Guppies are very popular with fishing enthusiasts. With their vivid colors and constant activity, these hardy fish brighten up any aquarium. But more importantly, they are super easy to maintain. Look at their dietary needs for example.
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| Guppy Feeding: The Complet Guppies Food Guide |
Guppies are omnivorous fish with a good appetite. They eat everything from store-bought fish flakes and vegetable pellets to live or freeze-dried foods, insect larvae, vegetables and meat. They also graze on algae and spirulina. However, the best diet for guppies to grow and thrive is plant and animal nutrition rich in protein from multiple sources. Did you know that well-fed guppies live much longer? So, let us find out the right kind of diet and other aspects of guppy food to keep your pet fish healthy and happy.
This is an informative article. Nodisk One is not permitted to make a diagnosis or recommend any form of veterinary care. If your pet is in pain or ill, we recommend that you take him to the vet.
This is an informative article. Nodisk One is not permitted to make a diagnosis or recommend any form of veterinary care. If your pet is in pain or ill, we recommend that you take him to the vet.
What Do Guppies Eat In The Wild?
To identify the right type of food for this species of fish, we need to look at the eating habits of guppies in the wild. Guppies belong to the tropical regions of South and Northeast America, where they are abundantly observed in small streams and freshwater pools. Guppies are non-fussy eaters. In the wild, they eat anything they find in the water that fits into their little mouth. They consume both plants and meat because they are omnivores.
Guppies in the wild eat a wide variety of plant and animal matter. Soft algae make up a larger part of the guppy's diet. Additionally, they also have access to diatoms, brine shrimp, invertebrates, and aquatic insect larvae. This makes up their part of non-vegetarian diet. Guppies also nibble on aquatic plant debris and vegetable matter in the water. Here's a more in-depth look at the different things guppies eat in the wild:
Mosquito Larvae
Mosquito larvae will be the staple food of many wild guppies. In fact, guppies have been introduced into the wild in many different countries just so they can eat mosquito larvae and help reduce the risk of malaria infection.
Brine Shrimp
Brine shrimp are also another staple food for many guppies around the world. They can easily eat it, becuse It's small enough for them and it is very nourishing. In fact, feeding your captive guppies brine shrimp will be extremely good for them.
Frying Guppy
Guppies feel no love for their fry and will happily eat them as soon as they hatch. Although it may sound cruel, guppy fry are a very nourishing meal for their parents. And the speed at which they reproduce means that even though the parents eat many of their fry, many more still survive.
Algae
Guppies need plant matter in their diet as well as small animals, and seaweed is a common snack. It can be found almost everywhere they live and provides much-needed fiber to their diet.
Leaves
In addition to algae, any leaves that have fallen into their habitat and have begun to decompose also make an excellent meal for guppies. However, it is important to note that once again they are not based solely on plants, but on a balance between plants and animals.
Food Particles
Finally, your guppies will also eat food particles left behind by larger fish. These can be leftover meat from prey or vegetables and leaves that have also been eaten. Luckily, guppies aren't very picky, so whatever it is, they'll eat it!
What Do Guppies Eat As Pets?
Now you know what guppies eat in the wild. This means that you will be able to replicate their diet as best you can in your aquarium. However, it is obvious that you will never be able to completely replicate their diet. But you can get close! Everything that your guppy can eat is listed below:
Live Foods
Although it can be difficult to feed your guppy live food all the time (and not recommended due to the high fat and protein content), ideally you should feed your guppy live food from from time to time. About 1-2 times a week is a good amount of time to give them live food.
Some great live foods to feed them include daphnia, brine shrimp, and mosquito larvae. You can feed them bloodworms on occasion, however, contrary to popular belief, it's not too good for them, so it should only be used as a treat.
However, one of the big risks of live foods is the increased risk of a parasite or bacteria contaminating your aquarium through them. So make sure you feed your guppies live food and get it from a reputable supplier.
Plant Matter
Plant matter will also be an essential part of your guppies' diet. They will get some of that from algae in your tank as well as live plants that shed. However, often this will not be enough on its own. You will also need to supplement their diet with additional nutrients (normally found in commercial fish feed).
Also, don't expect your guppies to wipe out all of the algae in your tank. Although they are good at eating algae, there are certainly much better and more competent algae eaters you can choose from. Besides supplementing their diet with commercial fish food, it's also a good idea to add vegetables to their diet! You can choose from many different vegetables, which we will discuss later.
Commercial Fish Food
Of course, this will be the main and mainstay of your guppies' diet. You should provide them with high quality fish flakes or pellets twice a day and give them anything else as occasional treats. Flakes are your best bet as they are much easier to eat and digest, however, you can use pellets made specifically for guppies or small and soft enough for them to eat.
Personally, I recommend Fluval Color Enhancer Flakes, but there are many different foods you can choose from. And remember that the right foods will be easy to digest, mimic the nutrients in their natural diet, and won't dirty the water.
Freeze Dried And Frozen Foods
Finally, your guppies will also enjoy eating freeze-dried and frozen foods. However, again, these should only be given occasionally and should not form the bulk of your guppy's diet. Both tend to expand in water when left too long.
This can cause digestive issues such as constipation and swim bladder disease, in addition to making them much harder to eat. If you are going to feed your guppies freeze-dried and frozen foods, be sure to feed them insects that you would feed them while they were alive. Daphnia, brine shrimp, and mosquito larvae fall under this category.
Homemade Guppy Food
You can culture your own live food or make your own fish food if you have the time:
Brine Shrimp
Brine shrimp are the number one food for guppies, especially if fed live to your fish. Artemia has a protein content of 60% and about 25% fat and carbohydrates. A high level of protein, fats and carbohydrates will allow your guppy fry to grow bigger and faster. Adults also love to eat brine shrimp.
Brine shrimp can be grown at home, indoors with ease. To hatch brine shrimp eggs, I use a hatchery kit that I bought from Amazon years ago. Although brine shrimp eggs need 1-3 days to hatch, I recommend running multiple hatcheries at the same time if you want to feed your fish live food every day.
Egg Yolk
Egg yolks are one of the most common foods that hobby fish farmers prepare at home. Egg yolk provides a lot of fat for your fish, so adults shouldn't eat large amounts of it. An excellent source of protein, egg yolks also contain potassium, sodium, B-12, and vitamins A, C, D, as well as minerals like calcium, iron, and magnesium.
A complex food for baby guppy fish is egg yolk. You should feed your fish infrequently small amounts of the paste made from the yolk of a hard-boiled egg. Avoid overfeeding on this food because it can severely contaminate the water.
Beef Heart
One more superfood that guppies frequently consume is beef heart. Once the beef heart is cleaned of fat and cut into very small pieces with a blender or a sharp knife, it can be fed to your frying guppies. For improved results, it can be combined with carrots, shrimp, hard-boiled egg yolk, spirulina powder, and other ingredients. It is not recommended for feeding adults due to its high fat content.
Daphnia
Daphnia can be purchased in freeze-dried form in stores; however, the vast majority of fish farmers who feed Daphnids have their own live culture. Daphnia is relatively easy to grow at home. They need 6-8 hours of light and feed on algae, yeasts and bacteria.
Growing daphnia indoors can be difficult because of the smell. So keep that in mind if you want to grow daphnia at home. Daphnia is a top-notch source of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. Additionally, it offers a lot of vitamins A and D, which are essential for guppies and all fish.
Vinegar Eels
Vinegar eels can also be grown at home. I usually have 3 or 4 cultures running at the same time, in case one fails. Although they are easy to grow, harvesting them is a more complicated process. Another disadvantage of growing vinegar eels indoors is the strong smell of vinegar.
Although it is a good source of protein (50%) and fat (20%), you should not feed your fish very often with vinegar eels. Microworms are similar to vinegar eels but are easier to harvest and do not have a strong odor, as they can be kept in a sealed container.
What Food Groups Are Inside What They Eat?
Guppies eat worms, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, daphnia, fish flakes, vegetable paddles, fry, algae, and basically anything you feed them. As we have established, guppies look like us too. They require all food classifications and the foods they eat can be functionally classified into these groups.
Proteins
As you may have already guessed, every living food source is a major source of protein. So that means they eat mosquito larvae, bloodworms, and any other interesting living organism. Fish flakes are another great source of protein. Most fish flakes contain a staggering amount of protein. Although they are mainly recommended for adults, they are still an effective way to stimulate the growth of small fry.
Fats
The most important source of healthy fats for your guppies is bloodworm. This worm along with many other types of worms are the main source of your guppies' diet of fat. Bloodworms have a particularly bloating effect and feeding them too much may actually do more harm than good. Fish flakes are also an excellent source of fat. They are moderate in fat and provide enough healthy fats to meet their dietary needs perfectly.
Carbohydrates
The largest source of carbohydrates in your guppies' diet is vegetable or vegetable and seaweed pellets. They are high in healthy carbs and can only provide enough nutrients for your guppies
Minerals And Vitamins
Vegetable pellets, seaweed, and fish flakes contain the highest doses of healthy, rich vitamins in a guppy's diet. They contain a lot of minerals and vitamins A, B, and C.
What To Do If You're Out Of Guppies Food?
Take frozen or fresh vegetables (spinach, carrots, cucumber, peas, zucchini, broccoli and green beans), mix them together. Put the mixture in an airtight bag and place it in the freezer. Cut off a small piece after the mixture has completely frozen and give it to your fish.
From the vegetable mixture, you can also prepare flake food. Put the vegetable mixture on a baking paper and place it in the oven. Set oven to 250°F (120°C) and dry completely. Once the mixture is completely dry, crush it into small pieces and pour it into an empty resealable container or airtight bag. There you have your homemade flake food.
How Often Should You Feed Guppies?
Guppies that are adults can be fed once or twice per day. Provide small amounts of food that they can consume in one minute. After you've added food to the tank, wait five minutes. Remove it from the water if there is any leftover excess. Try to maintain a 12 hour difference between feedings. Although your pets don't mind eating more food, they will be healthier if you stick to feeding them twice a day.
Treats once or twice a week should be added to his regular diet. This will improve their growth and make up for any nutritional deficiencies. Guppies appear to be ravenous fish, but they can surprisingly survive without food for a few days. So if you have to be away for a while, don't worry about feeding them. Guppies can live for a week or more on their fat reserves.
However, if you need to be away longer, invest in an automatic feeder that releases a sufficient amount of food once or twice a day. Overfeeding is a common problem with guppies. They will produce more waste if they eat too much. Your aquarium's water quality will be impacted by this.
Additionally, overeating will cause intestine blockages and health issues. Pay attention to the following signs of overeating, so that you can quickly address it:
- The water in the tank becomes cloudy or dirty and requires more frequent changes.
- Skipped fish food floats in the tank.
- Your guppies tend to have bloated bellies.
- You notice waste tubes sticking to the back of the fish (this happens when their intestines are clogged).
If you notice any of these red flags, reevaluate your eating strategy. Reduce the amount or frequency of meals and your guppies will be better off.
Can Overfeeding Be Fatal To My Guppies
Believe it or not, overfeeding can cause death To your guppies! Overfeeding your ornamental fish can be fatal for your guppies for a few different indirect and direct reasons.
Overfeeding Guppies Can Bloat Your Guppies
Guppies are voracious eaters, and no matter how much food you put in their tank, they will try to eat it all. Among their internal organs, guppies have a swim bladder. It helps them stay buoyant in the water. The swim bladders of guppies will shift from their natural location if they are overfed. In this case, the guppies will be unable to swim or eat properly, which will stress the fish. And if the fish is stressed for a long time, it can even kill the guppies.
Overfeeding Can Cause A Deadly Buildup Of Ammonia In Your Tank
When you put a lot of food in your guppies tank, the guppies will try to eat it all because they are voracious eaters. Guppies will excrete a lot of waste or poo if they eat a lot of food. In your aquarium, this fish waste will degrade and produce deadly ammonia. Additionally, uneaten food will decompose and produce deadly ammonia in your aquarium. The ammonia will soon be too much for the beneficial bacteria in your aquarium to handle. Additionally, ammonia can kill your guppies because it is toxic to all ornamental fish.
How Much Food Should I Give To My Guppies?
Your guppies can be fed once or twice per day. If you are going to feed your guppies twice a day, allow at least 10 to 12 hours between feedings. And each time, give the amount of food that your guppies can consume in one minute.
What Do Baby Guppies Eat?
Adult guppies can even feed on their offspring. Therefore, baby guppies, also called fry, are removed from adults soon after birth and kept separately until they are big and strong. Fortunately, caring for baby guppies is easy.
With proper water conditions, a variety of food, and adequate light, they will quickly grow into healthy adults. Baby guppies have different dietary needs than adults. What you should know about their diet is as follows:
- Guppy fry have small mouths. Since they are in the growth phase, they also have high protein requirements.
- You can feed the fry a combination of animal and plant matter.
- A daily diet of good quality, protein-rich flakes will help babies grow quickly. It's a good idea to crush the flakes with your fingers and scatter them over a wide area.
- You can also feed baby guppies brine shrimp, pickle eels, and microworms. Avoid feeding adult brine shrimp, as they cannot digest them yet.
- Vegetables like boiled spinach and chopped lettuce are also favorites for guppy fry. They graze on algae. So, keep the fry in tanks where the algae thrives, and they won't go hungry.
- Finely chopped beef heart and hard-boiled egg yolk are superfoods you can make at home for baby guppies.
- Baby guppies digest food very quickly. Therefore, they need more frequent feedings than adult fish.
- When feeding baby guppies, provide small amounts of food several times a day. However, reduce the feed if you notice the tank becoming cloudy or dirty despite frequent water changes.
for the best of their overall development, try to stick to the same feeding schedule every day. And feed the fry several times a day with the following foods:
- 5:00 a.m – turn on the lights.
- 6:00 a.m – baby brine shrimp.
- 7:00 a.m – flake food / freeze dried bloodworms.
- 11:00 a.m – vegetables mixed with Heart of beef.
- 2:00 p.m – vinegar eels / micro worms / live daphnia.
- 5:00 p.m – flake food before bed.
- 6:00 p.m – lights off.
Keeping the lights on for more than 12 hours a day on your guppy fry will help growth considerably. Additionally, more frequent water changes are recommended for baby guppies.
Can Guppies Eat Their Own Babies?
Every month, guppies can give birth. And each time they can produce between 10 and 100 offspring. However, not all descendants will live. The reason is that some of the babies will be eaten by adult guppies. The behavior of animals that eat their own babies is called filial cannibalism. There are other animals besides guppies that exhibit this behavior.
Why Do Guppies Eat Their Babies?
There is no one reason guppies eat their babies. There are two reasons why guppies may eat their babies:
1. Source Of Food
After giving birth, female guppies may eat their fry to regain energy and meet their nutrient needs. Male guppies may also eat babies if they are hungry.
2. Psychological Stress
After giving birth, just like human females, guppy females can also suffer from postpartum depression. And under stress, females can eat their babies.
How To Feed Guppies On Vacation?
If you're worried about your fish dying on your vacation, I have good news for you. Adult guppies will do well for up to 2 weeks without food. The fry are more sensitive, but they will also survive a week without being fed.
If you don't want to leave your fish without food for a week or two, you can purchase and install an automatic feeder. I have tried several automatic feeders, but the Eheim feeder works best for me. It can be set to feed up to 8 times a day at certain times. The battery lasts a very long time, so I don't have to worry about it. Automatic feeders can clog when using flake foods. So watch out for that!
Guppies Food FAQs
Can Guppies Eat Other Fish?
Guppies are typically very peaceful fish that live along well with other small calm fish. They will, however, eat anything that fits in their mouths because they are voracious eaters, which includes other fish.
Can Guppies Eat Chicken?
You can feed chicken to your guppies. Chicken will provide protein to your guppies. Chicken can be fed to guppies either raw or after being boiled. Just make sure to Just make sure to chop the raw chicken or the boiled chicken into small pieces to ensure that it will fit in your guppies mouths.
Can Guppies Eat Cheese?
Cheese is a dairy product. Dairy products are foreign to guppies i.e. Guppies in the wild don't consume any dairy products. In addition, guppies lack the enzymes required to digest cheese because cheese is prepared through a process. You shouldn't give cheese to your guppies because of this.
Can Guppies Eat Earthworms?
Guppies can eat earthworms. Just make sure to chop the earthworms up small enough to fit in your guppies mouths. Your guppies will grow more quickly thanks to the protein that earthworms give them.
Can Guppies Eat Oatmeal?
You can feed oatmeal to guppies. You can feed oatmeal that has been cooked or soaked in water, as well as that guppies can be fed raw oatmeal. All you need to do is make sure the oats are small enough to fit in your guppies mouths.
Can Guppies Eat Pond Snails?
Whatever can fit in a guppy's mouth, they will eat. Guppies cannot fit pond snails in their mouths because they are so big. So they cannot eat it.
Can Guppies Eat Rice?
Guppies can eat rice. Guppies shouldn't eat rice as their main food because it lacks some of the essential nutrients they require for healthy growth and development. It's acceptable to feed rice once in a while
Can Guppies Eat Seaweed?
Guppies can eat seaweed. Seaweed can help your guppies with digestion. It can also help in enhancing guppies coloration.
Can Guppies Live Of Bread Alone?
I mean technically, yes. The operative word in this sentence is "live," but guppies will consume a lot of bread if you give it to them frequently. By stating this, it is implied that malnutrition won't shorten their life span. Bread contains no protein whatsoever. Guppies require a lot of protein to develop and perform in general, as we've already established.
The diet that only includes carbohydrates and fats does not cater to this need. What we would advise is getting a small amount of beef heart and crushing it Along with the bread-only menu. Approximately every two days or so, you could also add blended cucumber.
Whether you are a guppies breeder, a master or a beginner, or just an amateur guppies breeder, now you know what to feed your guppies. It's important to offer your fish a variety of high-quality foods, but don't overfeed them.
Only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, are used by Nodisk One to substantiate the information in our articles.
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