Introduction: Hello. You may be here because you were interested in breeding guppies. Well, let me tell you, it's very easy to do. I'll be covering the basics of guppy breeding. Keep in mind, this is specifically for guppies, and while some of the things I write in this MAY be true for other livebearers, I'm mainly focusing on guppies.
Tank Setup/Supplies: I recommend at least a 10 gallon (37.85 liter) tank. This is a good size because it's enough room to house guppies, and it's a lot of room to house a LOT of fry. A sponge filter is a necessity. It will assure the fry don't get sucked up. Use a big one to assure maximum filtration. I also recommend a lot of plants (plastic, silk, or live) so the fry can hide. You can even put wood, rocks, and hides. These kinds of things are necessary because the parents will try to eat the fry. Guppies don't have parental instinct. Substrate is optional. I usually go bare bottom. A light is also optional, but I recommend it. It gives the fish a sense of day, and also makes the tank brighter and easier to look at (MAKE SURE YOUR TANK IS CYCLED BEFORE ADDING FISH).
Overall, the supplies I recommend are:
Basic Guppy Care:
1.) How to tell:
If a guppy is pregnant, you'll see her abdomen form into a kind of squarish shape, and you'll also see a big or deeply colored gravid spot. Female guppies are almost always pregnant when you get them from the pet store. Interesting fact: female guppies can store sperm packets and can pretty much choose when she becomes pregnant.
2.) What to do:
So you can either a.) keep the adult guppies in the tank and let nature take its course (possibility of fry getting eaten) b.) remove the adults and let the fry grow up in the tank. c.) remove a female when you think she's about to give birth, and let her give birth in a breeder box or separate tank, and raise the fry up in that separate tank or breeder box (ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN). Guppies give birth to around 2-200 fry. The average amount is 20-60. They usually give birth every 30 days, until they are 2-2.5 years old.
How to Care for the Fry:
Guppy fry can eat a variety of food, but the best options are as follows: baby brine shrimp (more advanced option) and crushed flakes and/or pellets (easier option). They will not normally eat the first day of their life, as they have the rest of their yolk sack to feast on. Feed them 3-6 times a day in small quantities. They are very small, and digest food quickly. I recommend a 10-20% water change weekly. This will keep the water nice and clean. Do this with a non-powerful siphon, or a piece of airline tubing to assure the fry don't get sucked up while you're changing the water. Make sure you also get all debris on the bottom of the tank too. Don't do too much scrubbing on the glass. The fry will usually nip and eat the alage. When the fry are about 3-4 months old, they should be big enough to go into a community aquarium!
Outro/Conclusion:
Guppies are very fun fish to breed, and are a great introduction to breeding. Thanks for reading this article, and I wish you luck with your breeding projects!
Tank Setup/Supplies: I recommend at least a 10 gallon (37.85 liter) tank. This is a good size because it's enough room to house guppies, and it's a lot of room to house a LOT of fry. A sponge filter is a necessity. It will assure the fry don't get sucked up. Use a big one to assure maximum filtration. I also recommend a lot of plants (plastic, silk, or live) so the fry can hide. You can even put wood, rocks, and hides. These kinds of things are necessary because the parents will try to eat the fry. Guppies don't have parental instinct. Substrate is optional. I usually go bare bottom. A light is also optional, but I recommend it. It gives the fish a sense of day, and also makes the tank brighter and easier to look at (MAKE SURE YOUR TANK IS CYCLED BEFORE ADDING FISH).
Overall, the supplies I recommend are:
- 10 gallon (37.85 liter) tank or larger
- Sponge filter (find one that is recommended for the size of your tank)
- Plants (live, silk, or plastic)
- Wood, rocks, any other decoration that you want
- Substrate (optional)
- Light (optional, but recommended)
Basic Guppy Care:
- Temperature: 72 - 82° Fahrenheit (22 - 28° Celsius)
- Food: High quality flakes, pellets, frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, tubifex worms, daphnia, etc.
- Temperament: placid, community fish
1.) How to tell:
If a guppy is pregnant, you'll see her abdomen form into a kind of squarish shape, and you'll also see a big or deeply colored gravid spot. Female guppies are almost always pregnant when you get them from the pet store. Interesting fact: female guppies can store sperm packets and can pretty much choose when she becomes pregnant.
2.) What to do:
So you can either a.) keep the adult guppies in the tank and let nature take its course (possibility of fry getting eaten) b.) remove the adults and let the fry grow up in the tank. c.) remove a female when you think she's about to give birth, and let her give birth in a breeder box or separate tank, and raise the fry up in that separate tank or breeder box (ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN). Guppies give birth to around 2-200 fry. The average amount is 20-60. They usually give birth every 30 days, until they are 2-2.5 years old.
How to Care for the Fry:
Guppy fry can eat a variety of food, but the best options are as follows: baby brine shrimp (more advanced option) and crushed flakes and/or pellets (easier option). They will not normally eat the first day of their life, as they have the rest of their yolk sack to feast on. Feed them 3-6 times a day in small quantities. They are very small, and digest food quickly. I recommend a 10-20% water change weekly. This will keep the water nice and clean. Do this with a non-powerful siphon, or a piece of airline tubing to assure the fry don't get sucked up while you're changing the water. Make sure you also get all debris on the bottom of the tank too. Don't do too much scrubbing on the glass. The fry will usually nip and eat the alage. When the fry are about 3-4 months old, they should be big enough to go into a community aquarium!
Outro/Conclusion:
Guppies are very fun fish to breed, and are a great introduction to breeding. Thanks for reading this article, and I wish you luck with your breeding projects!
