You’ve probably heard of guppy fish if you’re a fish enthusiast. These little beauties are popular for aquariums because they are easy to care for and come in various colors. But, of course, keeping them in your home tank will only make your aquarium beautiful and fascinating, while the task of feeding these small fish tops the list any day. But do you know what to feed them? What do they even eat? Are guppy fish carnivores or omnivorous?
Yes, guppy fish are indeed omnivorous and will eat both plant and animal material that they find in their tank. These fish feed on algae, small insects, and crustaceans in the wild and tend to have a similar diet in captivity.
Pellets, flakes, live food, krill meal, and granules are good for feeding your omnivorous fish. You can also supplement their diet with fruits and vegetables as well.
This article will discuss the different types of food guppies can eat and how often you should feed them. We’ll also look at some foods you should avoid feeding your guppies.
So whether you’re just starting with guppy fish or have been caring for them for years, this article will surely provide some valuable information!
Are Guppy Fish Omnivorous?
Yes, guppy fish are omnivorous creatures that will consume both plant and animal matter in the wild.
Their diet consists of small insects, larvae, crustaceans, and algae. In captivity, however, their diet is often supplemented with prepared foods like flakes, pellets, and live food.
Prepared foods are generally a mix of plant and animal matter. Krill meal, for instance, is a common ingredient in many pellets and flakes.
It’s high in protein and essential nutrients, making it an ideal food for guppy fish. It would help if you fed Guppy fish twice daily, and each feeding should consist of only as much food as the fish can consume in a few minutes.
However, it’s important not to overfeed guppies or guppy fry, as this can lead to health problems.
What Do Guppy Fish Eat In The Wild?
Well, it is no rocket science to understand what these wild guppies eat in the wild if you know these fish are omnivores.
These tropical guppy fish come from South America’s streams and rivers and even move up to North-east America, where organic matter and invertebrates are prominent.
They are not fussy eaters and will devour anything their way, including other smaller fish, crustaceans, insects, larvae, plants, and other organic matter in the water they live in.
Wild Guppies are known to consume up to three times their body weight every day! However, these guppy fish risk becoming prey to other predators in the wild.
Hence, they have to keep constantly moving to escape being eaten themselves. Unfortunately, this gives wild guppies little time to rest and eat properly.
As a result, these freshwater fish have adapted their diet according to their needs and can now digest food quickly. Their digestive system efficiently extracts all the nutrients they need from what they eat.
What Should You Feed Your Guppy Fish?
Now that we know what freshwater fish like guppies eat in the wild, let’s look at their diet in captivity.
In captivity, you are responsible for providing your guppy fish with a well-balanced and nutritious yet omnivorous diet.
Don’t worry; you don’t have to provide two different types of meals to male and female guppies. You can either purchase a pre-made fish food that contains all the necessary nutrients for your guppy fish, or you can create your mix.
Pre-made fish food is available in the form of flakes, pellets, live food, granules, etc. You can also add some variety to their diet by feeding them fruits and vegetables.
Here is a list of food items that you can feed your pet guppy fish without any hesitation:
Flakes
Most of the commercially available fish food comes in the form of flakes. You can get flake food specifically made for guppy fish, or any other tropical fish food would do as well.
Guppy eats flakes with the same enthusiasm; they eat live food or pellets. But unfortunately, people often overlook that variation in the diet helps these rainbow fish stay healthy and happy and think these tiny fish will just stay fine with one type of diet.
Now, fancy guppies eat this type of food without any questions or complaints but remember, flakes can also affect guppies’ health if you overfeed them.
Pellets
Like flakes, pellets are also a common type of fish food available in the market. Pellets are a little bigger than flakes and sink to the bottom of the tank.
Live Food
Guppy fish love live food and often chase small insects or larvae in their natural habitat. You can also feed them live food in captivity by adding brine shrimp, daphnia, mosquito larvae, vinegar eels, or bloodworms to their tank.
Here are some of the articles that might catch your attention:
- Do Guppy Fish Eat Bloodworms?
- Is Mosquito Larvae An Staple Diet For Guppies?
- Are Guppies Interested In Eating Shrimps?
- Will My Guppies Eat Snails In The Tank?
You need to understand that live food plays an important role in the growth and development of these fish.
These guppies will even eat their babies if they do not find other food in the tank; yes, they are that much of a foodie.
Adult fish must consume at least one live food in their diet every week or twice a week. And if you want to breed guppies at home, live food helps to energize the pregnant female guppies and prepare them for delivery.
You can even culture live food like vinegar eels, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, etc., at home, but only when you are prepared for all the smells and work.
Don’t worry; these guppies are famous for even eating dead fish in the tank so they will not mind the smells as much as you are going to.
Feeding guppies live food is as necessary as maintaining the food quality, and the consumed invertebrates will help you maintain the good health of your guppy fish.
Krill Meal
Krill is a type of small crustacean that is found in cold water bodies. It is an excellent source of protein for guppy fish, and you can find krill meals at any pet store.
Granules
Granules are yet another type of fish food available in the market. They are slightly bigger than pellets and must be soaked in water before feeding them to your fish.
Fruits and Vegetables
You can also supplement the diet of your guppy fish with fruits and vegetables. Some of the best vegetables for guppy fish are lettuce, peas, spinach, broccoli, zucchini, and carrots.
As for fruits, you can feed them watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, and bananas. Remember to chop the vegetables into small pieces and remove the seeds from the fruits before feeding them to your guppy fish.
You can even feed these veggies and fruits to young fry, but chop them into smaller sizes and remove the seeds.
Guppies are a wonderful option for beginners to start a fishkeeping hobby; thanks to their multiple food types, you can drop them in the tank.
Algae
Yes, it is surprising to see algae on the list of food. Guppies eat algae in the tank but will not help you eliminate algal growth.
You can choose algae wafers and drop enough in the tank for guppy populations or just wait for guppies to figure out any other food.
But most times, you don’t even have to go for wafers; adult fish will nip off the algae growing in the rocks and decorations when they are too hungry.
However, it would help if you kept in mind that these algae are not proper food for your guppies and will serve no nutrients for growth.
Adult fish might not complain about this, but older guppies and guppy fry will not appreciate algae in their diet.
How Often To Feed Guppies?
Now that you know what to feed your guppies, the next question is how often you should feed them.
In the wild, guppies are used to grazing on food throughout the day that is available in brackish water. As a result, they will eat small meals several times a day instead of one large meal.
You can recreate this feeding schedule in your home aquarium by feeding your guppies multiple times a day, although the amount of food you give them should be less than what they would eat in the wild.
They don’t need a lot of food, so give them enough to eat in one sitting. Ideally, it would help if you fed your guppies twice or thrice daily in small quantities.
However, the number might get different when it comes to feeding young fry. And it is also important to know that guppy fish are capable of overeating.
As a result, it is essential that you do not overfeed them and only give them as much food as they can consume within two minutes. These fish will even consume the leftover food in the tank, so immediately remove the uneaten food.
How Often To Feed Pregnant Guppies?
You might have to drop more food during the breeding season as there might be pregnant guppies that are eating more than 50 guppies altogether.
And keep these pregnant guppies and males in separate tanks to avoid food war and miscarriages. Female guppies cannot deal with all the chasing and wooing when they are already gravid with babies.
And male guppies will always try to mate and impress the female guppy during the breeding season, making it hard for female guppies to escape.
Female guppies are vulnerable during the span of pregnancy, making them weaker than male guppies present in the tank.
If you’re unsure about how much to feed your guppy fish, it is always better to err on the side of caution and give them less food rather than more.
It is best to ask a pet store employee how often you should feed your guppies. They can give you specific advice based on the type of food you are feeding your fish.
What Happens If You Feed Only Meat To Your Omnivorous Guppy Fish?
Now, this is a question you should ask more often if you have second thoughts about buying only a meaty diet for your guppies.
You cannot make an omnivore fish like a guppy carnivore just by feeding meats all day. The feeding behavior will always remain constant no matter where guppies belong, tank or natural habitat.
Yes, they are scavengers and will eat anything you feed them, but that doesn’t mean you can limit their diet to one food type.
It is never okay to feed only one food type to your fish which clearly love and need variety in their diet.
For example, guppies love veggies as much as they love meat, and they need all types of nutrients, not just protein and fat, which are the only nutrients the meaty diet provides most of the time.
Guppies are attracted to live foods because of their movement. If you only give them meat, they might not get the necessary nutrients and eventually die.
So, what happens if you only feed your guppy meat? Unfortunately, the answer is that not much good will come out of it.
A Guppy diet must contain all types of food, from live food to algae, if you want to help them stay healthy in the aquarium.
The aquarium hobby brings so many responsibilities, but guppies are still better than other species of fish in the aquarium world if you are a beginner.
Your guppy might get sick and die eventually. Therefore, feeding them all types of food is best to get all the nutrients they need.
What Happens If You Only Feed Vegetables To Your Omnivorous Fish Like Guppy?
If you only give them vegetables, they might not get enough protein and eventually die. So while it is true that guppy fish are omnivorous and can survive on a vegetarian diet, they will not thrive.
They need both meat and vegetables to get all the nutrients they need. If you only give them one or the other, they will eventually die.
Feeding them various food to get all the nutrients they need is best. They need both meat and vegetables to survive and thrive.
How Long Can Guppy Fish Go Without Food?
Guppy fish can go without food for a few days without any problems. So if you are away on vacation or unable to feed your fish for a few days, they will be fine.
Adult guppies will survive without food for up to two weeks, but they will start to lose weight after the first week.
After two weeks without food, guppy fish will begin to starve and eventually die. While male guppies can withhold for a while, if your female guppies are pregnant, the number of days might get shorter than two weeks. Female guppy even goes through a miscarriage.
And, the newborn fry will not survive more than three days if you don’t drop food in the tank immediately.
Guppy fry is much more vulnerable than adult guppies, so depriving them of food for long is just straight-up foolishness.
Therefore, ensuring that your guppy fry and adult guppies have a regular food supply is important.
While guppy fish can technically go without food for some time, it is not recommended that you do so.
If you must go on vacation or leave town for an extended period, it is best to ask a friend or neighbor to feed your fish for you.
Foods To Avoid Feeding Your Guppy Fish
There are a few foods that you should avoid feeding your guppy fish. These include bread, processed foods, beef, and chicken. These foods can cause health problems for your fish.
These foods can harm your fish and cause various guppy diseases, making them sick. Therefore, it is best to stick to feeding them foods specifically made for fish.
Please do not experiment with chocolates or bread regarding aquarium fish. Have you seen their body size and skin type?
These babies are fragile and sensitive to even the slightest inconvenience in the tank. And here you are expecting them to eat processed goods for your please; you can not be that cruel, can you?
The problem in their digestive tract is way scarier than you think, and all the health issues bloating, constipation, swim bladder disorder in guppies, etc., will eventually kill your fish.
So, my suggestion for you, my friend, is to do your research beforehand and not experiment. There are guidelines for you to follow after very thorough research projects by various other experienced aquarists.
So, be grateful and just do what is right for your fish. You cannot mess up simple things such as feeding your guppies as these fish are not even picky eaters and won’t create a fuss in the tank.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have collected some of the FAQs related to the guppy fish diet below.
Do Guppy Fish Need Food All The Time?
No, guppy fish do not need food all the time. They can go without food for a few days without any problems. However, it is best to feed them regularly.
Can You Feed Bread To Your Guppy Fish?
No, it would help if you did not feed bread to your guppy fish. Bread is processed food and does not have the nutrients that your guppy fish needs.
Bread will only cause digestive problems for your guppy fish, which is not a good food source.
I don’t think you want to make your guppy suffer from bloating, swim bladder disorder, and other problems, do you?
What Does Guppy Fry Eat?
Guppy fry is very small, and their diet changes accordingly as they grow. While the smallest fry eats small fishy matter, bigger ones will shift to vegetables, brine shrimps, etc.
It would help if you fed your guppy fry thrice or even more daily. However, if you are using live food, you may need to feed them less or more, depending on the type of live food you are feeding.
You need to understand that the growth stages of guppy fish decide what they eat. But what they should eat depends on the growth stage they are in at that very moment.
Conclusion
Overall, guppy fish are omnivorous creatures. They will consume various items in the wild to get the necessary nutrients. When it comes to feeding your guppy fish, you have a few different options. You can give them flakes, pellets, live food, or fruits and vegetables. It is important to feed them various foods to ensure they get all the nutrients they need. You should also avoid overfeeding your fish. Only give them as much food as they can eat in a few minutes. This will help keep them healthy and prevent them from becoming overweight.
If you have any questions about what to feed your guppy fish, be sure to ask your veterinarian. They can give you specific advice based on your fish’s individual needs.
Now that you know what guppy fish eat, you can provide them with a healthy diet to help them live a long and happy life.
Do you have any questions about guppy fish? Leave a comment below, and I’ll do my best to answer them!
Good Luck!!
Happy Fishkeeping!!!
