Guppy fry care

[cyruslaguna]

My guppy just gave birth to 8 fries this morning!

I've read some care tips on guppy.com but just need to clarify a few things:

Feeding frequency - how often should I feed them with grounded flakes (powder form)? How often should water be changed? Currently, mine are in a non-filtered, ammonia level 0 watered "nursery" with some java moss, away from the parents.

What else should be in the "nursery"?

[Interestor]

feed less for first 2 weeks. water change as and when water is dirty. for fries, first month can keep in bare tank and than semi adult transfer to main tank.

CHeers..

[cyruslaguna]

is it good to have java moss for them to hide, as an added "sense of security"?

[Interestor]

sure, why not



CHeers..

[cyruslaguna]

already put them in the "nursery" tank

[bundopeace]

I wouldnt touch the water unless it looks dirty.. just have air filter running and feed preferrably live foods like microworms or boon, or bbs. 3 x daily

[cyruslaguna]

I read about using bare tanks without filter, will that be good? What else should I feed them to enhance healthy growth apart from powdered flakes?

At what age will they be semiadults?

[Interestor]

if possible, change/feed different type of fish food as in pellests or flakes. feed less but can feed frequently.

never overfed


planted or bare tank, as long as you can easily do waterchange without mush effort will do.


CHeers..

[minute_me]

I have 3 platys (I think 2 female one male) in my 1 ft planted tank with HOF that keep giving birth. I just feed the fry BBS. very easy to care for and grows up quickly.

[cyruslaguna]

my other female just gave birth to 4 fries; should I put a filter in the nursery tank? Currently it's bare with only java moss.

[Interestor]

filter for fries is not necessary, but for adult will be best for growth.


CHeers..

[cyruslaguna]

what are the recommended floating plants for fries to hide away from adult guppies eating them when they are born?

[Interestor]

sorry, i am not into planted

so cant recommend you on this.



CHeers..

[stormhawk]

cyrus, you can use frogbits or Salvinia. Either one is great for little guppy fry to hide. Even the water lettuce or water hyacinth works too, since they have fairly bushy roots for the fry to hide in.

[cyruslaguna]

stormhawk: are frogbits also known as duckweeds? Could you assist on this?

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=62225

only left 3 fries...the rest all died

[stormhawk]

Nope, duckweed is a puny plant. Frogbits have circular to oval-shaped leaves.

This is the plant:
http://www.thegreenaquarium.com/arti...rogbit_001.jpg

Duckweed are these:
http://www.sfu.ca/~fankbone/biol/duckweed.jpg

I use this one in my tank:
http://www.thegreenaquarium.com/arti...s/salvinia.jpg

Salvinia of some sort, but species I'm not sure.

All 3 are good for fry tanks, but the easiest to handle is frogbit, because the leaves cover a broader area.

Try to keep your questions in 1 topic. Easier to help you that way. I've had zero problems raising guppy fry. They are greedy little piggies. All they need is a "dirty" tank (with some mulm), some plants, regular feeding with newly hatched BBS/crushed flake/Sera Micron/live Daphnia, they grow really fast. Filtration is not a must if you don't overfeed and allow the fry to eat till they're full. I only feed my guppy fry twice a day, and only if they've finished the first meal.

As the other guy said, please take care when feeding. In our climate, those fry food like Sera Micron, will spoil very quickly.

[cyruslaguna]

Stormhawk: ok noted...what other factors do I need to note other than those you've mentioned?

[stormhawk]

When guppies are giving birth, make sure there's enough plant cover and hiding places for the fry to seek refuge. Guppy mothers are known to eat their own fry right after they've given birth. Same applies to other guppies in their tank.

This is the reason why some guppy keepers place a pregnant female in a breeding trap when she is about to give birth, so the guppy fry can escape through the slits in the trap. This is good for bare tanks.

In a fry tank, it helps to have scavengers like ramshorn snails/pond snails to handle the uneaten food. Just remember not to overfeed, and leave the fry alone for most part. Take notice because certain diseases can easily wipe out a whole brood of guppies, like velvet disease.

If you feel unsecure without having filtration, you can use a sponge filter with gentle aeration.

[cyruslaguna]

one fry was born a couple of days back and was eaten up by one of the mothers
any recommendation of plants that I can float to allow fries to hide?
The breeding box is too big for my 1.1ft tank...any idea if there are smaller ones available? or should I use an external one?

[stormhawk]

What you need are bushy plants. ALOT of Java Fern and Java Moss helps in this aspect. The floaters must have bushy roots beneath them to really help out.

It is normal for guppy mothers to eat a few babies. Sometimes mine give birth to 10 fry, but only 2 or 3 will survive. This is okay if you just need new fry to replenish the guppy population in your tank.

By the way, if you are going to get an external breeding trap, be careful when moving the pregnant guppy. If you stress her when she is heavily pregnant, she might just give birth prematurely to stillborn fry. I usually net the female slowly, and while still in the water, transfer to a container before I move to an isolation tank.