Breeding Guppies

[Fish 'R' Fun]

hi i am thinking about breeding guppies and wondering if anyone can give me any advice on how to breed them

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Guppys will breed well as long as they have at least 2-3females per male, are in a suitable sized tank and have good water quality, but they produce many fry so although they are easy to breed the task of raising so many fry and affording a decent sized fry tank and all the extra gear can be very time and money consuming and should only be attempted by a responsable fish keeper.
A female guppy can produce anything between 10 and 50+fry, the average being about 20, and can produce such a batch of fry once a month and the fry take on average 6months to fully mature, so you need to think carefully on wether you are prepared to breed guppys and have places that can take the fry in once they are of decent size- they aern't known as "millions fish" for nothing .

 

[OohFeeshy]

How to breed? Just add water

 

[Annastasia]

Let me just make a few points here....

• Guppies have lots of fry. We are talking up to 50 a month.
• All these fry need to be raised, and they need a place to go when they are grown up. Most people don't have 20 million tanks they can use for Guppies. Also, if you don't seperate them early enough, you will have MORE fry.
• You can quickly get over-run with Guppies, so please plan to have a home or space for all of them.

As for the more technical stuff...if you really want to rasie them, and get into this, you need a fry tank. I think a sponge filter is best for a fry tank, so that they can't get sucked up. It's worked well for me in the past, so I would recommend it. Otherwise, you could use a HOB, or other filter and just cover the intake with a breeder net, or Pantyhose, or something similar so they don't get sucked up.

Ornaments can be anything you want...Plants are good, as are rocks, wood and general places for them to hide. Thick plants seem to be afavorite with mine. They can disappear into there, and fool their brothers and sisters as to where they are! Sand is the best substrate. With gravel, they can sometimes get stuck in between the pieces and get crushed. Bare bottom also works, and some find it easier to clean.

Fry need good water quality, and they are sensitive so lots of water changes! Daily ones are okay, once every 2 days is okay too. Just make sure the tank is always clean. You can do water changes using a airline tubing siphon you make, or a turkey baster so you don't suck up the little babies. Acclimation to the tank is impotant too. Take a loooong time...and they'll be better off.

Also, fry need to be fed often! 3 times a day at least, more if you can. When they are first born, Tetramin Fry Food or Hikari First Bites are best for them. Baby Brine Shrimp is good suppliment to this, or you can just feed that but it's best to vary. Once they grow up a bit, you can add in finely crushed flakes and Freeze-dried, frozen, or Live foods, such as Bloodworms, Brine Shrimp, Tubifex Worms..etc. However, don't feed them just this. These are all high protein foods, and they can cause them to be constipated or get bloated. Fry are sensitive. You can also try small pieces of blanched veggies, like cucumber, zucchini, peas...etc.

Good luck breeding!

 

[Fish 'R' Fun]

Thanks Everyone For YOur Help!

James