What is the Best Food for Guppy Fry?

Guppy fry are the most common aquarium fish in the world for several reasons. First and foremost, they’re good-looking and easy to breed. There’s no need to insist for them to breed either. They’ll do it naturally whether you want it or not.

But, while breeding guppies isn’t the difficult part, taking care of them is. A proper diet is necessary if you plan on holding on to the guppies long-term. If you want to keep them healthy, then you’d better watch the water levels, their stress levels, and their food intake.

The fry are especially vulnerable to stress and external hazards. If you don’t separate the fry from the adults, the latter will eat the former without a second thought. Interspecies cannibalism is nothing uncommon with guppies. Female guppies give birth once every month to 30-60 fry, so there’s a lot of work to do.

Ideal Food for Guppy Fry

Throughout this article, I’ll talk about the best commercial fish food for guppy fry based on my experience and how I approached things. For guppy fry, a healthy and balanced diet is almost as important as not being eaten by their parents. They need proteins, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to grow healthily.

Below, I’ll tell you about the 5 best guppy fry food I’ve tried:

– Brine Shrimp Hatchery Dish

By far, this is the best food for guppy fry that I can recommend. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, Brine Shrimp Hatchery Dish should always be at the top of your list for feeding the fry.

What’s better than developing brine shrimp at home and feeding your fry with it? It’s convenient and healthy because you’re fully aware of how you raise the brine shrimp. In the package, you’ll have everything you need to hatch the brine shrimp. Just add some salt water and add a few scoops of brine to the recipient provided.

Make sure you keep the aeration lid open and place the recipient in the sunlight. After 1-2 days, the baby brine shrimp should start developing in their marine environment. Once this happens, just scoop them out of the recipient and put them in the guppy fry aquarium.

Brine shrimp is the basis of every guppy fry diet, and it’s also extremely popular among fish keepers. It provides plenty of minerals, protein, and vitamins to keep the fry healthy and strong at all times.

– Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze Dried Daphnia

Second on this list is the Hikari Freeze Dried Daphnia, a top-quality fry food made using pharmaceutical methods of freeze-drying. The result is the perfect food for invertebrates and baby guppy fry.

If you want your guppies to grow quickly and healthily, then I fully recommend this product due to its rich content of minerals, vitamins, and protein. All the necessary nutrients are all present and accounted for. The vitamins are especially good for the healthy development of the fry, while also keeping them free from bacteria and other parasites.

I especially like the fact that the daphnia doesn’t cloud the water once you pour it into the aquarium. The ingenious design seeks to copy a natural feeding method, so you won’t need to clean the aquarium as often when using this feed.

Lastly, the package has a dispenser at the top, which you’ll use to measure the exact quantities you’re feeding the guppies. It helps you keep track of their exact needs and maintain their diet within optimal parameters.

– Hikari Guppy Food Micro

I’ve often used this food for both guppy adults and fry. It contains the right nutrients for both age groups, keeping them healthy and in full development. Nutrition isn’t something to joke about, especially when it comes to guppy fry. In that development stage, they need a rich source of nutrients to grow quickly.

Hikari Food Micro will also encourage your guppies to breed if you’re ready for population growth. I’ve used this successfully when I wanted to breed my guppies quickly and it worked like a charm.

Most importantly, though, this fish feed is composed in such a way that it follows natural nutritional patterns. It allows guppy fry to develop naturally without forcing them in any way. All it does is speed the process a bit while supplementing with extra nutrients and vitamins.

– TetraColor Tropical Flakes

This colorful fish feed is a rich source of vitamins, proteins, and minerals for guppy adults and fry. In fact, just like the name says, TetraColor is good for any tropical fish, be it Bettas, Swordfish, Mollies, Angelfish, or Loaches. Guppies, in particular, benefit the most from this type of food.

While feeding your fry with TetraColor Tropical Flakes, you won’t need to supplement with anything else. This fish feed is more than enough for their needs, even during their development stage. I especially like the fact that guppies fed with TetraColor are more colorful than ever.

The flakes are all-natural and organic, containing as few pollutants as possible. So, you don’t need to worry about polluting the aquarium water when feeding your guppies. The high protein content brings endless benefits to growing guppy fry, in particular.

But otherwise, TetraColor is a balanced source of food for guppy adults and fry. I strongly recommend it for beginners and veterans alike.

– Omega One Freeze-Dried Bloodworms

Last but not least, Omega One Bloodworms will become a staple food for your guppy fry. They love this food, simply put. Frozen or not, bloodworms are a real delicacy to guppy fry. They not only taste great but bloodworms are a great source of vitamins and other beneficial nutrients.

I’ve found that these bloodworms are the perfect substitute for live food when you don’t have the time or money for live food. While live food is superior in every aspect to frozen food, Omega One frozen bloodworms don’t fall far behind. You can even make these bloodworms the primary source of food for your guppy fry.

Omega One Freeze-Dried Bloodworms are a premium-quality fish feed, which means they’re free from bacteria and other harmful compounds. Moreover, the nutritional value is all but guaranteed.

Every tropical fish species loves bloodworms, so if you have a mixed aquarium, you can use this fish feed for premium nutrition!

What About Live Food?

Live food is the best food source for guppy fry, there’s no doubt about that. If you can afford it, then, by all means, go for it. Even your local store may have live food for guppies, so give it a shot. In any case, live food is an extraordinary food source for fry.

Below live food is dried or frozen food. While it’s not fresh and a bit less nutritional, frozen and dried food retains about 80-90% of its nutritional value. Live food is essential for the rapid growth of guppy fry, thanks to the abundant nutrients in it.

Whether you breed the live food at home or you buy it from a local store, you won’t regret it. Here are a couple of good life foods for your guppy fry:

– Baby Brine Shrimp

Live baby brine shrimp is the best source of live food out there. Not only do they taste great but brine shrimp are full of beneficial nutrients like protein, vitamins, and minerals. The guppy fry will grow up quickly and naturally, without any genetic problems. They’ll also be somewhat protected from falling ill as easily.

– Micro Worms

With micro worms, you won’t need to worry about the fry’s dietary needs. This type of live food, especially earthworms or bloodworms, is super nutritional and tasty for the guppies. You can get your hands on other types of worms, as well.

Micro worms are very easy to digest, and this is an essential aspect when feeding the guppy fry. Their digestive system isn’t fully developed yet, so hard-to-digest food won’t be absorbed completely.

– Infusoria

By Infusoria, I mean various microorganisms like protozoa and some such. You can buy them in pet stores or you can even breed them in your aquarium. Whichever way you choose, these Infusoria are a great food source for guppy fry.

They’re full of nutrients, vitamins, protein, and minerals that will assist your guppy fry in growing quickly and naturally. However, you won’t find these Infusoria naturally in an aquarium, so you’ll need to buy them or breed them yourself as I said.

When Will Guppy Fry Start Eating?

After birth, the fry will begin eating in a few hours, so you need to have food ready by then. Indeed, some fry may take less or longer, depending on their individual needs and state of health. But generally, in a few hours, they should all begin eating food.

Some fry may begin eating after a day, while others will only start eating after three days. I’ve had someone tell me that their entire aquarium of guppy fry only started eating three days after birth. In any case, that moment isn’t too far away since all guppy fry are independent and will start swimming about minutes after being born.

Their growth is astonishing, as well. In a few months, guppy fry should become adults if their health is alright and their diet is suitable.

How Often Should You Feed Guppy Fry?

Many people have asked this question, and I should make it a habit of answering it when I can. It’s not that simple, though. There’s nothing specific about this since you can’t feed guppy fry an exact number of times per day. At first, the fry will be voracious eaters, and they could eat constantly.

But don’t give in to their voracious appetite. It’s not healthy for them to eat so much, so often. Overfeeding is a severe issue that may even lead to death if you ignore it. Technically, guppy fry will process eaten food in about 20-30 minutes. Shortly after they’ve eaten, they’ll be ready for another meal.

Naturally, they’ll start asking for more. If you keep feeding the fry to no end, you’ll overfeed them. I recommend creating a feeding schedule that lets you feed the fry five times a day. Only provide small bits of food and make sure you keep track of how much you’re feeding them.

If you give them sizeable portions of food, they may not digest it well enough, and constipation is another potential issue in that case. And, like I said, overfeeding guppy fry is not a good idea at all.

Prepare Food for Guppy Fry

Are you out of commercial food or flakes for your guppy fry? Not a problem, since you can feed them with meat and vegetables around the house. Worms are a great idea, and you’ll find some in your yard. But if you live in a flat, getting worms is problematic. Assuming you’re on a tight budget, you could try vegetables like peas, carrots, zucchini, lettuce, or cucumbers.

Cut them into tiny pieces and throw the bits into the aquarium. However, you’ll need to cut the vegetables into small bits so the guppies can swallow and digest them properly. It’ll be difficult, but at least they’re not starving to death. The sooner you can get your hands on worms or commercial food, the better.

Wrap Up

Breeding guppies is not at all hard. You have to let them be, and they’ll multiply by themselves. Make sure their water parameters and feeding schedule are optimal, and everything should be fine. As I said in previous articles, I recommend isolating the pregnant guppy females in another aquarium.

After they give birth, relocate them back into the old aquarium and leave the guppy fry in the temporary one temporarily. If you follow the steps outlined in this aquarium, you should have no problems growing your guppies quickly and healthily. With good-quality food at your disposal, it’ll be easy to see to their development.

For additional questions, contact me below, and I’ll reply as soon as possible with a satisfactory answer!