Guppy fry are born miniature in size - 3-5 mm. They can be kept in a community aquarium as long as there is enough cover. Among plants and decorations it is easier for them to hide from adults who can eat them. A plant floating near the surface will create a good shelter thanks to its roots. Also, food for fry can be placed directly into the thickets of the plant, where adult fish will not find it.
Keeping guppy fry is possible in a specially prepared nursery. It is recommended to take a glass container with a volume of 20-50 liters - in such a tank, caring for baby fish will not cause trouble for the aquarist. Water must be taken from the community aquarium where these fish were born. There are often reports that guppy fry died after being released into the hatchery. This is due to the fact that the water in it had unsuitable parameters. Ground cover, stones and driftwood are optional, as they do not make caring for a guppy brood any easier.
See how to make a simple hatchery for fry with your own hands.
You need to install a filter and a compressor in the sedimentation tank. A sponge filter connected to a compressor is suitable as a filter. To support temperature regime, you will need a water heater. For lighting, it is better to choose fluorescent lamps that do not heat the water too much.
Water changes should be carried out in an amount of 20-40% of the volume of the depositor. You also need to siphon the bottom, preferably after a water change. The filter sponge should be rinsed once a week, depending on the degree of clogging. Aeration and water filtration should be turned on 24 hours a day. The replacement water must be infused for 2-3 days.
In the first days of life, the amount of daylight should be 12 hours, gradually reducing it. At the age of 3-4 months, small fish will need 8-10 hours of light. Saturated lighting increases the rate of growth and development. Best Temperature water in the nursery: 28 o C for the first 3 days of life. The temperature gradually decreases to 26 o C, after 3-4 months to 24 o C.
Feeding. First sexual signs
Proper care is impossible without feeding. For the first 3 weeks of life, they can be fed live dust and brine shrimp with an incubation period of 6-8 hours. In the first month of life, you can add bloodworms, chopped tubifex, and cyclops to the diet. It is important that the feed is crushed. You can also feed hard-boiled and chopped chicken yolk, alternating it with other foods. It is recommended to provide branded food for guppy fry.
Look at the newly born guppy fry.
As the fry grow older, they need to be sorted. When it is possible to identify the sex, especially of mature guppies, prepare an aquarium with water, diluting it with water from the fish tank. Guppies can breed from the age of 2-4 weeks, so to avoid early pregnancy females, sorting should be carried out.
The dominant trait of male guppies is early stages– lengthening and folding of the lower fin, which is located near the anus. Over time, this fin will develop into a gonopodium. Once the gonopodium is formed, it will be easier to determine the sex in the early stages. Raising fry of different sexes is good for their health. When kept separately, it is easier to care for them, and they do not waste their energy chasing each other.
If the fry do not take food during feeding, it means that the water quality does not meet the standards. Healthy fry have a rounded abdomen and a strong appetite. Many problems with raising fry are due to the fact that they are not properly cared for. This applies to cleaning the aquarium (bottom siphon, water changes, filtration, aeration).
The first signs of coloring in baby fish do not appear immediately, depending on the species or breed. Sometimes a female guppy is able to give birth to offspring from different males, or once fertilized, a female may give birth every month. The number of fry in one brood is about 20. Therefore, it happens that fry from several broods grow in an aquarium. The first time after birth, the fry can remain motionless at the bottom.
If you do not properly care for the female during pregnancy, she may give birth to premature fry ahead of schedule, in which the yolk sac will be visible. Premature birth of a female occurs due to frequent changes of water in the aquarium, or due to the launch of guppies in the recently neglected aquarium. The mortality rate among premature fry is very high.
This section contains short answers to frequently asked questions about aquarium guppy fish. The page is constantly supplemented and updated.
How quickly do baby guppies grow?
At good conditions content, variegated colored spots begin to appear after a month. Baby guppies become fully grown by about the fourth month of life, but they only reach their full beautiful coloring by the age of one year.
How do you know when your guppy is about to give birth?
Her belly grows noticeably, she becomes inactive, and a large black spot appears near the rear fin.
How to control the number of guppy fish born in an aquarium?
Separate males and females into separate aquariums when a certain number of fish are reached.
At what age can a female guppy become pregnant?
By two months of life.
How long after giving birth can a guppy fish give birth again?
In 30-40 days. Moreover, a female can give birth from the same fertilization up to 3-4 times with the frequency indicated above.
What does an albino guppy look like?For example, like this:
What foods can guppies be allergic to?
For dry food, especially dried daphnia. But this happens quite rarely.
What is the optimal size of aquarium for guppies?
As already mentioned on the site, a guppy can live in a liter jar. But it’s better not to mock the fish like that. Recommended volume - 50-70 l.
Are there yellow guppies?
Yes, see photo above.
Is beef heart good for guppy food?
Yes, because any guppy food should contain a minimum content of animal fats, and the heart— just the organ where they are practically absent. Beef heart is fed to gupiks in the form of a pate prepared by grinding the heart in a meat grinder.
It must first be cleaned of films, blood clots and possible inclusions of fat. Store heart pate in the freezer.
Can guppies live in oceans or ponds?
In the oceans - no, because they are freshwater fish. And in freshwater bodies - yes. But they also need to have the right temperature, for example, guppies definitely won’t be able to live in Baikal :)
Can Endler's guppies mate with regular guppies?
Yes, and they usually do this if they are in the same tank.
How many months will it take for baby guppies to color?
Under good conditions, the first colored spots appear after 1.5-2 months.
What size are baby guppies born?
Approximately 0.5 cm. After a month, if conditions are suitable, they grow to 1 cm.
What size aquarium is needed for Endler's guppies?
Same as for regular guppies. The minimum recommended volume is 30 liters.
What fish can be kept in an aquarium with guppies?
The best neighbors for them are viviparous fish. Will fit small species characin fish (neons, cardinals, platies). Also normal neighbors are dwarf catfish. But these fish cannot be kept next to guppies:
- Barbusov
- Mechenostsev
- Cichlids
- Angelfish
- Mollies
Usually 20-30, although there are cases of birth of up to 100 fry and even 120-150!
Should a guppy aquarium have fine or coarse soil?
The optimal size of soil particles is 3-5 mm.
Which plant is best for an aquarium with guppy fish?
It's better not to focus on one and use several. The most common is the Indian Water Fern. It also serves as an indicator of the favorable environment for guppies - if the fern grows normally and its leaves are of normal color, then the environment is excellent for the growth of fish. Other common plants: Nitella, Elodea canadensis, Vallisneria spiralis, Cabomba carolina, Riccia floating.
If you decide to keep guppy fry in a community aquarium, along with adult guppies and other aquarium fish, you should know some important points for keeping guppy fry in a community aquarium.
The main point is the risk that guppy fry in a community aquarium may be considered by other fish, as well as by the parents of these fry themselves, as legitimate prey and a pleasant variety in the daily diet.
In order to increase the chances of guppy fry to survive when kept in a community aquarium, the aquarist should try to completely eliminate or at least reduce the number of predatory and aggressive fish in the aquarium where it is planned to keep guppy fry. It is also important to establish good food for all the fish in such an aquarium, being well-fed, peaceful aquarium fish have less incentive to seek out the guppy fry and eat them.
Besides, community aquarium Where it is planned to keep guppy fry, it is necessary to provide a large number of small shelters; in such shelters, the guppy fry will be able to hide from larger aquarium fish. The best way out there will be a large number of long-stemmed, small-leaved plants such as Elodea. The same elodea does not even need to be rooted; the elodea floating at the surface of the water creates an excellent shelter for guppy fry, especially if the elodea is present in large numbers. In this case, food for the guppy fry (in a community aquarium it is better to feed the fry separately, but at the same time as the other fish) can be thrown right into the elodea thickets, where it will be difficult for large fish to reach and at the same time will be right in front of the fry’s nose guppy These are the nuances that you need to know in order to keep guppy fry in a community aquarium.
Having talked about how to keep guppy fry in a general aquarium, let’s move on to keeping guppy fry in a separate special aquarium for fry. Such an aquarium is often called a “piggyback” or “baby tank”. To keep guppy fry, we need an aquarium of 20-40 liters; in this regard, an aquarium of 30 liters is optimal.
Decorations and soil in such an aquarium will only make it more difficult to care for, so decorations and soil in an aquarium are undesirable for guppy fry.
Also, such an aquarium will require aeration and filtration. With the recommended planting densities of guppy fry in the aquarium below, a simple sponge filter connected to a compressor will be suitable as a filter. To maintain the temperature, you will most likely need a heater, and to provide daylight, a lamp, in in this case Fluorescent lamps can be recommended; they are more economical and emit much less heat.
Depending on how many guppy fry are planned to be kept in the aquarium, suitable equipment for such an aquarium is selected, as well as a regime for caring for the aquarium, the frequency and volume of water changes in it are planned.
Ideally, at the first stage (raising guppy fry to teenagers and sorting them by gender), in a 30-liter aquarium it is better to keep no more than 2-3 marks of guppy fry, which do not differ much in size. Cannibalism is not observed when keeping guppy fry of different ages, but too much variation in age is still undesirable.
Based on the number of guppy fry recommended above in a 30-liter aquarium, the optimal care regimen for just such an aquarium is then proposed. It is better to change the water in it daily at least 20% per change, preferably 30-40%. Siphoning the bottom should also be done daily; it is most convenient to do it during water changes. It is better to wash the filter sponge at least once a week, possibly more often, depending on how quickly it becomes clogged.
In this case, it would be appropriate to recall that the aquarium filter and aeration should work around the clock without turning off, and the filter sponge itself should be carefully washed in water taken from the aquarium (but not in the aquarium itself, and the water used to wash the sponge should be returned to do not fill the aquarium, but pour it down the drain), this way we save most of beneficial bacteria contained in the sponge aquarium filter, the site emphasizes. Water for changes in the aquarium must be left to settle for 12-24 hours, if the water is of poor quality, then longer, or use a water filter, preferably a carbon one, without any flavoring or aromatic additives; reverse osmosis filters have their own specifics when preparing water for an aquarium.
Guppy fry need to be fed 3-5 times a day, the calculation should be such that the fry can find food in the aquarium at any time.
In the first two or three days, it is advisable to make the daylight hours as long as possible, then gradually, over the course of 3-4 months, reduce it to standard. This condition not critical, but allows you to achieve an increase in the rate of growth and development when keeping fry and adolescent guppies.
The optimal temperature for keeping fry in the first 3-4 weeks will be 28 degrees Celsius. Then the temperature can be gradually reduced to 26 degrees, and after 3-4 months to 24 degrees. This temperature regime is not critical, however, an increased temperature allows for higher growth rates of fry and adolescent guppies in the first days, weeks and months of keeping.
It is best to feed guppy fry in the first 2-3 weeks with brine shrimp with an incubation period of no more than 6-8 hours - this brine shrimp has the highest nutritional value and is optimal for raising fry and adolescent guppies. At 3-4 weeks, you can begin to include bloodworms, tubifex and other food and additives typical for adult guppies in the food for the fry, but the main thing is not to forget to grind the food, otherwise the fry may not swallow it.
Nutritional recommendations are also not of critical importance; guppy fry can be fed with regular dry crushed food for adult fish, but guppy fry will grow and develop much slower on such food.
Guppy fry should be sorted and placed by sex as soon as it can be determined. It is also desirable (but not critical) to sort and place fry and juvenile guppies by size, avoiding too much variation in this parameter between fish kept together (this also has a beneficial effect on the speed of development and growth of fry and juvenile guppies).
The main distinguishing sexual characteristic of male guppies is early age- the lower fin, located next to the anus of the fish, begins to gradually lengthen and curl. This fin gradually curls into a thin tube - the gonopodium - this is the main sexual characteristic of the male guppy.
After the formation of the gonopodium, when guppy fry of different sexes are kept together, pregnancy of young females can be expected. To prevent such pregnancies, the fry are seated as soon as possible.
In addition, raising fry and adolescent guppies separately stimulates their growth and development, since when kept separately, the fish's energy is not wasted on flirting and chasing.
After dividing by gender, the number of guppies in nursery aquariums (the density of fish in the aquarium) must be reduced in accordance with the increased size of the fry (now more likely to be teenagers). However, by this time, teenage guppies can already be released into a community aquarium; by this time, adult guppies will not perceive them as prey, but we must keep in mind that the rate of development in a community aquarium will decrease somewhat, but this will not cause harm to the fish.
And for starters, some important points: guppy fry are very active and mobile fish, if the fry are lethargic and move little (except when they have to hide from older fish in a common aquarium, and even in the first few hours after birth), problems are possible with the quality of water in the aquarium.
If guppy fry do not eat during feeding, there may be problems with the water quality in the aquarium; a healthy guppy fry is a fry with a round belly and a rabid appetite.
More than 90% of problems with guppy fry are related to the quality of water in the aquarium and/or insufficient cleaning of the aquarium itself: siphoning the bottom, changing water, cleaning the filter.
Guppy fry begin to color differently and in at different ages, depends on the specific breed of guppy.
A mark from one female guppy can contain fry from different males, and a female fertilized once can give birth several times. A pregnant female guppy may not look pregnant at all, may not lose weight after giving birth, and may spawn fry within a few days.
The female guppy marks her fry approximately every 30 days. Give or take a few days. The number of fry in a tag can be from several to one and a half hundred, usually 10-30.
For the first few hours after birth, guppy fry may lie on the bottom and practically not move.
Guppy fry with a yolk sac are underdeveloped fry that appeared as a result of premature birth of a female guppy; most often, premature birth of a female guppy occurs due to a sudden and massive water change or transplantation of guppies into a newly started aquarium (all the water there is fresh), will survive Whether the fry are premature or not depends on the individual case, but the mortality rate among them is very high.
This article outlined the bulk of information that may be required when raising guppy fry (almost everything written above is also true for platies).
I hope this article helped answer the question of how to keep guppy fry in an aquarium.
Guppy (lat. Poecilia reticulata) is aquarium fish, which is known even to people very far from aquarium hobby, let alone amateurs.
Perhaps every aquarist at least once in his life kept a couple of gupeshkas, and many started their journey with them, and even now keep luxurious, selected species.
To answer all the questions about them, you probably need to write a book, but we will try to consider the most popular ones.
The homeland of the guppy fish is the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, and in South America- in Venezuela, Guiana and Brazil.
As a rule, they live in clean, running water, but also like brackish coastal waters, but not salty sea waters.
They feed on worms, larvae, bloodworms and various small insects. Because of this feature, they even began to be massively populated in areas where there are a lot of malaria mosquitoes, since they eat its larvae.
Males in nature are much brighter than females, but still their color is far from the aquarium breeding forms.
She must protect them from predators, since the fish is small and defenseless.
The fish got their name from the name of the discoverer (Robert John Lechmere Guppy). Robert Guppy was the first to find and describe this fish on the island of Trinidad in 1866.
Description
A small fish, with males smaller than females, and usually reaching a length of about 5 cm.
A guppy lives for 2-3 years, as its small size and warm water speed up metabolism and shorten its lifespan.
Concerning appearance, then it is almost impossible to describe. Guppies cross so often and so much that even dozens of selective forms can be counted, and even more common ones.
Males and females are strikingly different from each other, but we will talk about this difference later.
Content complexity
A great fish for beginners and pros.
Small, active, beautiful, very easy to reproduce, undemanding in maintenance and feeding, it seems that the list can go on forever.
However, we would warn novice aquarists against purchasing bright, selective forms. How to understand that the form is selective? If all the fish in the aquarium are strictly the same color, and the males have long and uniform fins, then these are demanding species.
If the males are all different, like the females, the coloration is a riot of colors and colors, then these are the fish that the average aquarist needs.
The fact is that as a result of crossing, they become very beautiful, but also very capricious, losing their advantages.
Hybrid forms already have weak immunity and are very demanding in terms of content. So if you just decide to try your hand at aquarium keeping, buy the simplest but colorful goops.
They will delight you no less than the selection forms, but they will live much longer and there will be fewer problems.
And for the pros there will be selection forms - they need to be carefully sorted, bred and cared for even more carefully.
Feeding
It is very easy to feed them; they eat a wide variety of foods - artificial, frozen, live, even dry.
They eat flakes, granules and other artificial foods with pleasure, but it is better to choose well-known ones trade marks, for example Tetra.
Among the living, the best food to eat are bloodworms, tubifex, brine shrimp, and coretra.
It is important to remember that guppies have a small mouth and stomach, the food should be small, and it is better to feed it two to three times a day, in portions that the fish will eat in 2-3 minutes.
Also, fish love food with a high content of plant substances, so that their gastrointestinal tract remains healthy and their immunity is high; in addition to regular flakes, buy food with herbal supplements and feed them twice a week.
Separately, I would like to say about dry food - this is not branded food, but dried daphnia, which is often sold at poultry markets. I strongly advise against feeding fish with this food, even guppies. He's low on vitamins nutrients and in fact it is just a dried shell. It inflames the gastrointestinal tract of fish and they die.
Like all tropical fish, guppies love warm water (22-25°C), but can live in a wider range of 19.0 - 29.0°C.
As for water parameters, for ordinary forms this practically does not matter. They adapt to local conditions so quickly that moving to a new aquarium is tolerated without any problems at all.
It would be ideal if the aquarium has: 7.0 - 8.5, and hardness 12.0 - 18.0, but the parameters can be completely different, which will not interfere with living and reproducing.
The aquarium can be small; 20 liters is enough for 5 fish. But, the larger the volume, the more fish you can contain and the more beautiful it will look.
It is best to have a lot of plants in the aquarium, as this will look like natural environment habitat and will significantly increase the survival rate of fry in a general aquarium. Lighting can be anything from bright to dim.
It is advisable to use a filter; for guppies, an internal one is quite enough, but if there is an external one, then great. It’s just better to cover the holes in it with an additional fine mesh, since a powerful filter is not only capable of sucking in fry, but even adult fish.
Guppies cannot be called a schooling fish, but keeping them in pairs makes little sense. It is very small in size and in small quantities is almost invisible in the aquarium.
Compatibility
A very peaceful fish that does not cause any trouble to its neighbors. But she can be offended, especially by large and predatory fish, which perceive the guppies only as food.
They get along best with peaceful and small fish: - , .
Sex differences
It is very, very easy to distinguish a female from a male. Males are smaller, slimmer, they have a large caudal fin, and the anal fin has turned into a gonopodium (roughly speaking, this is a tube with the help of which male viviparous fish fertilize the female).
Females are larger, have a large and noticeable belly and are usually quite pale in color.
Even juveniles can be distinguished quite early; as a rule, those of the fry that first began to color will be males.
Reproduction
One of the easiest fish to breed is ordinary guppies; they breed very easily in home aquariums.
The fact is that they are viviparous, that is, the female carries the eggs in her stomach, and a fully formed fry is born.
For the first hours he will lie down and hide, but very soon he will begin to swim and feed.
To breed these fish you need... a male and a female. Not even that, one young and active male is enough to court 3-5 females tirelessly.
That is, for successful breeding it is quite possible to keep one male for 3-5 females. More males are possible, since males do not fight with each other, but only compete. You will see how the male tirelessly pursues the female, but this is normal and you do not need to do anything about it.
The fact is that during such pursuits he impregnates the female and soon you will have fry.
Female with dark spot- soon!
What does it take for a couple to reproduce? Fresh and pure water, good and plentiful feeding and a couple of fish of different sexes.
As a rule, guppies reproduce quite successfully in a community aquarium without any participation from the owner. But they also eat their fry, and neighbors will help if they are there. This means that it is better to place pregnant females in a separate aquarium.
How can you tell if you have a pregnant female? In a pregnant female, the spot near the anus begins to darken, this can already be seen by the eyes of the growing fry, and the darker it is, the sooner she will give birth.
Place the mother in a separate aquarium, with the same water and thickets of plants, where the fry can hide from her (yes, she can eat her children). When the due date comes (maybe up to a month, if you were in a hurry to put her away), she will give birth without any problems.
Immediately after giving birth, the female needs to be bred. Taking care of the fry is quite simple, just like taking care of the parents.
What to feed the fry? You can feed them finely ground branded flakes (which you feed the parents), but it is better to feed them dry egg or branded food for fry. Note that there is such a relic of the past as dry food.
This is dried daphnia and cyclops and can still be found commercially. So, it is strictly not recommended to feed fry this rubbish. The nutritional value there is slightly higher than zero; in fact, it is an analogue of battering ram. Will you grow a lot if you eat one ram? The same can be said for adult fish.
They need to be cleaned regularly so that any leftover food does not spoil the water. You can also add snails to this aquarium, for example or. They do not touch the fry, but will eat the leftover food.
How a fry is born:
It is important that the water is clean, but it is impossible to change a lot at once, since the fry are still weak and a large water change is dangerous for them. The easiest way is to change about 10% of the water every one or two days, or 25% once a week.
The water temperature for fry is very important, and you need to keep it at 24-26.5 C.
At proper care and feeding, the fry grow quickly and within a month or a month and a half begin to color.
Frequently asked questions about guppies
What fish can you keep with them?
Some types have already been listed above, but you can also look at the article - everything on this list is well suited for the content.
How do you know if a guppy is pregnant or about to give birth?
Typically, the female gives birth to fry once a month, but the timing may vary depending on the water temperature and conditions of detention. Mark the time from last time when she gave birth, and watch. In a female ready for another birth, the spot becomes darker; the eyes of the fry are visible.
How does a guppy breathe?
Like all fish - dissolved oxygen in the water, do not forget to include aeration and filtration.
How long do guppies live?
About two years, but it all depends on conditions and temperature. The higher the water temperature, the shorter their life. Some fish live up to 5 years.
How often should you feed your guppies?
Every day, and in small portions two to three times a day. For example, morning and evening.
Once a week you can have a fasting day, but keep in mind that the fish will actively look for food and the first victims will be their own fry.
Why do guppies' tails break?
There could be many reasons, but the most common is old water that is rarely changed. Ammonia and nitrates accumulate in it, and they poison fish and destroy fins. Replace the water regularly with fresh water.
There may also be a sudden water change, injury or poor feeding when there are few vitamins.
If the fish's tail is missing, then this is an alarming sign - either someone is cutting it off, and you need to carefully examine the fish with which it is kept, or it is sick infectious disease, and you need to look even more closely at the other fish.
Why does a guppy's tail stick together?
Again - either old and dirty water, either an infection or poor feeding. Try changing 20% of the water once a week and monitor the condition of other fish.
Why does a guppy have a crooked spine?
Such fish are found in almost any species; as a rule, this is a defect from birth. If this happens in an adult fish, it may be due to the fact that it is kept in too small an aquarium, with a large number of fish.
Most often, the spine also curves due to old age, and this is normal, but the most common reason- fish tuberculosis or mycobacteriosis.
The disease is complex, and its treatment is not easy and does not always bring results. To avoid the spread of infection, it is better to isolate such fish.
Why do guppies only give birth to females?
An exact answer to this question has not been found. Apparently, when there is an excess of males, the laws of nature come into play and the population compensates for the females in order to preserve itself.
Is it possible to keep only one guppy in an aquarium?
It’s possible, although it looks a little sad...
Still, this is a cheerful and lively fish that loves company. If you are looking for a fish that would be beautiful, unpretentious and would live wonderfully on its own, then look towards the betta.
Do guppies need oxygen and a filter?
Not required, but recommended. You can buy an inexpensive internal filter with a sponge. It will perform its functions quite well and will not suck in fish.
Please note that if you bought a filter and it is placed higher (so that the surface of the water in the aquarium is in motion), then you have absolutely no need to buy additional aeration or, more simply, oxygen.
Does a guppy need soil and plants?
It's your choice. An empty aquarium is easier to clean, but it looks worse, the fry can’t survive in it, and the frogs themselves like to frolic among the plants. I am for an aquarium with soil and plants.
Does a guppy need light?
No, fish do not need light at all, other than what falls on the aquarium during the day. Plants need light to grow.
Do guppies spawn?
No, they are viviparous. That is, the fry is born completely ready for life and can immediately swim.
Sometimes he falls out in the egg, but it breaks and he swims. Sometimes it has a yolk sac, which it quickly digests.
Do guppies sleep?
Yes, but not like people. It's more likely leisure when the fish become less active at night but still swim.
And it’s better to turn off the lights at night, although some people don’t do this, but isn’t it dark in nature at night?
How many fry does a guppy give birth to?
Depends on the female, her age and size. Usually there are about 30-50 pieces, but sometimes there are 100.
How long does a baby guppy grow?
Very fast in good conditions. Males become sexually mature at two months, and females at three.
Can guppies be kept in sea water?
No, they tolerate lightly salted water well, but they die in sea water; these are freshwater fish.
Why do guppies swim on the surface?
They breathe oxygen dissolved in the water, and your aquarium does not have enough of it. Because of which? Perhaps it’s too hot, perhaps you haven’t cleaned the aquarium or changed the water for a long time, perhaps it’s too crowded.
Be sure to turn on aeration or filtration (place the filter closer to the surface of the water to enhance gas exchange) and replace some of the water with fresh water.
Why do guppies jump out of the aquarium?
They can do this either accidentally or because bad water- for example, if it has not been changed for a long time and the soil has not been siphoned off in the aquarium.
The reason may also be a low amount of oxygen in the water, read about this above.
Why does a guppy's tail stick together or stick together?
Unfortunately, it is impossible to pinpoint the exact reason, even if the aquarium is near you. This may be improper feeding (monotoneous, only dry food or plenty of it), the water parameters may be unsuitable (too much ammonia), or it may be illness.
The minimum that needs to be done is to change some of the water, siphon the soil and change the type of food.
What kind of catfish can you keep with guppies?
Any small ones. More or less large catfish, almost all predators. The only exception is that it can be kept with small fish.
Well, any corydoras will get along great with viviparous animals and will be very useful, eating up the remaining food from the bottom.
How to care for baby guppies?
The most unpretentious of the fry, they survive in the wild. But, if you regularly change the water, give enough food for them to eat in a couple of minutes and feed the fry two or three times a day, then they will grow quickly, color and delight you.
What to feed guppy fry?
There are no difficulties in feeding, they eat crushed flakes, but it is better to give brine shrimp nauplii or chopped tubifex.
Female guppies give birth to fully formed and viable fry, capable of swimming and feeding on their own. Having been born, the baby first rushes to the surface of the water for a breath of air to fill its swim bladder. Then the most crucial period in his life begins - the period of growth and development. If the aquarist can provide the offspring with ideal conditions for growth, the reward will be strong, brightly colored, lively and fertile fish.
It is best to keep the fry in a separate tank. But if you decide to raise guppy fry in a community aquarium, then remember that for fish in general (and for their parents in particular) they will be associated exclusively with food.
In order for the babies to have a chance to survive, it is necessary to provide varied and plentiful food for all adult inhabitants of the aquarium. At the same time, do not lose sight of the fact that the load on the filter will increase by at least an order of magnitude.
There is a chance that a well-fed fish will become lazy from satiety and will not be interested in the nimble little things. Consequently, the guppy fry will remain safe and sound.
It is also important that the aquarium has a lot of different hiding places for the fry. The best and most reliable shelter for them is plants! The more small-leaved, long-stemmed plants in the aquarium, the better for kids. One of the best and most popular options is elodea. In addition, floating ones are suitable: for example, riccia. And water cabbage with its large, fibrous root will also “come in handy.” In plant thickets the fry will be more protected. You can feed them by pouring food directly into these thickets. Thus, the fry do not need to leave their shelter, and large fish they won't be reached.
When raising newborn guppies away from adults, in a separate aquarium, you will have to organize a hatchery (an aquarium for fry) with an approximate volume of 20 to 40 liters. However, this is advisory information. If it is impossible to install another, additional tank at home, for the first time you can get by with a three-liter jar with an aerator spray.
As a rule, there is no soil or decorations in it to simplify the maintenance process. The presence of floating vegetation is desirable, but not required. Good filtration is highly desirable. It is quite possible (and even necessary) to use a sponge filter connected to a compressor.
Daily water changes should be at least 20% of the volume, but ideally you need to change 30-40% of the water in the aquarium.
The water that goes into the aquarium must settle for at least a day, but better than the day 2-3. It is strictly prohibited to pour water into the malyavochnik from the tap! The water parameters of fresh and aquarium water must be strictly identical.
Concerning required temperature water. The temperature in the aquarium should be maintained at 28°C for the first few weeks, then gradually reduced to 26°C. When babies are several months old, the temperature should already be 24°C.
What to feed guppy fry
Now about what to feed the guppy fry. The most crucial period in their life is the first five days after birth. There is such a thing in industrial fish farming little secret : During all these extremely important five days, you need to give the babies live food (“live dust”, Artemia nauplii, rotifers, cyclops, oligochaetes chopped with a razor or a microworm grown on a carrot) and do not turn off the light in the aquarium even at night.
Feeding frequency: in the first week 4-5 times a day, the entire second week - at least four times and three times a day until the age of two months. A healthy baby guppy has a round belly and a very good appetite. If babies refuse food, then something is wrong with the aquarium water! It is necessary to test it urgently for the level of ammonium, nitrites, and nitrates.
Special feed mixtures are best suited as artificial analogues of live food. industrial production. For example: for babies up to 1 cm in size - TetraMin Baby, and as the guppy fry grow, that is, for adolescents more than 1 cm - TetraMin Junior. They are developed and produced in full accordance with the recommendations of scientists, they contain all the necessary nutrients and vitamins (vitamin A, carotene and calcium fluoride, growth vitamin T). Plus, products for fry are treated with ultraviolet light to destroy pathogens.
How to feed guppy fry
When babies are about a month old, you can add bloodworms, tubifex and other types of food to their diet. Any food intended for fry must be crushed so that they can swallow it. If it is not possible to feed with live food, small guppies will also accept simple dry food for adult fish. Only in this case it must be ground into dust. With this feeding, the fry will grow a little slower.
It is important to remember: a monotonous diet consisting only of dry food can lead to the fry becoming “delayed.” At normal conditions maintenance and feeding, guppies become teenagers, acquire their initial colors and begin to stare at each other with the goal of procreation already at the age of two months.If the housing conditions do not reach the minimum acceptable levels, and the food is monotonous, the fish grow very poorly, mature late, and the veil of the male caudal fin is not as luxurious as it could be. Moreover, the color is much paler than potential. Another important point : in case of feeding the fry only with live food, include components in the menu plant origin(dried seaweed, spirulina). At least occasionally.
It's a little easier with yogurt – it does not rot so much in water and can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. What should be done: Pour boiling water over curdled milk, causing casein (milk protein) to curdle. Catch a lump of casein using gauze or other filter fabric, rinse, roll into a “bundle” and lower into the aquarium. Lightly shake the “bundle” of food – a cloudy cloud of food particles will appear.
How to vary food for guppy fry
Feeding guppy fry omelette is exotic, but not impossible. It will require a couple more spoons of dry nettle, previously ground into powder (rolled oats will work as a substitute). Bring one hundred liters of milk to a boil, pour two raw eggs. Remove the mixture from the heat, add nettles (Rolled oats), and beat well. This food can be stored in the refrigerator for a whole week and given to the fish as much as they can eat.
Powdered milk – the product is highly nutritious, does not dissolve in the aquarium water for several hours, and is eaten by the fry without any residue. Therefore, it can be considered a fish delicacy. Sometimes you can find ready-made milk powder on sale. And some “extract” it themselves by evaporating regular milk in a low container.
Cheese– the most original food for fry. The main thing is to choose mild varieties. Hard cheese is grated on a fine grater, and processed cheese is dried before feeding. Summing up the list of “folk recipes” aquarists need to be reminded: Feeding fish with low-quality, rotten, stale food is unacceptable!
Caring for guppies in an aquarium must be carried out correctly, otherwise you will have to deal not only with a stop in growth and development, but with diseases and even the death of the young. All aquarists should remember that any fish grows throughout its life. The intensity of growth depends on how much and what kind of food it consumes.
Approximate growth rates (if the aquarium is created optimal conditions) are:
- In the first two weeks of life, the daily amount of food is 150-170% of the fish’s weight.
- From the age of two weeks to one month – from 80 to 100%
- From one to two months – up to 30%.
- From two months until the appearance of signs of sex - up to 15%.
- Until full puberty - up to 10%.
- Adults – up to 5%.
Babies can be transferred to a general aquarium for further maintenance only when they reach the level of teenagers and the sex of the guppy fry is already easily determined. In this case, they will not be considered by adults as food.
