How to Raise Guppies

If you are just beginning to raise fish, start with guppies. As you are thinking about the different breeds of fish to include with guppies, look at platies and mollies, both of which are also peaceful live-bearing breeds. Guppies are a long-living and live-bearing fish, living for five to seven years on average. Female guppies mature at about three months and can become pregnant on a monthly basis.

Things You'll Need

  • Regular fish tank
  • Breeding tank
  • Drop-in breeder (optional)
  • Filtration system
  • Sponge prefilter
  • Water heater
  • Artificial plants
  • Fish food
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Instructions

    • 1

      Provide a fish tank of at least 5 gallons. Guppies are highly active and social, needing space to swim and interact with each other. A 5-gallon tank suits the needs of three guppies; if you want more fish, buy a larger tank.

    • 2

      Watch the pregnant guppy after she becomes pregnant. You cannot predict when she will give birth to her fry. She may become less active and spend more time by herself as she gets closer to delivering the fry. It is necessary to watch her when you see her gravid spot becoming darker. This spot makes it possible for you to see the eyes of the unborn fry as the mother comes closer to delivering.

    • 3

      Set up a breeding tank with a filtration system, sponge prefilter, water heater and artificial plants. As the pregnant guppy gets closer to delivering her fry, move her to the breeding tank. When she births the fry, the artificial plants give them cover to hide from the mother, who is very hungry. As soon as she has given birth to the last fry, put her back into the main tank so she won't eat the babies.

    • 4

      Feed guppies small brine shrimp, freeze-dried bloodworms, algae-based flake food and tubifex worms. Live-bearing fish, including guppies, are omnivores, meaning they need both meaty and algae-based foods. Feed the fry several times a day, giving them a baby fish food or a high-quality flake food that has been ground into a fine powder.

    • 5

      Clean the breeding tank regularly. Add water from the regular tank so the baby fry start getting used to the water conditions of their future home.

    • 6

      Move the fry to the main aquarium when they are too large to fit in the mouths of adult fish. Because each baby guppy develops at a different rate, this varies from fry to fry and from brood to brood.