Feeding an aquarium fish fry is a tricky business. The fry are so small and delicate that you must be careful what you feed them and how often you feed them. And when it comes to guppy fish, it can get a little more confusing than the rest as the fry seem well-developed to feed as soon as they are born. But can you do that? Can you feed them as soon as they are born? When exactly can you feed your guppy fry?
You can feed your guppy fry as soon as they are born. In fact, it’s best to start feeding them right away so they can get the nutrients they need to grow. However, you must be careful what you feed them and how often you feed them. The fry are so small and delicate that you must be careful not to overfeed them or underfeed them.
The best food for guppy fry is newly hatched brine shrimp. You can also feed them crushed flake food, frozen cyclops, micro worms, and live or frozen daphnia. It would help if you started feeding them when they were born and fed them twice a day. How much you feed them will depend on the size of the fry and how much they can eat.
This blog post will discuss when to feed guppy fry, what to feed them, and how often to feed them. We will also talk about what happens if you don’t feed your fry often enough.
Keep reading to learn more about feeding guppy fry!
When To Feed Guppy Fish Fry?
As soon as your guppy fry are born, they will look for their first meals. Therefore, it is important to start feeding them as soon as possible to grow and develop properly.
And the number of times you feed your fry will also increase as they grow. You can feed them twice or thrice a day, sometimes even more, when they are first born.
But as they age, you will need to feed them only once or twice a day. It entirely depends on your preference, honestly. And you can feed them once in the morning and once at night before turning off the light.
If you want to keep your guppy fry alive and healthy, do not compromise when it comes to feeding them.
What To Feed Guppy Fry?
Now that we know when to feed guppy fry, the next question is – what should you feed them? Well, there are a few different options available when it comes to feeding guppy fry.
These baby guppy fish will eat anything and everything that fits in their mouth. So, it would help if you stay alert about what you feed them and how much you feed them.
Drop food continuously into the fry tank so they can eat as much or as little as they want. But do not let the uneaten food stay in the tank for long as it will foul the water.
Why Should You Feed Guppy Fry More Often Than Adults?
As we mentioned before, guppy fry are born very small. They are also born without any food in their stomachs, so they must start eating immediately.
The first few weeks of a guppy fry’s life are the most critical for its growth and development. These guppy fish can grow quickly within 3 months to reach sexual maturity, so good food and feeding frequency are quite important for healthier and proper growth.
During this time, you should be feeding your guppy fry several times a day, preferably every few hours. This will ensure they get all the necessary nutrients to grow into healthy adults.
5 Best Food For Guppy Fry
The confusion and food choices for fish fry can get quite overwhelming. You want to ensure you’re giving your fry the best possible chance at survival and growth, but with so many options on the market, it’s hard to know where to start. I will give you six of the best food options for guppy fry below:
Newly Hatched Brine Shrimp
This is one of the best foods you can feed your guppy fry. The brine shrimp are rich in nutrients and will help the fry to grow quickly. In addition, the shrimp are small enough for the fry to eat and easy to digest.
It is one of the most popular food options for guppy fry. You can easily find brine shrimp eggs in pet stores or online.
First Bites By Hikari
This is another excellent food choice for guppy fry. First Bites is a sinking pellet food that is designed specifically for young fish. The pellets are easy for the fry to eat and contain nutrients that will help the fry grow quickly.
The food is easy to digest, and the fry will love it. And the best part is you can find First Bites By Hikari in most pet stores or online.
Crushed Flake Food
This is a good food choice for guppy fry that are a little bit older. You can find this food at most pet stores selling fish supplies.
All you have to do is take the flakes and crush them up into smaller pieces. Then, you can either sprinkle them into the tank or put them in a feeding dish.
Microworms
Microworms are another excellent food source for guppy fry. They are small, white worms that are high in protein. You can culture your own at home or purchase them from a pet store. To feed them to your fry, simply sprinkle a few into the tank.
Live Or Frozen Daphnia
Daphnia is a small freshwater crustacean that makes a great meal for guppy fry. You can find them live or frozen at most pet stores.
If you choose to feed your fry live daphnia, simply add a few to the tank. If you opt for frozen, thaw them out first and sprinkle them into the tank.
How Often To Feed Your Guppy Fry?
The frequency of feeding also depends on the type of food you are feeding your fry. For example, if you are feeding your fry live food, you will need to feed guppy babies more often than if you are feeding dry food.
In general, you should feed your fry several times a day and increase the amount of food as they grow.
I personally choose to feed my guppy babies twice or thrice a day, depending on the time they take to nibble the food I drop.
If they consume everything in a minute or two, I’ll feed them again after 6 hours or so. If it takes longer, I’ll wait about two more hours before feeding them again.
As a general rule of thumb, you should start by feeding your fry about twice a day, about the size of their eyeball. Then, if they seem to be doing well on this amount, you can increase it to three times a day.
If they start to look skinny or their bellies seem sunken in, you are probably not feeding them enough and need to increase the amount.
How Much Should You Feed Guppy Fry?
This is probably the most common question new guppy parents have. But, unfortunately, the answer is not as straightforward as you might think.
It depends on a few things like the age and size of your fry, what type of food you are feeding them, and how much live food is available in their tank.
It would help if you only fed your guppy fry enough food that they can eat in a minute or two. If you feed them more than this, baby guppy will not be able to digest it all, and it will start to rot in their tank.
This can lead to serious health problems, so it is important not to overfeed them. If you are unsure how much food to give them, it is best to avoid caution and give them less than you think they need. Of course, you can always give them more if they seem hungry.
As they get older and grow larger, you will need to increase the amount of food you are giving them. A good rule of thumb is to feed them as much as they can eat in about two minutes.
If food is left over after that, you are probably feeding them too much and need to reduce the amount.
One thing to keep in mind is that guppy fry are very active and have high metabolisms, so you will need to feed them more often than adult guppies. However, it is also important to not overfeed them as this can lead to problems like swim bladder disease in guppy fish.
What Happens If You Don’t Feed Your Guppy Fry Often?
If you don’t feed your guppy fry often enough, they will lose weight, and their bellies will sink in. This is because they are not getting the food they need to grow and thrive.
If this happens, you will need to increase the amount of food you give them and/or the frequency with which you feed them. Failure to do so can result in death.
Therefore, ensuring that you feed your guppy fry often is important enough. How often you need to feed them will depend on their age and how much they are eating.
As a general rule of thumb, you should feed them at least twice daily. If they are younger than two weeks old, you may need to feed them more often.
What Happens If You Overfeed Guppy Fry?
If you overfeed guppy fry, the uneaten food will sink to the bottom of their tank and start to rot. This can lead to a number of health problems, including:
- Gastrointestinal problems
- Infections
- High ammonia levels
- Poor water quality
To avoid overfeeding your guppy fry, only give them as much food as they can eat in two minutes. Once they stop eating, remove any uneaten food from their tank.
What Happens If You Underfeed Guppy Fry?
If you underfeed guppy fry, they may not get enough of the nutrients they need to grow and develop properly. This can stunt their growth and lead to health problems later in life.
To avoid underfeeding your guppy fry, feed them small meals several times daily. You can also supplement their diet with live or frozen foods, like brine shrimp or daphnia.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Guppy fry are small and delicate, so they need to be fed a nutritious diet to help them grow and develop properly. The best way to do this is to feed them small meals several times a day. You can also supplement their diet with live or frozen foods, like brine shrimp or daphnia.
If you have any questions or concerns about feeding your guppy fry, please feel free to ask in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
