65 Gallon Tank When did you let your fry out into general population?

[oddballsandinverts]

I got an accidental guppy fry with a ghost shrimp order, and it’s been about a month with him. He’s now 3/4 of an inch long! I’ve grown really attached to him. He will be released into my 65g, but my question is at what size do you think he would stop being seen as a snack? What have been your experiences?

inhabitants:
2 honey gouramis (1 male and 1 female)
9 zebra danios
9 Cory cats
7 khulii loaches
1 banjo catfish
1 reticulated hillstream loach
2 BN plecos
lots of ghost shrimp
2 amano sheimp
3 nerite snails
1 mystery snail
To clarify— the BNs will not stay in this tank permanently. They are babies rn and not even old enough to sex ! One will remain here and the other will go into my 20 g or a 30-40g depending on their size. Wanted to explain before anyone worried! My only concern is my gourami male can be territorial— he didn’t get the memo on honeys being calm. The guppy will get friends once I can sex it as I do not want to breed them lol.

 

[fishnerd1111]

With the first batch of guppies that my female had I kept them in a breeder box 6 inches by 6 inches it was made of mesh. I left the fry in there till they were about one inch long it took forever: and before anyone starts ''yelling'' at me for having over 50 fry in a small breeder box it was only 13 babies(females first batch). the second time there were a lot more 50 ish I let them out when they were only 3 months old I think around 1/2 inch or less at first they were being chased a lot only because they swimming away, sort of like how if you run away from you dog he/she will chase you. I think it was like this with the fish but eventually(about 2 days later) they quit "running" and have grown out ever since. I sold about half of them. If it is only 1 I would not do it until he/she was about inch to inch and half; though you probably could put him in there I personally would not do it though. Hope this helps.

 

[oddballsandinverts]

With the first batch of guppies that my female had I kept them in a breeder box 6 inches by 6 inches it was made of mesh. I left the fry in there till they were about one inch long it took forever: and before anyone starts ''yelling'' at me for having over 50 fry in a small breeder box it was only 13 babies(females first batch). the second time there were a lot more 50 ish I let them out when they were only 3 months old I think around 1/2 inch or less at first they were being chased a lot only because they swimming away, sort of like how if you run away from you dog he/she will chase you. I think it was like this with the fish but eventually(about 2 days later) they quit "running" and have grown out ever since. I sold about half of them. If it is only 1 I would not do it until he/she was about inch to inch and half; though you probably could put him in there I personally would not do it though. Hope this helps.

Thank you! Yeah, they’re in a mesh net box rn. It’s 8x6” I think. The fish have been polite with shrimplets so I’m not horrifically worried, but , well everyone of my friends and I are very attached to our oospie guppy and don’t want to take any chances. I have no idea how old he is so the size suggestion def helps. This is the lil dude/dudette right now (cupped them for photos earlier). When I got them they were so tiny, my pinky nail was much bigger than them. It’s crazy how fast they grow

 

[HupGupp]

Guppies are pretty good at not being snack food, as their own kind will usually hunt and try to eat them for the first few days after they are born. As long as you don't have any aggressive fish, he should be fine.

The one thing I sometimes do, to be careful with a new fish to a tank, is keep the fish in the net when putting him in the tank and give him a chance to get his bearings and swim out of the net on his own. If you just plop it in, he'll be a little stunned and confused and the other fish will charge at what they just assume is food. I've lost a younger fish that way.

 

[fishnerd1111]

Guppies are pretty good at not being snack food, as their own kind will usually hunt and try to eat them for the first few days after they are born. As long as you don't have any aggressive fish, he should be fine.

The one thing I sometimes do, to be careful with a new fish to a tank, is keep the fish in the net when putting him in the tank and give him a chance to get his bearings and swim out of the net on his own. If you just plop it in, he'll be a little stunned and confused and the other fish will charge at what they just assume is food. I've lost a younger fish that way.

The guppies are definitely good about not being snacks but they do make good snacks. I once left for a week and did not feed my tank and had a lot of baby guppies like to many to count. By the time I got back majority of the fry were gone and the fish were fine.

 

[ShyWildPetExpert]

Congrats on the surprise guppy! Super cool that you've bonded with the little guy.

As for the tank, just watch the size game. The bigger your guppy gets, the less snack-like it seems. With that 65g setup and some hideouts, things should be smooth. Good call on the gourami's territorial vibes.