How and what to feed guppies?

This type of fish is considered the most common in the world. Guppies are unpretentious in both care and feeding. However, for their normal existence, a lot of useful substances are required, most of which they receive from feed.

Many novice aquarium owners are wondering how to feed their purchased aquarium fish. The answer is quite simple, because they eat almost everything. However, a large amount of protein must be present at the base of their food. You also need to remember the fact that the nutrition of adults and fry is slightly different.

You can feed guppies in the aquarium with both live and frozen food. Most often it consists of cyclops, tubule, and brine shrimp. But as a top dressing is suitable:

• dry food, which is perfectly balanced, however, cannot fully satisfy all the fish's needs for nutrients;
• plant foods help to digest food, increase the immune system;
• vitamins help speed up metabolism and also make fish healthier.

Besides, they can also eat homemade food. Often, the owners use leftover food from the table as feed. Owners who are concerned about the health of their little pets and are trying to protect them from obesity feed the guppies only once a day. However, this is often a wrong decision. It is best to feed guppies 3 times a day. For example, in the morning it is preferable to give the guppy frozen or even dry food, but for lunch you can feed the fish with plant foods. In the evening, it is necessary to choose live food. But at the same time, do not forget about feeding.

If a person travels a lot or is often not at home, then it is best to use special feeders. With their help, the fish will receive food after a certain period of time automatically.

The diet of newborn guppies must be high in protein, so the feed must be alive. It may include the following products:

• small brine shrimp;
• small bloodworm;
• chopped beef heart;
• fresh sliced ​​salad.

Don't forget about special flakes. It is correct to feed small guppies up to 5-6 times a day, because they grow, which means that their energy is consumed much faster. In the event that the water becomes dirty too quickly, it is necessary to reduce the amount of feed or to give food, first crushing it thoroughly. After all, babies have a very small mouth, and large food will not fit there.

Over time, you should gradually reduce the frequency of feeding per day. So, when the fish are 60 days old, they will already grow up, they can be fed 3-4 times a day. After 120 days, guppies can be switched to a diet for adults and 2 meals a day. Slightly larger sizes can be used. And if the fry grow quickly, then it is worth introducing adult brine shrimp or bloodworms into the diet and see if they can cope with them or not. In addition, you should try to give flakes that are intended for adults.

Since guppy fish are omnivorous, food for them is sold quite diverse. They can be frozen, live, or dry. Each of them has its own disadvantages and advantages. Those who first purchased guppies should consider all types of feed in more detail.

This option is great for those people who do not like to tinker with offal or live food. It is a frozen live food, which is packaged in portions and is almost ready to eat. For the aquarium owner, simply remove the food cube from the freezer and place it in the fish feeder. True, it is important not to forget to leave it in advance for a few minutes so that it melts. Such manipulation is necessary in order not to harm the health of the fish.

The disadvantages of such feeds include the fact that if the freezing was done incorrectly, then an infection can be introduced into the aquarium. In addition, after improper freezing, all the beneficial properties of food are completely lost.

For those who are too worried about their pets, live food is best suited. Small fish can be bred at home. Here are the most popular ones.

• Bloodworm. This is what the mosquito larvae are called. They are a source of proteins as well as hemoglobin. But, since this is a fairly high-calorie food, it should be given in small quantities and not too often. When buying larvae, you need to pay attention to their color; they should be bright red. Their length should be between 9 and 12 millimeters. Larger creatures are very dark in color. In addition, guppies do not swallow and digest them well. The disadvantages of bloodworms include a short shelf life. It is only necessary to feed fish with such food from the feeders, because if they fall to the very bottom of the aquarium, then it will be very difficult for the fish to get their food.
• Coretra. It is also a mosquito larva, but it is almost completely discolored and not as nutritious as bloodworms. Coretra is considered a dietary product. To feed guppies, feeders are not needed at all; they can be released directly into the aquarium or into a jar.
• The pipe worker. This living organism can survive even in the most polluted waters. Therefore, it is recommended to give it to fish that are too weak or those that have been ill.In order for the tubifex to remain usable as long as possible, vitamins must be added to the container where it is stored. Worms absorb them well. It is believed that this product is not suitable for constant feeding, since it is also too high in calories.
• In addition, it can be used as live food for various freshwater crustaceans, for example, Cyclops, Artemia or Daphnia.... They are considered medium calorie food. The crustaceans move too fast, which makes the guppies hunt them.

Most often, stores sell freeze-dried or dry food that is prepared from plankton. Various vitamins are added to them, as well as marine vegetation. However, you should be very careful when using these foods. After all, if the fish overeats, then its stomach will simply swell. Among the most common, it is worth noting such feeds.

• Tetra. These are small flakes made for guppies as well as other small fish. It contains a large amount of herbal ingredients.
• Sera - a product that fish like very much. Such food is small granules, which soften when immersed in water.

The list of products that should not be given to your fish is not too long, but you still need to familiarize yourself with it.

• There is no need to give your wards food of undetermined origin.
• Particular attention should be paid to foods such as earthworm or echitraeus. After all, they are high in calories.
• You can not feed the fish with bread, as well as semolina.
• It is necessary to remove too fatty meat from the diet, for example, pork. The same applies to oily fish such as mackerel or capelin.
• Dried daphnia are completely useless for fish health.

There are also those who prefer to make fish food with their own hands. At home, preparing something tasty and healthy for pets is not difficult at all.

One of the simplest recipes is a chicken egg omelet. To prepare it, you need a small saucepan and some water. The container needs to be put on fire, and while the water boils, you can do the eggs. Beat them and then pour into boiling water. Such an omelet is brewed for about one minute. After that, you need to get it out of the water, and when it cools down, you can feed your fish in small portions. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the guppies eat everything.

You can prepare it with completely different ingredients that are at hand. For example, you can take boiled egg, some bread crumbs, squid meat, low-fat fish, a little yeast, milk powder, some algae, as well as nettle or plantain, pre-scalded with boiling water. In addition, you can add bell peppers to the mixture.

All components are mixed into a bowl at random, and then chopped either with a meat grinder or with an ordinary knife. After that, vitamins must be added to the bowl in accordance with the written instructions. When the mixture is completely ready, it must be put in special molds, and then frozen in portions.

Summing up, we can say that Guppies are very easy to care for. You can feed them with completely different feeds. The only thing that is important is not to forget about vitamin supplements, which will allow the fish to always feel in great shape.

For information on how to feed guppies, see the next video.