Guppies are unpretentious small-sized aquarium fish, the simple maintenance of which explains the popularity of the species with both beginners and experienced breeders. An important feature is that they are viviparous - fry are formed in the mother's abdomen and are born already capable of independent life. One individual can produce from 10 to 100 babies at a time, depending on its age, but then the question arises of feeding offspring. We offer you to figure out how and what to feed guppy fry correctly and what nuances you should pay attention to.

Features of feeding

Before the offspring appear, the female is placed in a separate aquarium so that the young that appear do not become food for other adults. The fry are kept and fed separately until they become competitive for life in a community aquarium. The nutrition of small fish differs from the diet of adults and has the following features:

frequency - for babies, 5-6 meals are required during the day, all food should be eaten in one feeding. The sedimentation of food residues at the bottom of the aquarium creates a dangerous increase in nitrogen content for guppies, which can lead to the death of offspring;

food sizes - unlike food for adult fish, food for small guppies should be much smaller. Dry food before serving in the aquarium is crushed between the fingers to a state of dust;

lighting - it is forbidden to turn off the light in the aquarium, especially the first week;

the amount of food served. From birth, for the first two weeks, guppy fry should receive a plentiful amount of food, which would exceed their weight by an average of 60%. In the period up to two months, the ratio of portion sizes to weight is twice the excess. Only after two months of age, grown-up fish begin to be fed moderately - first offering food in the amount of a third of their weight, and in the future - 15%.

Three months after the separate keeping, the young can be returned to the general aquarium - they are already old enough and large fish will not be able to harm them.

Nutrition in the early days

Almost immediately after birth, the fry begin to look for food. The most important feeding period for the breeder is the first 3-5 days, when the kids should get plentiful, good nutrition with the lights on all the time. On the first day and all week, you can offer the fish the so-called "live dust" - live food of small size. Such nutrition includes ciliates, rotifers, microworms on oatmeal from carrot juice, brine shrimp nauplii, etc.

In the first 5 days, food should be provided up to 5 times a day, at any time the kids should find high-quality food - this will allow them to fully develop.

Natural food for fry over a week old

Preference for natural food is given by many experienced aquarists who are professionally engaged in breeding fish. From the second week, feeding is reduced to 4 times a day, supplementing the early diet with complementary foods in the form of crumbled bloodworms, nematodes, tubules (no more than 2 times a week). You can breed a microworm, which young guppies eat well and assimilate, on your own according to this scheme:

• prepare a nutrient medium - mix cornmeal with a small amount of water until a creamy consistency is obtained, add a little yeast to the mass;
• or take a microworm from another aquarium owner, or find it on the street in a humid environment of fallen leaves, and run it into the corn mass;
• after a few days, the microworm will multiply enough to feed aquarium pets.

Guppy fry older than a week are given:

• egg yolk from a hard boiled egg. It must be kneaded with a fork, slightly diluted with water from the aquarium and placed in a piece of gauze. The resulting bag is lowered into a container with guppy fry and shaken so that egg dust comes out - the young growth will eat it;
• at home, you can feed the offspring with an omelette. In the process of cooking, a teaspoon of dried and chopped nettle or hercules is added to the egg. Pour 50 ml of boiling milk into the mass with constant beating - in the process the egg will curl up, and the finished small omelet can be offered to the fry;
• milk powder. A container of milk is placed in a water bath and boiled until completely evaporated. The resulting powder is collected and offered as a top dressing for small fish;
• curdled milk. To coagulate the milk protein, the product is poured with boiling water, and the resulting clot is washed from the resulting whey. Feeding is done from the net, shaking it to release small particles;
• cheese. Hard or processed cheese without additives with a neutral taste is rubbed on a fine grater and dried a little. Such top dressing is given only in small quantities, since its excess can adversely affect water quality.

The described substitutes cannot be a complete food for fish, they can be introduced into the food system, but with the obligatory alternation with other feeds. It is important to add a small amount of algae, phytoplankton and other plant-derived components to the diet. From a month, the nutrition of fry is enriched with crushed bloodworms, tubifex, cyclops, daphnia.

Purchased food

It is widely believed that feeding guppies with dry food is possible only when they reach the age of one month, and the maximum frequency of such feeding in the first four weeks cannot exceed once a week. However, many prefer to feed aquarium fish fry on the basis of a special balanced food, to which nothing needs to be added. There are offers from MicroMin, Micropan Sera, etc., designed specifically for rearing offspring.

Popular is the starter feed from the German company Tetra. It is available in the form of a dense paste, which includes the following components:

• beef and fish liver;
• artemia;
• egg yolk;
• mosquito larvae;
• ground wheat germ, etc.

“Start” feeding is performed as follows: the neck of an open tube is lowered into the water, a portion of food is removed from it by light pressing, which gradually dissolves in the aquarium water and becomes suitable and convenient for fry to eat.

A big plus of purchased formulations is their balance, which is quite difficult to achieve when using natural food. So, vitamins A, T, carotene, calcium fluoride and other important components necessary for growth and development are added to the feed.

Proper feeding of guppy fry from the first days is the key to obtaining beautiful and healthy adults. Regardless of the chosen scheme - feeding with commercial feeds or live and homemade food - it is important to follow the basic rules regarding the frequency of feeding and its quantity. Any food for fry should be varied in composition, balanced and fresh, otherwise you can completely lose offspring.

Once the eggs have hatched, you are just beginning your journey in breeding fish and rearing fry. After all, raising fry is often a more difficult task than getting a couple to spawn, and getting caviar is half the battle.

On the one hand, most cichlids and viviparous give birth to fry large enough to immediately start feeding on artificial food, but the majority of aquarium fish, for example, give birth to very small fry, which must be fed with the same small food. Their fry are so small that they themselves could serve as food for guppy fry or cichlids.

Also, juveniles can only eat food that moves, and you will have very little time to train them to eat other foods before they begin to starve to death.

Next, we will look at the many different foods that aquarists use to feed fry. Each of them is quite nutritious in itself, but it is better to use several different ones to create a complete diet.

boiled egg yolk

This is a simple and inexpensive food for feeding fry. Of its merits, it does not create an unpleasant odor, which is the sin of live food and is very affordable.

To prepare the food, hard boil a chicken egg, remove the protein, all you need is the yolk. Take a few grams of the yolk and place it in a container or cup of water. Then shake or mix it thoroughly, in the end you will get a suspension that you can feed the fry.

If necessary, pass it through cheesecloth to filter out large pieces of yolk. Then you can give a suspension to the fry, as a rule, they stand in the water column for some time and eat them with appetite.

One yolk can feed a fry for a whole month, of course it will not keep that long, and remember to boil a new one from time to time. Do not add too much mixture to the aquarium at once, it decomposes quickly and can lead to the death of fry. Feed egg yolk sparingly, a few drops a couple of times a day.

Another problem is that the yolk, even after filtering, may be too large for some fry, will not be digested and will begin to disappear at the bottom. The smallest parts can be obtained using a mixer or blender.

Dry egg yolk

There is no fundamental difference between boiled and dry. Widely used in fry feed, but very easy to make yourself.

It is enough to boil the egg, and dry and crush the yolk. It can be added sprinkled onto the surface of the water or mixed with water and poured into the aquarium. It floats on the surface of the water, and the yolk mixed with water hangs in the water column for some time. Use both methods to give your fry maximum nutrition.

It is also good to feed small fish with dry egg yolk, as it is much smaller than the smallest flakes. The particle size of dry yolk is smaller than that of diluted in water, which is important if the fry is small.

Liquid artificial food

This food is already diluted with water. Sometimes the particles are too large for small fry, but manufacturers are constantly improving the quality of such feeds. New generations of food are already suitable for all types of fry, in addition, their advantage is that they hang in the water column for a very long time and the fry have time to eat.

dry flakes

Widely available, but although they can be fed to large fry such as guppies, they are not suitable for most others. Often the particle size is equal in size to the fry itself.

Live food for fish

Great food for any little one. They are easy to keep and very small (from 0.04 mm to 2 mm long and 0.10 mm wide). Unlike a microworm, a nematode culture can go without food for several weeks and will not die.

The nematode is a soil roundworm, Turbatrix aceti, which can also live in mud. Since nematodes are live food, they are especially suitable if fry refuse artificial food. In aquarium water, nematodes can live up to a day, so they do not poison the water quickly and can be eaten by aquarium fish fry during the day.

Nematodes live in a highly acidic environment, feeding on bacteria. To prepare a nutrient medium for them, take one to one apple cider vinegar and distilled water. Vinegar should be regular, no additives.

For example, we take half a liter of vinegar and half a liter of distilled water, mix and add a couple of tablespoons of sugar or a few apple slices without peel. An apple is needed to create a breeding ground for bacteria. After a week or two, the solution will become significantly cloudy, which means that the bacteria have multiplied rapidly and it's time to add the nematodes themselves to them.

The culture of nematodes can be bought on the Internet, on a bird or among familiar aquarists.

Add vinegar to the solution and put the jar in the dark. In a couple of weeks, the culture will be ready.

The most difficult thing is to filter out the nematodes, as they live in a very acidic environment and adding them along with vinegar can be deadly to the fry. You can pour vinegar into a bottle with a narrow neck, and cork it with cotton wool on top and pour fresh water on it. Nematodes will move through the cotton wool into fresh water and can be caught with a pipette.

Another method of breeding nematodes is even simpler and more commonly used.

As a nutrient medium, oatmeal or oatmeal, which must be brewed to a state of thick sour cream. After the oatmeal has been brewed, you need to add table vinegar about a teaspoon per 100 grams of the medium.

Next, the mass is laid out in a layer of 1-1.5 cm, laid out in saucers or other containers, and a culture of nematodes is placed on top. Be sure to cover the container so that there is a humid environment and does not dry out. Literally in two or three days, the nematodes will already crawl out onto the walls and they can be collected with a brush.

Of the nuances of breeding nematodes in such a way - the culture should stand in a warm place. The layer should not be too high, no more than 1.5 cm. If mold appears, then the medium was too liquid or little vinegar was added.

Of course, you need to feed the nematodes by adding fresh porridge from time to time. When? This will already be seen in the process. If the output has become smaller, if the medium has darkened or water has appeared on it, if there is a smell of decomposition. You can also feed with a few drops of kefir or carrot juice, even a couple of drops of live yogurt.

But it’s easier to have several containers with nematodes in stock and, in which case, just switch to another one.

The nematode is an excellent food - small, lively and nutritious. They can even feed fry of different sizes, since the nematode itself is also different.

Zooplankton - ciliates

Infusoria are not the only micro-organisms, they are a mixture of various micro-organisms with a size of 0.02 mm or more.

To grow your own shoe ciliate culture, place some hay, spinach, or dry banana or melon peel in a bottle of water and place it in a sunny spot.

The problem is that you can't control the types of microorganisms in such a culture, and some can be toxic to the fry. To protect yourself, first scald hay, spinach or banana peel and then adding a culture from familiar aquarists to the water, it is just dominated by the ciliate shoe. The water needs to be aerated to reduce fermentation odor, and a bottom siphon to remove leftovers will extend the life of the culture by a few more days.

So, fill a liter jar with water and bait - dry banana peel, pumpkin, hay and put a non-solar place. Add a culture of ciliates to the water, preferably from familiar aquarists.

If not, then you can even collect from a puddle, or a local reservoir, although there is still a risk of bringing something else. Wait a few days for the infusoria to multiply. You can catch in two ways - filtering through paper and lowering it into water or darkening the jar, leaving only one bright place where the ciliates will gather. Then you simply collect them with a tube.

Infusoria are not as hardy as nematodes, so a new jar will have to be launched every couple of weeks. However, they are extremely small and can be eaten by all types of fry.

Green water - phytoplankton

Ciliates can be divided into two categories: zooplankton (we talked about it above) are tiny microorganisms. Phytoplankton are tiny algae, ranging in size from 0.02 to 2 mm in length. Aquarists use green water as food, but it's actually phytoplankton.

Green water is extremely easy and simple to obtain. Just take some water from the aquarium, put it in a jar and put it in the sun. The sun's rays will make the water turn green within a couple of days. When this happens, simply add some water to the fry tank. Instead, add water from the aquarium.

This is very similar to breeding ciliates, only even easier. Any water from the aquarium contains both zoo and phytoplankton, but by increasing the amount of light, we stimulate the growth of phytoplankton. One problem is our climate, in winter or autumn there will not be enough sunlight, but you can just put it under a lamp, the main thing is that the water does not overheat.

Green water is simple, affordable, very small in size, it is perfectly eaten by fry from the first days of their life. And most importantly, it does not die in the aquarium and serves as a source of food for fry for several days. For greater efficiency, you need to keep several cans at the same time, in case the plankton suddenly die in one.

If you have a microscope, then you can generally grow only the crop that you need, but as for me, this is already superfluous.

microworm

The microworm (Panagrellus redivivus) is a small nematode (0.05-2.0 mm long and 0.05 mm wide) that seems too small for a fry. But they have one quality that makes them stand out, they are very nutritious.

To create a microworm culture, mix cornmeal with water until thick and creamy, then add a quarter teaspoon of yeast. Place in a jar with a lid that has holes for ventilation, no more than 1.5 cm layer and add a culture of microworms.

It is easiest to take them on a bird or from familiar aquarists. But if there are none, then you can find a damp pile of fallen leaves in the nearest park, collect them and bring them home. In it you will find very small, white worms, which you need to add to the container with the nutrient mixture.

After a couple of days, you will see microworms that crawl out onto the walls and which can be collected with your fingers or a brush.

Malek eats them voraciously, but like nematodes, microworms do not live long in water, and it is important not to overfeed. When you collect them from the walls, some of the nutrient mixture may get into the water, but do not worry, it will also be eaten by the fry.

As a rule, it lasts for two weeks, after which the launch must be repeated. Hercules is also used as a nutrient mixture, but the smell from it is more unpleasant and the quality of our hercules leaves much to be desired. However, there are many recipes for preparing culture, you are free to choose your own.

Artemia nauplii

Newly hatched brine shrimp (0.08 to 0.12 mm) is widely used in the aquarium trade for feeding fry of various fish. They are active in fresh water and can live quite a long time. Where to get them? Now it is very easy to buy Artemia eggs, both on a bird and from friends and online. What you want is undecapsulated brine shrimp eggs. There are a huge number of opinions on how to properly obtain brine shrimp nauplii.

The easiest is to pour about two teaspoons of salt into a liter jar, a couple of spoons of nauplii and turn on aeration. Keep in mind that it should be around the clock and the bubbles should not be too large, as they will raise the newly hatched brine shrimp to the surface of the water, where it will instantly die.

An important point is the temperature of the water, preferably about 30 C, since at this temperature the nauplii come out in a day and at the same time, and at a lower temperature the yield is stretched.

After about a day, two nauplii will hatch and they can be removed with a siphon and added to the aquarium with fry. Turn off the aeration and the nauplii will collect in the bottom of the jar, and the eggs will float to the top, they need to be removed. A little salty water in the tank won't cause problems, but you can either transplant the nauplii into intermediate fresh water or rinse them out. Malek eats them with pleasure and grows well.

This article describes simple yet effective ways to raise the fry of many fish. It's not always easy, but patience and dedication will always pay off. We hope that we could help you with this!

Many beginner aquarists are interested in growing guppy fry. It is worth starting to take care of the babies of one of the most popular fish even before they are born.

Training

A pregnant female guppy on the eve of childbirth must be isolated from other fish. Further specific measures will help keep future offspring safe and sound.

Before giving birth, the female's belly becomes large and a black spot appears at the anal fin.

1. It is necessary to prepare a separate container, with a volume of 20 - 40 liters for jigging a pregnant female, pour clean, settled water and the one that was in the general aquarium in a ratio of 2: 3.
2. Prepare the lighting element, water filter and compressor for aeration.
3. Put a little soil on the bottom of the jigging aquarium and fix algae in it, preferably with tall stems and leaves.

The birth of fry

So, the “kindergarten” for keeping kids is ready. For childbirth, the female needs to create optimal conditions: the water temperature should be 26 - 28 degrees (in the first two weeks), aeration and lighting should be maintained constantly.

Guppies are viviparous fish. Babies are born and immediately rush to the bottom or into thickets of vegetation. This makes them do the instinct of self-preservation. Otherwise, Guppy fry run the risk of being eaten by their own mother. Maternal instinct is not inherent in this type of fish.

A primiparous female can give birth to at least 20 fry. In the future, their number can reach 180 pieces. Although the size of newborns is only 3 - 5 mm, caring for guppy fry is very simple.

If everything went as it should, the birth was not premature, the yolk sac should not be visible in the babies. If it is, then the fish were born too early and will not be viable.

First days

This is what a newborn baby looks like.

1. Feeding. Give food to babies in the first few days should be 4 - 5 times a day in small portions. It is important that they have a rounded abdomen, the fry should always be full.
2. What to feed. The diet of Guppy fry is as follows: a special store composition, Artemia larvae or a boiled egg yolk mixed with water. The main thing is that the food must be sufficiently crushed, otherwise the fish will not be able to swallow it.
3. Feed volume. After the fry have eaten, the remains must be carefully removed from the aquarium. Feed should not be constantly on the surface of the water.
4. Temperature regime for guppies. The first 14 days it is maintained at around 28 degrees, after a week it can be reduced to 26, after the next - to 24
5. The composition of water. For the comfort of the fish, it will be very useful to replace the water daily, about a third, with a new portion (previously settled for 2 - 3 days)

In this way, you can grow Guppy fry in a jar, in a separate aquarium or any other container.

Age over 2 weeks

Growing gupyats begin to acquire color.

After 14 days and up to 2 months of age, the following actions are carried out:

• 2 meals a day. You can start tracking sex characteristics
• It is important to ensure that the Guppy fry eat all the food and collect leftovers if necessary (for the cleanliness of the aquarium)
• The duration of the light period can be reduced to 8 - 10 hours per day
• Food should be given daily, but every week to take a daily break. During this period, the digestive system of the fish will be cleansed, so their health will become excellent.
• After 4 - 5 weeks, crushed bloodworm or tubifex can already be added to Guppy food

From the "kindergarten" grown up babies can be released into the general aquarium when they reach a size of 2.5 - 3 cm.

Usually "mature" fry become 3 months later. If birth control or selection is underway, females and males should be separated before entering “adulthood”.

You can lower the water temperature in the aquarium to 18 degrees (in winter), this will avoid fertilization. Guppy females will benefit from a break in childbirth to restore strength and health.

The process of breeding and selection can be continued to be controlled: in the future, select the brightest males, plant them with females and get beautiful offspring.

Sex differences

The photo highlights the genital organ of male guppies - gonopodia.

Male Guppy fish acquire the first difference early - they form an anal fin - gonopodium. It stretches along the body and resembles a tube, functions as a sexual organ. Growing up, male Guppy fry are painted in different colors.

Their growth stops after 3 months, but a change in color begins to appear. It becomes brighter, juicier. The fins and tails also begin to color quickly and take on a curvaceous shape.

Female Guppies usually only grow in size. They form a round abdomen with a dark spot at the anal fin - where the caviar will be located in the future. Females acquire their own color, implicit, with various shades: yellow, blue, olive.

If favorable conditions are created, Guppies will breed every month. Females often bear offspring several times after one fertilization.

Shared Aquarium

For growing goupes in a common aquarium, you can use special jigger.

It happens that childbirth occurs uncontrollably. The female Guppy brings fry in the general aquarium. Then natural selection comes into force, many fry die. The slowest and weakest will be eaten by adult fish, the fastest will be able to survive. If there is no goal to specifically breed Guppy fish, then this option is acceptable.

If it is necessary to transplant fry, you need to catch them from the general aquarium using a glass and deposit them separately. For all those who can be saved, continue to carry out proper care.

Guppy diseases

Signs of diseases of various kinds in Guppy:

• Guppies don't eat for several days
• Tails stick together (or shrink in a horizontal plane)
• Fins split or split
• The body is deformed, the color has become dull
• Fish behave strangely: “rub” against stones and algae, lose coordination

In these and other cases, a number of measures are required to cure Guppy: changing food, changing the parameters of the water composition, or adding special preparations to the aquarium.

Conclusion

Guppies are the best option for an aquarist taking their "first steps". Fish are unpretentious, there is nothing difficult in caring for them. This applies to both adults and fry.

Even if Guppies are not specifically monitored and spontaneous reproduction is allowed, this problem will be solved by itself by means of biocenosis and natural selection inside the aquarium.

The female guppy gives birth to cubs ready for underwater life, so they immediately need to be fed. To provide them with a complete diet, it is necessary to give high-quality and varied top dressing to food. How to feed guppy fry so that they develop properly?

Branded types of feed

To feed fry at home, you can order specialized feed from well-known manufacturers at pet stores. Tetra, JBL, Sera brand fry feeds (solutions and dry mixes) are very popular. What are the benefits of branded baby guppy food?

1. They stimulate the coloring of fry due to the content of vitamins A and D.
2. They contain vitamin T, carotene, calcium, which promote growth.
3. During the preparation of branded feeds, the method of ultraviolet irradiation of the product is used to destroy microbes in it.

Tetra Mikro Min is a popular branded food that can be given during the first days of life. It contains the necessary vitamins and minerals for the fry to grow properly. The mixture has the form of a crushed powder, therefore it is perfectly absorbed by small fish, the size of which is 4-10 mm.

JBL Novo Tom Guppy Baby Powder is a balanced diet that contains protein and mineral supplements.

Sera Micropan and Sera Micron are useful food for guppy fry and viviparous fish, which can be given from the first days of life. It forms a nutrient film of algae cells on the surface of the water, in which there are beneficial bacteria. The fry eat them when they are hungry.

Look at feeding guppy fry with spirulina.

Food of natural origin

How to feed guppy fry if it is not possible to purchase branded food? There are many options, so you can use chopped live food that you can cook at home. Such a diet is maximally focused on the natural conditions of life.

From the first days of life, guppy fry are recommended to give live dust, after a week you can switch to rotifers, artemia, small bloodworms, cyclops, microworms. You can also make your own mixtures of milk and chicken eggs. They need to be finely chopped so that the small mouth of the fish can capture food.

1. Egg feed. Hard boil a chicken egg, remove the yolk, chop it on a fine grater, and dip it into a glass of water. The resulting mixture must be well mixed until a homogeneous mass is formed. Take a pipette and inject the solution into the aquarium.

1. Dairy supplement. Place a bowl of milk on a container of boiling water, where it will gradually evaporate. The powder that will turn out must be collected and given to the cubs of the fish.
2. Live food. You can breed a microworm at home, which is a pure protein. Mix cornmeal and water (to a thick, creamy consistency), and add a quarter teaspoon of yeast there. The microworm must be launched into the resulting slurry. It is better to borrow it from a familiar aquarist, or find it in nature. They are found among wet fallen leaves (have a white color). In a few days there will be enough worms to feed the tiny fry.

See how the guppy fry eat the nematode.

1. Vegetable feed. Guppies are omnivorous fish, so their babies should also get a portion of fiber. You can give green algae in branded food or grown in an aquarium. There will be no problems with this, since phytoplankton (small algae) and zooplankton (live microorganisms) are found in all aquariums. Small algae are excellent food for fry, since the size of each section of this plant is no more than 1 mm in diameter.

1. Growing phytoplankton at home is not that difficult. It is necessary to pour some aquarium water into a glass container, and place it on the windowsill under direct sunlight. The process of photosynthesis will turn on, and the algae will begin to multiply faster.
2. After 2 days the water will turn greenish. Then it can be added in small quantities to an aquarium with guppy fry. The first days of life they will eat this plant food with pleasure. In winter, to stimulate the growth of phytoplankton, you need to put a container of aquarium water under an incandescent lamp, but avoid overheating the water.

Guppies are ideal fish for beginner aquarists. They are mobile, unpretentious and have a bright color. They are easy to breed at home. Fish of this species are viviparous. They do not lay eggs, the female immediately gives birth to full-fledged cubs. Guppy fry require special conditions of detention. They are planted in a separate aquarium, as adults can eat babies.

Guppies are viviparous fish. They do not lay eggs, but hatch fry immediately.

Fundamental rules

Fry are often fed - up to 6 times a day. At one meal, they should eat as much food as they can. Don't give it too much, as the particles will settle to the bottom of the aquarium and rot. As a result, an excessive amount of nitrogen will appear in the water and this will lead to the death of the fry.

The same food is suitable for babies as for adults. The main thing is that it should be small, as guppies have small mouths at this age. Dry granules are best ground with your fingers into dust.

You can feed the fry in the first days with ready-made feed. Some companies make them. They are balanced, and the owner does not have to additionally add vitamins and minerals to the diet of babies.

The water in the aquarium is changed weekly and is best topped up from the parent tank.

Start of complementary foods

Proper maintenance and care of guppy fry begins from the first day of life. Their health and development depend on it. In the first week, do not turn off the lighting of the aquarium otherwise the babies will die. It is important to pay great attention to feeding.

The ideal food for guppy fry is live dust (“infusoria shoe” and others). It is used only in the first three days. Further add:

• tiny worms - sold at a pet store or grown independently on chopped carrots;
• rotifers, brine shrimp, naupilia - all this is carefully crumbled;
• dry food is allowed once a week.

Guppy fry need to be fed up to five times a day.

Babies should eat 5 times a day. For the convenience of the owner, an automatic feeder is used. But its presence does not exempt from the need to clean the aquarium. It is allowed to use live food substitutes: scrambled eggs, chicken yolk, curdled milk and other products.

In the second week of life, chopped tubifex, bloodworms, nematodes are added to the fry. The number of feedings is reduced to 4 times a day.

Live food substitutes

If it is impossible to get ready-made feeds, you can make them yourself. But the products require special preparation. Yogurt is poured with hot water - this will allow the casein to curdle. The clot is caught with a net with small cells. After that, it is gently washed in water to remove any remaining whey. They give it to the fry through the net - it is lowered into the water and slightly shaken. Small particles of the clot fall into the water. Yogurt does not rot and does not spoil the aquarium.

You can feed guppy fry at home with a boiled egg. It must be cool. The yolk is ground in a spoon or gauze with a little water. Then it goes down to the aquarium. Babies eat egg dust. This type of food rots quickly, and the water will have to be changed more often.

An omelette is made from two eggs and two teaspoons of dried nettles. Sometimes a little oatmeal is added to the mass. All ingredients are mixed with 100 ml of boiling milk. The resulting mixture is well stirred and whipped. Allow to cool and feed the mass with fish. Omelet cannot be stored for a long time.

Powdered milk is an excellent source of protein. To obtain a powder, milk is evaporated for several hours in a water bath. The resulting dry residue is given to babies. It does not dissolve in water and fish eat it without residue.

Guppies love cheese. It is important to choose mild varieties. It is rubbed on the smallest grater. Melted varieties need to be dried a little. A large amount of the product should not be given at a time, as it quickly deteriorates.

Commercial Products

It's not that hard to take care of babies. Many manufacturers produce ready-made food for babies. In Russia, there are the following options:

• Tetra BioMin;
• TetraMicroMin;
• Sera.

Tetra BioMin has proven itself well. It comes in the form of a paste that contains all the necessary nutrients - fish and beef liver, artemia, yolk, mosquito larvae, etc. The feeding process is very simple.- the tube is lowered into the water, easily compressed, and a small portion is in the water.

The Tetra MicroMin brand is one of the most common. The jar contains dry powder. It includes vitamins, carotene, calcium and other useful substances. All components are treated with ultraviolet light, and this gives additional disinfection.

JBL appeared on the Russian market not so long ago. Its specialists have developed a special food for viviparous fish. It contains not only nutrients, but also proteins.

Sera has created a unique food for newborn fry. When it enters the water, it forms a thin film on its surface. Any individual can eat it.