How Long Can Baby Guppies Go W/Out Food?

[GuppyGoddess]

Everyone says that adult fish are fine a few days w/out food. My question is how long are younger guppies (1/2" long) okay? Normally they're fed in the morning and at night. If I fed them in the morning and then skip the next four feedings (two days total) will they be okay? (Both are female - doubt they're preg yet, but you never know. . .)

 

[OldMan47]

At that small size, they can quickly starve. Fry are not as durable as the adults when it comes to skipping meals. At half of adult length I would expect them to make it that long but not much longer.

 

[kelly528]

At 1/2" long I would think they would starve. I feed my endler fry once per day, but they are in a planted colony where there are lots of teeny critters, algae and detritus for them to snack on.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

If I have a friend feed them one time per day, should they be okay then? Shoot. I don't even want to risk loosing them.

 

[helterskelter]

Fry can go a while will no ill affects.

Only this year i was away for a week and lost nothing. I dont use anyone to feed my fish as I would be extreamlyupset if they over feed them.
It's surprising how good they looked when i returned and they was not thin or ill in any way.

So 2 days will not be a problem

The only thing i would say though is not to do this new born fry.

I know someone on this forum who even took the fish on holiday with them to make sure they got the from a difficualt hard fish.

 

[dunchp]

Newborn fry may last 3-4 days; developing juveniles will last far longer. Don't forget there is always food in the tank anyway, if you don't keep it too clean then there may be infusoria, algae and other vegetable matter and foods for them to scavenge for.

I have been away for 3 weeks with no ill effects on my fish. I do not have anyone in to feed them as with 100+ (as I had then) it is a little too daunting.

The fish seem to look far more healthy with a period of fasting without any processed foods.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Fry can go a while will no ill affects.

Only this year i was away for a week and lost nothing. I dont use anyone to feed my fish as I would be extreamlyupset if they over feed them.

I plan to measure out a pinch of food into a little saucer so my friend will have the exact amount to feed them (and then move the fish food into a box or something). They will just be fed once. Since my son lost a fish a few days back, I cannot risk having him losing another right now. He'd be confused and devestated.

ETA - I also have four betta tanks. . .those fish I would expect to be okay w/out food since they're all a bit bigger and one now has a huge amount of algae that popped up literally overnight!

 

[kelly528]

I have also heard of people using those pill cases with a compartment for each day of the week when they give their kids the responsibility of feeding a pet fish. Since I vary my fish's diet with many kinds of dry food, this is definitely what I would do. That way you can not only determine how much they eat but also what they eat.

 

[dunchp]

Both good ideas.