Guppy fry in a shared aquarium. Caring for guppy fry: feeding, water temperature, backlight How long do guppies grow to normal size
Feeding. First sexual characteristics
Proper care is impossible without feeding. For the first 3 weeks of life, they can be fed with live dust and brine shrimp by an incubation term of 6-8 hours. In the first month of life, bloodworms, chopped tubule, and cyclops can be added to the diet. It is important that the feed is chopped up. You can also feed hard-boiled and chopped chicken yolk, alternating with other foods. It is recommended to give branded food for guppy fry.
Look at the newly born guppy fry.
As they mature, the fry need to be sorted. When gender identification is possible, especially for mature guppies, prepare an aquarium with water by diluting it with water from a jig. Guppies from the age of 2-4 weeks can reproduce, therefore, in order to avoid early pregnancy females, sorting should be carried out.
The dominant feature of male guppies in the early stages is lengthening and folding of the lower fin, which is located near the anus. Over time, this fin will develop into a gonopodium. After the gonopodia has formed, it will be easier to determine the sex in the early stages. Rearing fry of different sexes is good for their health. When kept separately, they are easier to care for, and they do not waste their energy on pursuing each other.
If the fry do not take food during feeding, then the water quality is not up to standard. Healthy fry have a rounded abdomen and a strong appetite. Many problems with rearing fry are due to the fact that they are provided with the wrong care. This applies to cleaning the aquarium (bottom siphons, water changes, filtration, aeration).
The first signs of coloration of young fish do not appear immediately, depending on the species or breed. Sometimes a female guppy is able to give birth to offspring from different males, or a once fertilized female can give birth every month. The number of fry in one brood is about 20. Therefore, it happens that fry from several broods grow in the aquarium. The first time after birth, the fry can remain at the bottom in a motionless state.
If the female is improperly looked after during pregnancy, she may give birth to premature fry ahead of time, in which the yolk sac will be visible. Premature birth of a female occurs due to frequent water changes in the aquarium, or due to the introduction of guppies into a newly launched aquarium. The mortality rate among premature fry is very high.
How to properly care for guppy fry :: Aquarium fish
Guppies are very popular fish that can be bought in specialty stores at a relatively low price. If desired, you can also breed them, but only on the condition that the fry are properly cared for.
Basics of caring for guppy fry in a shared aquarium
The most important rule, which must be observed by people who decide to raise fry together with adults, says that you need to carefully monitor the amount of food and never force guppies to starve. The fact is that these fish may well eat fry if there is not enough food. Moreover, it is desirable that the fry have their own shelter, a special part of the aquarium, where you will pour some of the food for them. This will ensure the relative safety of the small fish. 
Choose plants with long stems and small leaves for the fry. They will help create a sheltered space in the aquarium and equip the little ones with comfortable housing next to the adults.
Artemia can be used as food for guppy fry in the first weeks of their life. 4-5 weeks after the birth of the fish, add tubifex and bloodworms to their diet. Remember to grind the food thoroughly so the fish can eat it. Give them food at least 3 times a day. In this case, it is advisable to pour in a little more food than they can eat right away, so that later the fry have the opportunity to refresh themselves. Pour food as close as possible to plants where small guppies live so that they do not have to swim out to adults. 
How to keep guppy fry in a separate aquarium
Keep an eye on appearance fish. Guppy fry should have a large, round belly. It is also important that they eat a lot and do not give up food. If the babies are reluctant to eat, they may be sick, or you are not properly supporting them and providing inappropriate care.
An aquarium with a volume of about 20-40 liters with high-quality aeration and with many small plants is suitable for guppy fry. In this case, it is advisable not to supplement the housing of the fish with soil, otherwise you will only complicate the process of caring for the kids.
When growing guppy fry in a separate aquarium, you must constantly monitor the temperature and water quality. In no case should you pour unsettled water from the tap into the container - you must leave it for 2-3 days and only then pour it.
It is recommended that 30-40% of the water in the aquarium be replaced daily to keep the guppy fry comfortable. As for the water temperature, in the first 3-4 weeks of the fry's life, it should not fall below 28оС. Then you can gradually, over the course of a week, reduce it to 26 ° C, and then to 24 ° C.
Fish diet
Setting up a guppy aquarium
Guppy breeding rules
Breeding guppies and caring for their fry is quite simple. Fish that have reached the reproductive cycle enter into reproduction on their own, being in common aquarium... Before giving birth, the abdomen of the female swells greatly, becoming almost square in shape. As a rule, they give birth within a month, so the pregnancy of the fish is easy to notice.
Already a few days before giving birth, a separate reservoir for fry should be ready, since breeding guppies is fraught with eating fry by the parents. To increase the chances of survival of the fry, dense bushes of living plants can be placed in the general aquarium, which will provide shelter. You can prepare a separate box for the female, in which there are holes for the fry. After the female has given birth to fry (sometimes this can happen within 24 hours or more), she can be deposited in a common aquarium almost immediately. However, it is best to place the female guppy in a separator tank a week before giving birth. With a sharp change in the situation, the female may have a miscarriage.
In fry, immunity is not as strong as in adults. Fry need to be fed frequently - 3-4 times a day. Guppy fry should be 2.5 cm long on the day they are placed in a shared aquarium with adult fish. Starter food - brine shrimp larvae, branded food for guppy fry.
How to grow guppies :: fry guppies how to distinguish sex and color :: Aquarium fish
Fishes guppy - ideal for the novice aquarist. They are unpretentious, eat a wide variety of food with pleasure and are not too demanding on the conditions of detention. Male guppies are very beautiful - they are distinguished by bright and long tails, and their bodies are covered with multi-colored spots. The colors of these fish are very diverse. One of the interesting features of guppies is that they are viviparous fish. They do not lay eggs, but immediately produce formed fry.
The question “opened a pet store. Business is not going. What to do? "- 2 answers
You will need
- - an aquarium with a capacity of 3-4 liters;
- - a separate smaller container for growing fry;
- - a pair of guppies;
- - gravel for creating soil;
- - several aquatic plants;
- - fish food, live or dry;
- - a landing net for fish transfer.
Instructions
1. To keep a pair of fish, you need a container of 3-4 liters, since the guppy does not require a large oxygen content in the water. You can use ordinary gravel as a soil, but it is better to take care that the soil is collected from an environmentally friendly place. Remember to rinse the gravel thoroughly and boil it for 15-20 minutes to disinfect it. If you want to add driftwood and large rocks to the interior of your aquarium, place them on the bottom before gravel falls. Plant the plants in the ground before filling the tank with water.
2. Place one or two opposite-sex pairs of fish in the aquarium. Females and males of guppies are quite different from each other: the female is larger than the male, she has a more modest short tail and a greenish-gray color. You need to feed the fish once a day. They happily eat dry food such as gammarus or live food such as bloodworms. Bloodworms should be given at the rate of 1-5 worms per fish, depending on the size of the fish.
3. Keep track of the size of the abdomen of female guppies: as soon as it starts to grow, use a net to catch and place the fish in a separate vessel with water and plants. The water temperature in this vessel should be 1-2 degrees higher than in the general aquarium. Wait for the guppy to give birth to offspring. Depending on the age of the female, the number of her fry per litter ranges from 10 to 100 pieces. The older the fish, the more fry it can give birth to. Return the female to the general aquarium - the fry will not need her care. Let the small guppies stay for 2-3 weeks separately from the rest of the fish, otherwise adults may mistake them for live food.
4. Guppy fry grow very quickly: in three months they will reach maturity. Males stop growing, reaching this age, but with each passing month they become brighter and more beautiful, their fins and tails continue to form. The full bloom of the beauty of the male guppy occurs by the year. Females only grow in size. Until the fry reach the size of adult fish, it is better to feed them dry food, carefully rubbing it between your fingers or "live dust".
5. If you do not plan to distribute or sell young fish, take care of purchasing a larger aquarium so that the fish are not crowded. When good conditions guppies breed about once a month.
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note
Try not to overfeed your fish. If there is too much feed, they run the risk of overeating and getting sick.
Helpful advice
To prevent dry and live food from spreading throughout the aquarium (which can lead to water damage), purchase special floating feeders;
Fish will feel much better in an aquarium equipped with a special lighting lamp.
Breeding aquarium fish is a fun process, but it requires certain knowledge and skills. Each type of fish needs its own food and its own conditions of detention. Viviparous fish include guppy fish (a type of peciliaceae). Once born, the fry are considered almost independent. They can feed themselves, but to a lesser extent than adults.
One of the serious disadvantages of this species is the eating of small individuals by older brothers and even by their own mother. If the fry are not immediately transferred to another aquarium, they may all be lost. And the rest of the fish are peaceful and unpretentious in feeding and keeping. Information about how much guppy fry grow, about the rules of keeping, how to feed guppy fry, is disclosed in the following description.
Conditions, feeding and maturation of fry
Guppy fry for a quick development you need high-quality water, feed and a certain thermal regime. You need to feed guppy fry from three to six times a day in small doses until puberty (3-4 months). In an aquarium for fry, a filter, a special heater for water, a compressor for air supply must be installed. These devices can be purchased at any specialty store. And also food suitable for the age of the fry. The first four days the water should be 26-27 degrees Celsius. Then the temperature regime is reduced to 20 degrees.
The optimum temperature for adult fish is 24 degrees. If the water in the aquarium is more than +27 degrees, the fry grow up faster, but they become smaller and live shorter. At temperatures less than +21 degrees, they ripen longer, but become larger. The aquarium for guppy fry should be illuminated for half a day. By one hundred and twenty days of life, time lighting - no more than 9 hours. Water for babies must be from the same tank in which they were born. Filters must be constantly cleaned and rinsed. Pre-settled water is poured in the volume of a third part every day. If the quality of the liquid in the aquarium is poor, the little ones become inactive and eat poorly.
How many guppies grow
The length of fry at birth is 2-6 mm. Guppy fry grow up to 7 months. When proper care this period can be reduced by 2-4 months. The growth, maturity and life span of these fish depend on proper feeding and care during this period. Babies swim on the surface, and then in deeper layers. For up to a week they need food in the form of dust, and then larger ones. For rapid growth, babies are fed not only with dry food, but also natural, eg:
Guppy fry can be fed with mashed chicken egg yolk, cheese, dry milk mixture, algae. On sale there is a special food mashed to a state of very thick puree, which includes the following components: flour, grated fish and beef liver, brine shrimp and mosquito larvae, chicken egg yolk. This food contains all the trace elements, proteins and vitamins necessary for babies.
Feed should be given in small amounts to prevent rotting of the food that has not been eaten and that has settled to the bottom. Half a month of baby guppies provide food a lot, sixty percent more than their body weight. From fifteen days to sixty, the weight of the feed should be up to one hundred percent of the body weight. After 60 days - no more than thirty percent. With the obligatory separation of males and females - no more than twenty percent. Adults should be fed no more than twice a day. For breeding beautiful and healthy guppies, males must be removed.
The fry are released into the total capacity no earlier than ninety days from birth, when they have grown and become stronger. If there is no desire or opportunity to plant the fry, it is necessary to create natural shelters for them from aquarium plants. The following types of water are suitable for guppies flora:
- brazilian pinnate;
- floating riccia;
- carolina camomba;
- canadian Elodea;
- fern indian.
Benefits of breeding guppies
Positive moments of guppy breeding at home.
- unpretentiousness;
- beauty;
- survival;
- rapid reproduction.
With good feeding and care, the female can bring up to a hundred or more fry, and in the first birth up to twenty-five. The males are distinguished by their beauty, the females are more inconspicuous. When properly kept, fish differ from other breeds survival and longevity. It is important to feed the guppies with a variety of foods, alternating between natural and store-bought dry food. But it must be remembered that poor nutrition and poor conditions can cause disease and death of fish.
Are funny and colorful aquarium fish. They do not cause much trouble to their owners in the content, and also reproduce regularly. A female guppy can delight you with another replenishment every month.
This type of aquarium fish belongs to. That is, when born, the fry are a miniature copy of adult guppies. They are completely ready for self-feeding and development.
How many guppy fry should be kept separately?
There are different opinions on this matter. Most are inclined to believe that until the full formation of the fry and the transformation of the latter into sexually mature fish. This occurs 1-2 months after birth. Some breeders return fry to the aquarium after a week, when they can be given more or less universal food. In any case, you need to be fully aware that up to one month of age, the needs and regimen of fry differ significantly from the life of adult guppies.
The correct development of guppy fry is characterized by an increased need for and regularity in feeding. At first, its frequency can be up to 5 times a day. Lighting also affects how fast guppy fry will grow. It is recommended that the aquarium with newborn fish be lit around the clock, and not turned off at night, as usual.
Guppy fry grow and move actively, usually closer to the water surface. And only over time they begin to master the entire depth of the aquarium. How long it will take before the guppy fry finally grow up and can become full-fledged inhabitants of the aquarium depends on the nature of their nutrition and care.
If you decide to have fish, then guppies are the ideal option. They are unpretentious and very beautiful. With minimal effort, you can create a unique aquarium that will amaze you with the variety of colorful inhabitants.
But you should be careful, as the mentioned fish reproduce very easily.
Preparing conditions for a pregnant female
Guppies are completely unpretentious and can give birth in a common aquarium. They differ in that they are viviparous. This means that the fish gives birth to fully formed and viable fry.
To provide ideal conditions for the expectant mother, it is first of all necessary to feed the fish more intensively. This is to ensure that the female does not eat the fry immediately after their birth.
For the correct and most successful breeding process, it is advisable to take younger males and older females. This is because an adult fish can tolerate more fry. And to successfully fertilize it, you need a nimble and active male. 
This process takes place with the help of a special organ in the male called the gonopodium. It forms from the anal fin when the male reaches puberty.
Guppy pregnancy lasts 35 to 45 days. The duration of the process depends on the temperature of the water: the higher it is, the faster the fry develop.
Ideally, it is advisable to plant the expectant mother in a separate aquarium. This procedure should be carried out in the last stages of pregnancy. The container must be equipped with plants with small leaves so that the fish can eat them. Otherwise, the female is most likely to feast on the newborn offspring.
Did you know? A female guppy can give birth to offspring from a male even after his death. A fertilized liquid is stored in her body, which allows her to bear offspring many more times.
Guppy fry birth
Before the fry are born, the belly of the fish becomes square. In order for the fry to survive and do not need additional care, it is necessary to balance the environment in the aquarium. It is also important to feed the fish with small food. This will ensure bright coloration of adults in the future.
Did you know? The first fish to fly into space was a guppy.
The birth of guppy fry: videoHow many are born
The number of fry depends on the size, age and diet of the female. The older and larger the fish, the more babies it will have. The first time it can bring up to a dozen new residents. Further, their number will increase each time.
Important! In order to avoid early births, which entail high mortality of fry, do not change the water in the aquarium. It is also necessary to minimize changes in the fish diet.
What they look like and how to find out the gender
The fry are born very tiny. They can be up to 5 mm long. In a general aquarium, children can only be kept if there are many shelters there. They can be tall grass, algae, caves, sticks, leaves, etc. They are needed by babies in order to easily hide from adult fish that can eat them. 
In female guppies, after two weeks of age, dark spots appear near the anal fin. In order for the fish to develop correctly, it is necessary to identify their sex in time and to isolate the females from the males.
The latter differ in that they have a swirling lower fin. It is longer than that of females, since then it turns into a gonopodium. 
Fry should be removed when the first sexual signs appear, but this process does not occur overnight, it stretches for weeks
How fast they grow, what to feed and how to care
Guppies grow amazingly fast. Under proper conditions of keeping and feeding, after one and a half to two months, the first males will begin to acquire a beautiful, bright color, the first coal spots appear.
At 3 months, they are already fully formed and reach puberty. The color of the guppy is improving and becomes more distinct, beautiful with age. The older the male, the more uniquely colored his fins and tail are.
First days
In the first days of life, the fish are already quite active. Immediately after birth, babies actively swim around the aquarium in search of food. In order for them to eat properly, it is necessary to give them only fine food.
Artemia and live sand are ideal. Sometimes you can dilute the diet with chopped boiled chicken egg yolk. 
Guppy fry eating yolk
The feeding procedure should be carried out 3-4 times a day. Portions should be given small, but such that the fish will have enough to eat later.
Important!The daily routine of adult fish and fry is different, so it is necessary to adapt to the kids. You need to feed them more often than other fish, turn off the lights so as to provide ten hour daylight hours.
After 2 weeks
After two weeks of life, small fish can be transferred to another food. They can be crushed bloodworms, tubule, etc. You can use a special packaged food for guppy fry.
The feeding procedure should be carried out 2-3 times a day. It is optimal to give small portions so that there is a minimum amount of food left after feeding. This is to avoid rapid contamination of the aquarium.
In order for the fry to grow up healthy, active and develop correctly, it is necessary to provide from +22 to +25 ° C. Warm water will ensure the fastest growing up process for babies.
How to feed guppy fry: video
Why guppy fry do not grow: possible difficulties
Sometimes aquarists are faced with the problem that their guppy fry grows poorly or not at all.
Several factors can be the cause of this trouble:
- the diet of babies is poorly balanced, low protein content in the feed;
- feedings do not occur often enough;
- the water temperature in the aquarium is very low;
- the aquarium is too small and not suitable for a large number of fry;
- too young a female gave birth to offspring and it cannot develop;
- fry were born premature and not fully formed;
- lack of adding new water to the aquarium (this is important for the proper development of young animals).
Guppies are an excellent choice for the aspiring aquarist. This type of fish is distinguished by its unpretentiousness and amazing beauty. With minimal effort and low cost, you can create a beautiful underwater world. But in order for the fish to feel good and have the opportunity to breed, they need to provide a balanced diet and proper living conditions.
Female guppies give birth to fully formed and viable fry that can swim and feed on their own. Once born, the baby first rushes to the surface of the water for a breath of air to fill its swim bladder. Then the most crucial period in his life begins - the period of growth and development. If the aquarist can arrange ideal conditions for offspring to grow, they will be rewarded with strong, brightly colored, lively and prolific fish.
Fry is best kept in a separate tank. But if you decide to grow guppy fry in a common aquarium, then remember that for fish in general (and for their parents in particular) they will be associated exclusively with food.
For babies to have a chance to survive, it is necessary to provide a varied and abundant diet for all adult inhabitants of the aquarium, while not overlooking the fact that the load on the filter will increase by at least an order of magnitude.
There is a chance that a well-fed fish will become lazy from satiety and will not be interested in a nimble little thing. Consequently, the guppy fry will remain safe and sound.
It is also important that there are many different hiding places for the fry in the aquarium. Plants are the most successful and reliable shelter for them! The more small-leaved, long-stemmed plants in the aquarium, the better for the little ones. One of the best and most popular options - elodea... In addition, floating ones are suitable: eg Riccia. And kale, with its large, fibrous root, will also come to the court. In vegetation, the fry will be more protected. You can feed them by pouring food directly into these thickets. Thus, the fry do not need to leave their hiding place, and large fish will not reach them.
When growing newborn guppies away from adults, in a separate aquarium, you will have to organize a small fish tank (aquarium for fry) with an approximate volume of 20 to 40 liters. However, this information is of a recommendatory nature. If it is impossible to put another, additional tank at home, for the first time you can get by with a three-liter jar with an aerator spray.
The soil and decorations are usually absent in it to simplify the maintenance process. Floating vegetation is desirable but not required. Good filtration is highly desirable. It is quite possible (and even necessary) to use a filter sponge connected to the compressor.
The daily water change should be at least 20% of the volume, but ideally 30-40% of the water in the aquarium should be changed.
The water that goes into the aquarium must be settled for at least a day, but better than day 2-3. It is strictly forbidden to pour water into the water bottle from the tap! Fresh and aquarium water parameters must be strictly identical.
As for the required water temperature. The first few weeks in the aquarium should be kept at 28 ° C, then gradually reduced to 26 ° C. When babies are several months old, the temperature should already be 24 ° C.
How to feed guppy fry
Now about what to feed guppy fry. The most crucial period in their life is the first five days after birth. There is such a thing in industrial fish farming little secret: during all these extremely important five days, you need to give the little ones live food ("live dust", brine shrimp nauplii, rotifers, cyclops, razor-cut oligochaetes or a microworm grown on carrots) and do not turn off the light in the aquarium even at night.
Feeding frequency: in the first week 4-5 times a day, the whole second week - at least four times and three times a day up to two months of age. A healthy guppy fry has a round belly and a very good appetite. If the little ones refuse food, then something is wrong with the aquarium water! It is necessary to test it urgently for the level of ammonium, nitrites, nitrates.
As artificial analogs of live feed, special feed mixtures of industrial production are best suited. For example: for babies up to 1 cm - TetraMin Baby , and as the guppy fry grow, that is, for adolescents more than 1 cm - TetraMin Junior ... They are designed and manufactured in full accordance with the recommendations of scientists, contain all the necessary nutrients and vitamins (vitamin A, carotene and calcium fluoride, growth vitamin T). Plus, the fry products are UV treated to kill pathogens.
How to feed guppy fry
When babies are about a month old, bloodworms, tubule and other types of food can be added to their diet. Any food that is intended for the fry must be chopped up so they can swallow it. If it is not possible to feed live food, small guppies also perfectly accept simple dry food for adult fish. Only in this case it must be ground into dust. With this feeding, the fry will grow a little slower.
It is important to remember: a monotonous diet consisting only of dry food can lead to the fact that the fry "drag on". Under normal conditions of keeping and feeding, guppies become adolescents, acquire their initial coloration and begin to stare at each other for the purpose of procreation already at the age of two months.If the conditions of detention do not reach the minimum acceptable, and the food is monotonous, the fish grow very poorly, mature late, the veil of the tail fin of males is not as luxurious as it could become. Moreover, the color is much paler than potential. Another important point: in case of feeding juveniles only with live food, include the components in the menu vegetable origin (dried seaweed, spirulina). At least occasionally.
It's a little easier with yogurt - it does not rot so much in water and can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. What should be done: pour boiling water over curdled milk, which makes casein (milk protein) curdled. Catch a lump of casein with gauze or other filter cloth, rinse, roll up into a "knot" and lower it into the aquarium. Slightly shake the "bundle" with food - a turbid cloud of food particles will appear.
How to diversify food for guppy fry
Feeding guppy fry with an omelet is exotic, but quite possible. For it, you will need a couple more spoons of dry nettle, pre-ground into powder (oatmeal will do as a substitute). One hundred liters of milk is brought to a boil, two raw eggs are poured into it. Remove the mixture from the heat, add nettles (rolled oats) there, beat well. This food can be kept in the refrigerator for a whole week and given to the fish as much as they can eat.
Powdered milk - the product is highly nutritious, does not dissolve in the aquarium water for several hours, is eaten by fry without a trace. Therefore, it can be considered a fish delicacy. Sometimes you can find ready-made milk powder on sale. And some "extract" it on their own, evaporating ordinary milk in a low container.
Cheese - the most original food for fry. The main thing is to select mild varieties. Hard cheese is grated on a fine grater, and melted cheese is dried before feeding. Summing up for a list of "folk recipes" need to remind aquarists: feeding fish with low-quality, rotten, stale food is unacceptable!
Guppy care in an aquarium must be carried out correctly, otherwise you will have to face not only a stop in growth and development, but with diseases and even death of fry. All aquarists should remember that any fish grows its entire life. The growth rate depends on how much and what kind of food it consumes.
The approximate growth rates (if optimal conditions are created in the aquarium) are as follows:
- In the first two weeks of life, the daily amount of food is 150-170% of the weight of the fish.
- From the age of two weeks to one month - from 80 to 100%
- From one to two months - up to 30%.
- From two months before the appearance of signs of sex - up to 15%.
- Until the moment of full puberty - up to 10%.
- Adults - up to 5%.
Babies can be transplanted into a common aquarium for the further maintenance of children only when they grow to the level of adolescents and the sex of guppy fry is already easily determined. In this case, they will not be considered by adults as food.