food entirely. Fry in particular is a specialized diet that guppies should consume to avoid illness.

How long do guppy fry grow

Fry growth rate is influenced by a number of factors:

• Aquarium volume;
• water temperature and quality;
• lighting;
• ration.

The fry grows to a maximum of 20 mm in two weeks after reaching a growth of roughly 7 mm in the first week. When a female reaches puberty, which occurs in about 4-5 months, she grows to 4-6 cm. Males grow much slower than females; their bodies are only 3–4 cm long.

Take note! Fry can grow more quickly if the water is heated to 26–27 oC, replaced daily by 30–50%, and the backlight is left on. Four meals a day are necessary for fast growth.

How to determine the sex of guppy fry

As fry get bigger, they need to be sorted, as knowledgeable aquarists know. It’s necessary to keep males and females in separate aquariums to prevent early pregnancy. It’s not as hard as it sounds to identify the sex of guppy fry because the differences become apparent about 30 days after birth. The female’s abdomen is where the first symptoms appear as black dots. Some guppie varieties, though, lack these distinctions.

The lack of a pointed anal fin allows you to differentiate between female and male sharks. This organ forms in three months in males, but the fin stays the same in females. In addition to lacking a prominent, lush tail, females do not appear as brilliant as males.

It is better for the health of fish of different sexes to be maintained separately. Puppies grow quietly and don’t expend energy on mating rituals.

Providing guppy fish fries with a secure and supportive environment is essential to their well-being. To begin, establish a distinct, well-kept tank to keep adult fish away from the fry. To support the fry’s rapid growth, make sure the water is clean, warm, and well-oxygenated. You should also feed the fry small, wholesome meals several times a day. As they get bigger, gradually introduce them to the main tank while keeping a regular eye on the water quality. These easy steps will help you raise vibrant, healthy guppy fries.

Launching in a common aquarium

When is it okay to add fry to mature fish? The simple response is as soon as they reach a size at which they cannot be consumed. Age is essentially irrelevant. In two weeks, some people can grow to be fairly large, while others stay small at this point. A general guideline that applies to all fish, not just guppies, states that fry are ready for transplantation when they reach a size of 1.5 cm.

Prior to moving internationally, you must confirm that the grown babies can thrive in a shared aquarium. To achieve this, the tank needs to be filled with a lot of hiding places for the guppies, such as plants. Fish that are aggressive and predatory should not be kept in aquariums where small guppies are likely to become tasty prey.

Take note: You must gradually get the fry ready for transplantation by lowering the water temperature and bringing the breeding tank’s parameters closer to those of the common tank.

How to care if they were born in a common aquarium

It happens frequently that a fish becomes pregnant without anyone noticing, and in an ordinary aquarium, guppy fry are born. The fry run a very high risk of dying in this situation because the adult fish will eat the fry that were unable to hide in the thickets of plants. The aquarist may not take any action to protect the babies if he has no interest in breeding guppies.

In the early days following an uncontrollably born puppy, there is a chance that they will be saved, but they will require assistance:

• planting plants floating on the surface and in the water column;
• gradual heating of the water in the aquarium to +26ºC;
• replacement of 30-40% of the water twice a week;
• increased aeration, filtration;
• adding crushed food into the thickness of plants.

Fish from the older generation that have grown up since the beginning have an advantage because they are much healthier and stronger.

It takes time and effort to raise guppy fry, but it can be a rewarding experience. You can assist your fry in developing into healthy adult guppies by giving them a safe environment, feeding them the proper foods, and keeping the water quality high. It’s critical to keep an eye on their development and modify their care as needed.

To keep the fry safe from adult fish, keep them in a separate tank or use a breeding box. Give them small, frequent meals that emphasize high-quality, high-protein foods, such as specialty fry food or baby brine shrimp. As they get bigger, gradually expose them to a wider variety of foods.

To maintain a stable and clean environment, periodically check your water parameters and make partial water changes. The development and general health of the fry depend on the quality of the water.

Your guppy fry will prosper if you are consistent and patient with it. One of the satisfying aspects of keeping an aquarium is watching them grow and develop their vivid colors. Just keep in mind that as they get older, their needs will vary, so pay attention and relish the journey.

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