# Planted Tanks > Beginners' Corner >  Breeding feeder guppies

## actorial

anyone doing it ? I intend to start a tank for it but got no idea how should i and what condition is needed. anyone tried doing it or are doing it currently? mind to share your experience? thanks!

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## Interestor

feeder guppies not easy to maintain  :Smile: 

water parameter and medication is a few factors to keep fish hobby going.

CHeers..

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## jt1

When I was small, I used to keep those cheapo guppies, swordtail and platty in a claypot with lotsa weed together with floating plants such as frogbits, duckweeds etc... Left it under the sun and they will thrive without having to feed them. They survive by munching on those algae in the tank. Seem to thrive and breeding takes place naturally. One of my friend is doing it also at the corridor of his HDB flat.

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## Foxtrotperv

Hi JT, 
Are you talking about fancy guppies?
There are a few points to take note:
a) Filtration must be good
b) Water parameters: make sure you cycle the water first and add in anti-chlorine stuff. Some nitriying bacteria will be great to break down the fish's wast
c) Food: Brine shrimp is always the best although you can use flakes or pellets
d) Water change: If possible, do it daily

Wen you receive your guppy, put the bag into the tank and let it float for about 15 minutes to acclimatize the guppy to your temperature. Then open the bag and pour in some of your tank water, 10&#37; every 5 mins will be appropriate till it fills up 50% of the bag.
Then you can slowly release the guppy in to the tank.
You can add some Epsom salt to increase the water hardness and kill some bacteria.

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## jt1

Referring to the common guppy and feeder platty fishes. Ideally of course is to maintain a tank as abovementioned but we can also keep things simple without the inconveniences incurred. Just a matter of balancing nature.
On hindsight and after reflecting back, the so called tank or pot of fishes wasnt left under direct sunlight but under the shade of trees to keep the tank cool.

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## cyruslaguna

has anyone successfully bred and kept breeder guppies and let them live as long as those fancy guppies?

Noticed some of them have pretty unique patterns / colours.

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## kenny1111

remember to add some salt inside

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## stormhawk

> anyone doing it ? I intend to start a tank for it but got no idea how should i and what condition is needed. anyone tried doing it or are doing it currently? mind to share your experience? thanks!


First off, if you are planning to make a tank to breed these guppies as feeders for your other fish, don't do it. Too time consuming, and they will not produce enough over time for you to consider using them as a source of live food for the predatory fish. Buying them straight from the LFS is more economical.

If you are intending to breed them for fun, just get a 1-2 ft tank with a few guppies, cycle it and then put the pairs in. If you don't provide good cover for the fry, none will survive in a tank with other adult guppies.

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## terence

Feeder guppies are bred in brackish water to enhance their growth rate. Hence unless u can emulate similar water parameters, i would recommend those normal lfs guppies at 60cts per piece kind rather than feeders.

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## Blue Whale

Guppies, if you look at those "long kang" types are cheap. So cheap some of them feed it to arrowanna.

Now, if you are looking high class a bit one, you should be looking at those with certificate ones. C328 will have that, so you just need to go there walk walk and see it for yourself. If you are just looking for normal normal beautiful ones but not those intend for feeding to Arrowanna, a walk at Yishun Chong Pang, you should find what you want.

I am talking about guppies in specific areas, and there are few shops available at each of the area, so just go for a walk. Believe you will be able to draw a decision there. Of course, preferably you should prepare the tanks first before letting the buying urge to get onto you.
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I still cannot forget the story of the Luohan few years back.

One Singaporean, went into Malaysia to buy a very very beautiful expensive Luohan. He did not have a tank, so when he got home, he release his prized baby into a pail and went downstairs (HDB) to get his tank. After he bought the fish tank, stands and accessories, he could not find his fish anywhere. To his dismay, his wife told him that she cooked a fish specially for him. I don't have to tell you the rest of the story...ha...

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## cyruslaguna

> Guppies, if you look at those "long kang" types are cheap. So cheap some of them feed it to arrowanna.
> 
> Now, if you are looking high class a bit one, you should be looking at those with certificate ones. C328 will have that, so you just need to go there walk walk and see it for yourself. If you are just looking for normal normal beautiful ones but not those intend for feeding to Arrowanna, a walk at Yishun Chong Pang, you should find what you want.
> 
> I am talking about guppies in specific areas, and there are few shops available at each of the area, so just go for a walk. Believe you will be able to draw a decision there. Of course, preferably you should prepare the tanks first before letting the buying urge to get onto you.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> I still cannot forget the story of the Luohan few years back.
> 
> One Singaporean, went into Malaysia to buy a very very beautiful expensive Luohan. He did not have a tank, so when he got home, he release his prized baby into a pail and went downstairs (HDB) to get his tank. After he bought the fish tank, stands and accessories, he could not find his fish anywhere. To his dismay, his wife told him that she cooked a fish specially for him. I don't have to tell you the rest of the story...ha...


haha the most expensive delicacy in town....

at C328, are you referring to those guppies at the back, where $70 / pair CRS are placed?

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## p.albert

i used to have a 3ft by 3ft kinda basin, for a water feature. threw in a few fancy looking guppies. left it under the weather, with some shade. and they just grew and bred. they feed on algae and, some worm like stuff that came from the potted plant's soil. hmmm, just watch out for mozzies breeding if u wanna do it this way. are u breeding them as feeders ?

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## Blue Whale

Expensive guppies is usually sold in small rectangular tank about the size of of a jar bottle. They come with certificates. When you breed pure blood type, you normally want pure breed only.

If you are getting the normal ones, they pretty much will cross breed with each other. As guppies are long kang fish, they can survive even in the wild ponds, reservoir so long there are no predators.

Bedok Reservoir once have it, until "good people" release luo han inside. When my cousin went to release his discus out of good heart, the discus(s) were basically "killed" and "hunted down" by the luohan right in front of his eyes. He resented himself for an entire week or two why did he release the fish into the reservoir in the first place several years back. He is okay now.

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## Kane

why do we need certificate for guppies? it's not like arowana....

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## stormhawk

Certain cultivated strains of guppies are pure-bred and hence will come with certificates stating that the owner has a pure-bred pair etc. Not all breeders will do this, but certificates are good, especially if it is a prize-winning strain.

Arowana come with certificates AND microchip tags underneath the skin because they are under the CITES convention. They are endangered in the wild. The certificates usually state that they are commercially bred in fish farms, and also contain their strain type and a registration number, from what I remember. Without the certificate you cannot own Asian Arowanas, last I checked.

And again I'll say this, if anyone is planning to breed guppies as feeders in large numbers at home, don't bother because you won't have space to raise every fry you get. They are great for feeding small predatory fishes, since the fry are produced regularly with multiple females. 

However if you are planning to keep feeder guppies, instead of expensive guppy strains, don't bother either. Many, if not all the feeder guppies sold in bags at the LFS are usually in poor health when you buy them.

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## cyruslaguna

agree with Stormhawk; even my mum suggested me to get those but looking at the packaging, one can tell that they're meant for feeding instead of keeping.

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## p.albert

yup got to agree with storm hawk, those packets of feeder guppies are usually poor in health. might introduce unwanted stuffs into ur tank. when our guppies started breeding, their numbers didnt get pass a total of like what, 50? in a few months la. the fries get eaten by the adults. of course, we didnt seperate them.

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## cyruslaguna

what attracted me to them are their unique colours; some are motted in black and white and look really unique; but considering their genetic status, it's better to give them a pass...

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## actorial

so is a big NO to breed feeders guppies myself? is there any suggestion of any feeders i can keep and breed myself to serve at feeders?

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## cyruslaguna

> so is a big NO to breed feeders guppies myself? is there any suggestion of any feeders i can keep and breed myself to serve at feeders?


bingo. For starters, you can get regular fancy guppies. Just ask any of us and we'll be able to guide you along  :Smile:

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## stormhawk

> so is a big NO to breed feeders guppies myself? is there any suggestion of any feeders i can keep and breed myself to serve at feeders?


If you just need newborn guppy fry to feed small predatory fishes, then yes you can always breed the feeder guppies. 

If you are planning on raising the guppy fry to adults to feed larger predatory fish, don't bother. You will spend more $$$ on the food to raise them, not to mention the time required to raise them to bigger sizes.

You should mention what fish you intend to feed these guppies to. Might be easier to help you pick something else to culture.

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## Blue Whale

Those people getting cheap cheap guppies should take note. Even if you choose a lively guppies, there is no guarantee that it is healthy.

Certificated guppies, well, people usually don't mix them with cheap guppies for fear of getting them sick. But given my Kampung experience. I can tell you that, guppies produces faster than rabbits or frogs...lol. Do make sure you have spare tanks, and if you are in for a clean tank without any plants, you should think of hooking the pump to pipes, drilled with holes, then distribute against all the tanks. It's gonna be like a fish shop, but it does save space and give you a central air supply system. Making one can be back breaking, but certainly worth it once you have finished it.

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## actorial

im keeping feeders for my terrapins. both are really predators. 40 guppies in 2 nights!! but i dun feed them so much. only once when i wanted to give them a treat, and sadly....the guppies are all gone the next morning. currently im giving them maybe 5-8 a week to chase after (exercise)and eat. they really give chase for an hour or more to make the fish tired and eat them, i sat an hour watching that. so im thinking since guppies are not their regular food, so im thinking to breed myself rather than buy from LFS as what you guys mentioned, they are not really healthy. atleast i know they are breed by me myself, the enviroment and all i can control to make sure they stay healthy. 

what im doing now are buy a pack like $2 from LFS and put into a breeder tank and feed them to my terrapin slowly but before i finsh feeding all, usually 50% die off and i gotta throw them away. 

sorry for my bad english as im really suck at it. please guide me along. want my terrapin to stay healthy  :Smile: 

Kevin

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## stormhawk

Did you know that terrapins will feed on baby frogs too? I used to feed mine with baby frogs once a week and they'll really chow down. You can save $$ and just buy those dried prawns for the terrapins. Only drawback to that food is, it makes the terrapin poop smell really bad.

There are pellets to feed terrapins too, and will probably suit you better in the long term.

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## cyruslaguna

agree with storm; shrimps or the like will pungenise the poo...

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## actorial

hmm... their main diet is Fresh green and tablets. guppies are more like a treat once a month. that is why im thinking to breed and feed them. hmm... i do know terrapin eat frogs. my terrapin chew everything down. they had my 7" pleco on the valentine day night!!! gosh....i woke up the next day to clear the bones for them.... 

Even if im doing a monthly treat is still a no go for breeding my own guppies? hmm...

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## stormhawk

Yup a no go. The time it takes for you to raise the guppy fry up to a good size for feeding the terrapins, and the space required, not to mention the cost of feeding them, is not worth the effort. Since they're just a monthly treat, buy from the LFS and save yourself some pain. You don't have to just feed them with guppies. Maybe some baby snakehead or catfish or even baby mollies will do. I even see baby Bettas as feeders, along with small Tiger Barbs.

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## Blue Whale

You could consider Stormy's idea.

If you decided to try to breed "Long Kang" (Drain) Fish, cheap! $1 per pack. You can, but you dunno if some are sick or not. If you live in CCK, the big Long Kang there which source head is places like QianHu, Koei Farm, etc., then you just need a pail and a big net, so long you don't get washed down by the water when it rains...heh  :Evil:  You can ask for Stormy's number to go save you...ha ha.

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## stormhawk

Not saving people who fish from big longkang without a real plan.  :Laughing: 

In any case, most of the longkang are devoid of fish. Every time some construction job comes along, the drains get filled with runoff from the soil or mud, whatever the folks dig up and pollute the drains. The siltation gets so bad, where once I could find guppies to catch, all were gone soon after the siltation happened..  :Knockout:

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## actorial

Alright, will give up the idea for breeding feeder guppies  :Smile:  thanks all the pros here with all the guidience  :Smile:  without you guys i might start my foolish act. 

THANKS!

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## cyruslaguna

you're welcome; just let us know if you need guidance on guppy breeding  :Smile:

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## jiajuen900

I gave this idea a thought, maybe you could try breeding cheaper endlers instead, they breed faster and the parents dont eat the young. Even though small but depending on terrapin size it could work. 

though i think abit cruel...

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## Blue Whale

Oh yes, Bedok Reservoir is dominated by Luohan, so don't even think of finding discus or guppies there. You will be terribly disappointed.

If you want to get yamatos from Seletar, make sure you buy insurance for the rest of the fish in the tank. They'd be ending the food for the yamatos. hey! they don't call them yamato for nothing right?  :Laughing:

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## jiajuen900

I doubt the shrimp in seletar are yamatos...? not sure bet most likely not. Should be just common feeder shrimp. firstly yamatos require slightly salty water to breed so unlikey to breed in local resevoirs and secondly they are mainly vegetarians feed more on algae. so unlikey t ogo after fish.

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## Lala~

I would like to try breeding a big batch of them too!

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## AquaObsession

breeding guppies.. easy..

have a pail or a bucket, or a fish tank, or water can contain water... put plenty of rocks inside.. those with holes... put some eleodea (a plant) that grows super fast... leave it, occasionally feed, with ..hmm bread, fish food, biscuit, etc... and just forget abt it. mosquitoes, usually not a problem, the guppies should eat it...

that is what i did when i was in mauritius.. got about 30 guppies.. after 2-3 months, it was countless... pail size was about 2*1.5*1.5 feet..

the more you care abt them, the faster they die!

Cheers, Christophe

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## Blue Whale

jiajuen, you might want to think again.
Actually best if Choy is around (hwchoy - aq admin), he is local wild life type, he can tell you much. I don't how you will invite him to this thread..heh heh.

Stormy, you should be around long enough in AQ to know the wild shrimps. Dio bo (Correct or not)? Should be during the 2003 era if not mistaken.

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## stormhawk

Uh, I'm not that interested in the wild shrimps found here.  :Laughing:  Best to ask the crustacean experts at the NUS Raffles Museum of Biodiversity. There's a shrimp/crab expert there.

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## Blue Whale

Stormy I was thinking of getting our proacher in, remember? Heh Heh...

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## hwchoy

most longkang and reservoir shrimps are probably feral feeder shrimps (do not know their proper latin names). the only chance to catch real native wild shrimps are in the reserves or just outside of it. the most common is probably _Macrobrachium malayanum_.

just remember do not do any catching anywhere near the reserves, and that reservoirs are also restricted areas under the care of PUB. don't be like that moronic couple who buys a kayak and expects to have a right to use it in our reservoirs.

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## Blue Whale

Choy, ^__^ as sharp as few years back. Hee Hee.

PS: Apologies to those who tried to pm me, I just realised it is not on.

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