Setup for breeding guppies?

Question

We have about 40 guppy fry as well as four adult females and 2 adult males. We would like to continue to breed.. and try to avoid having fry get eaten, so we're trying to figure out the best setup of different tanks to maximize output. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to set this up, how to sort them out, what size tanks work well, etc? Thanks so much

Answer 1

One thing to consider is: more water, more growth. The fry will grow faster in larger tanks. Obviously you can take that to an extreme and that's not what I'm getting at. I find the 5 gallon tanks work very well for keeping adults in small groups. Of course, you will want some dividers to keep certain males from getting to certain females as to keep colors separate etc. 10-20 gallon tanks were quite well for raising fry to adults. I simply move the pregnant female to a fry raising tank to have the babies. Keeping all of your tanks at the same temperature and water conditions will make this possible without the hassle of acclimation for each move. There are tons of different ways to prevent the mom from eating the fry, breeder boxes, tons of plastic plants, spawning mops, you'll simply need to see what seems to work for you.

Once they get a little size on them you can begin to tell males from females. Place a divider in that tank and start placing males on one side and females on the other. Once you can cull them for quality they will have space to grow out very nicely.

While flake food makes a good staple diet for them, be sure to add plenty of frozen or live foods to their diet. This will speed growth, make healthier adult stock and improve color.

I would suggest you investigate the International Fancy Guppy Association, they have more information that you would ever need on the subject of breeding guppies.

Hope that helps

MM

Answer 2

If you really want to maximize the number of fish you're bringing to adulthood, here's a couple suggestions I would recommend.

First of all, your breeding tank. The best tanks I've found for breeding livebearers is a 15 long. add a good sponge filter and tons of fake plants, the hornwart and grasses work well for the fry. Also, keep the light levels low in the tank, that seems to encourage breeding. Critical to guppies is adding some salt to the water. About a tablespoon per 10 gallons.

When you have babies in the tank move them to rearing tanks. One of the best ideas I've seen are 5 gallon buckets. Not very attractive, but they're cheap and you can fit them with sponge filters and heaters and the fish will do fine. Cull your fish, keeping the best ones. Feeding good flakes and brine shrimp will help with growth and health. Keep water changes up and you will only be limited by the space you have to raise the fish.

Answer 3

I started out with a 2.5 gallon minibow. The female died after giving birth, I have 9 babies left meantime I set up a 20 gallon. I bought more guppies from a local pet store (guppy overstock $0.75each sale ) big mistake lost them all to fungus and bacterial infection but now have about 20 fry. If you only have guppies they should not eat many of the fry unlike mollies just have plenty of plants live or fake. I'm now moving the original 9 fry into the 20 gallon tank. Good luck and don't forget frequent partial water changes.

Answer 4

Aren't there enough unwanted guppies in the world without people like you bringing more in? Have you considered getting your adults neutered, for heaven's sake? What are you running, a guppy mill?

Oh, you said GUPPIES, not PUPPIES!

Ok, just playing around. Anyway, I would think that if you set up a second tank and put the babies in the second tank away from their cannabilistic parents, that should do the trick. Then as they get bigger, put them in the adult tank.
Of course, I've never had guppies lay eggs and not had another guppy come along and eat the eggs!

Answer 5

I agree with big rocks and lots of plants in the tank. In my experience, the babies like to rest immediately after birth on plants with big leaves where they can hide and not have to do much swimming. Also, they really do seem to like to go down between the rocks and hide so long as the rocks are large creating large enough spaces for them to hide. Good luck! Enjoy :)

Answer 6

ive been breeding guppies for 3 years what i do is.
have adults in a big comunity tank.
when the females are reddy to give birth put them in the breeder (box with bottom part seperated by a grats it floats in tank)
then remove the fry to a smaller tank untill they get big enouth not to be eaten then they go in with pairents.
once they get bigger i take them to shop.

Answer 7

get a regular 29 gallon tank or a 20 gallon long. and get a 10 gallon for the babies as well. use power filter in the bigger tank, but use sponge filter in the little tank for the babies. so the filter doesn't suck them up.

Answer 8

a 39 gallon tall is a good size tank for you
lots of bigger rocks and thick plants it gives the youngens alot of places to hide also try some floating plants