Guppies are live bearers. Their small offspring make a tasty meal for goldfish and even other adult guppies. To prevent small fry from being consumed by larger fish, you must provide the babies with places to hide until they are old enough to swim away from predator fish. Use a small net fish hatchery unit inside a communal tank, or provide floating or stationery clusters of plants. Fry can hide among the leaves and stay away from hungry predators.
Step 1
Assemble a breeder net or breeding hatchery cube. Affix it to the side of the tank. Place the female guppy inside the hatchery unit until the small fry are born. Remove the female from the unit to prevent cannibalism. Feed the fry baby brine shrimp, microworms or daphnia until they are large enough to consumer fish food flakes. Move the fry to the common aquarium tank when they are large enough to consumer typical food and find shelter from other fish.
Step 2
Wrap several stems of anacharis or other freshwater plants with a band. Use a string to tie the cluster of plants near the back corner of the tank to create a floating island in which fry can hide. Float additional clusters of plants on the water surface for alternative hiding places.
Step 3
Pack groups of plants in dense clusters in the back corners of the aquarium to provide places for the fry to hide. Push the stems into the gravel and use rocks to weigh down plastic plants.
References
Warnings
- Even if you provide places for guppy fry to hide, if they're in the larger tank with adult fish and other types of freshwater fish, they still run the risk of being eaten. To ensure they aren't eaten, remove the pregnant guppy to a separate tank. Remove the female after she has given birth and keep the fry in a separate tank.
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Writer Bio
Jeanne Grunert has been a writer since 1990. Covering business, marketing, gardening and health topics, her work has appeared in the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books, "Horse Illustrated" and many national publications. Grunert earned her Master of Arts in writing from Queens College and a Master of Science in direct and interactive marketing from New York University.
