How to Breed Fancy Guppies

Guppies are one of the easiest species of fish to breed because of their quick reproductive cycles and their near-constant willingness to breed. Many of the female fancy guppies sold in pet stores are already pregnant. But for a female that is not already pregnant, there are ways to encourage the guppies to breed.

Things You'll Need

  • 2 freshwater fish tanks
  • 2 or more guppies
  • Fish food
  • Hiding places
  • Fry food
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Instructions

    • 1

      Keep at least one male and one female, though one male will breed with many females. If you want only one pregnant female at a time or you want to control the number of fry, keep only one female.

    • 2

      Set up a freshwater tank that is at least two gallons in size. The more guppies you have, the larger the tank should be. A basic guideline is to keep at one gallon of water for every 1-inch of fish in the tank.

    • 3

      Wait for the female or females to get pregnant. If the guppies are all adults of about 3 to 4 months old, the tank is kept clean and the fish are being fed regularly, the females will soon get pregnant. The female’s abdomen will begin to swell when pregnant. But, there is another obvious sign that will be an easier way to spot an early pregnancy. Look for a small, dark spot near the anus of the female. When she becomes pregnant this spot will get darker. The more advanced the pregnancy, the darker the spot will become.

    • 4

      Give the pregnancy about 21 to 28 days before the babies are born. Guppies have live births, so there will be no eggs to watch.

    • 5

      Remove the adult fish from the tank as soon as you see babies in the tank. To give the fry a better chance to survive until the adults are removed, place hiding places for them in the tank. Without places to hide, some of the babies will likely be eaten before the adults are removed. Place the adults in another freshwater tank until the babies are too large to be eaten.

    • 6

      Buy a fry food that is made for feeding baby freshwater fish, or make your own food for your fries. This can be done by breaking down adult food into a powder. You can do this easily with a mortar and a pestle, or you can crush food that has been placed in a bag.

    • 7

      Change the water in the fry tank more often than you would with an adult tank. Filters can suck the fry inside and quickly kill them. Using frequent water changes is far safer for the fry.