# Feeding Guppy Fry



## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Folks:

Although my current batch of guppy fry are still very small I believe that I have finally started to get a decent scald on my breeding (of guppies and not Ron).

For some reason they did not seem very interested in BBS.

I am currently feeding four times per day: beefheart recipe* twice per day, finely crushed spirulina flakes once per day, and finely crushed Tetramin Tropical Flakes once per day.

Does anyone who has experience with selective guppy breeding have any critiques, ideas or suggestions?

TR

*I add a tablespoon of tank water to approximately a tablespoon my typical recipes, smash, and feed the fine particulate matter.


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## crazyfishlady (Nov 4, 2007)

Yes, I have bred at least 50 guppies and all I used was my flake food. I would just finely crush it up until it was like a poweder and sprinkle a pinch in a couple times a day. Freeze dried blood worm might also be something to add as well. They really turned out healthy and beautiful. I hope your fish aren't inbred, if they are you might start to see some deformities like bent tails or stunted growth. When they matured I put blocks of bloodworm in and they would just tear that up. Make sure you also find a local pet shop that will buy them back. Places like Petsmart and Petco already have thier own suppliers and will not take them in.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I don't think I can really tell you anything new. Lots of food, lots of water changes, separate the sexes as soon as you can tell them apart. Use at lease one DHEA enhanced food.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Newborns won't often like BBS, but give them a couple of weeks.


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

emc7 said:


> Use at lease one *DHEA* enhanced food.


? Do not believe that I have heard this acronym. ?

TR


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## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

TOS recommended Cyclop-Eeze to me for my guppy fry. They love it.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I think I meant DHA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docosahexaenoic_acid#Promotion_as_a_food_additive. They add it to fry food and chicken feed to speed growth. Try Azoo artificial artemia, also.


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Folks:

Thanks for all the input and I really appreciate the time yall spent preparing your posts.

I have had many adventures in fish keeping (ie. disasters) with my screwball experiments and yall's input will help me avoid another one.

Two more questions:


*One*


[1] These are F3 (in the gentics definition) during my breeding and I believe that as such they are becoming somewhat hybridized. 
I have been trying to avoid serious hybridization by breeding the nicest male back into two Plain Jane females (hence my use of F2 and F3 is partially incorrect but useful for discussion) although this algorithm produces 95% cull rates.

[2] I am attempting to produce a strain which has a large tail, which such tail is dark red on the extremities, and which such tail transitions colors to a light yellow at the body which is the body color.

[3]Although healthy they appear to be growing much slower than the F1 and F2 generations.

*When can I expect them to attain juvie size?*


*Two*

Amazonia in Austin has some nice SnakeSkins, but by no means national quality show guppies, which were trade-ins by a local breeder and which have fairly large tails.

*Would it be a mistake to breed three of these females with the nicest male from my current generation?*




emc7 said:


> separate the sexes as soon as you can tell them apart.


A magnifying glass does not work for me. I can easily sex them when they become juvies.

Any ideas on sexing prior to them becoming juvies?




TheOldSalt said:


> Newborns won't often like BBS, but give them a couple of weeks.


Never figured this one. Until guppy fry I had not run into a community fish which would not pig out on BBS.

This should work as I believe that I am raising brine shrimp (they are very, very hard to see in a 5G tank which has algae on the walls and floor).

What do you think of this "brilliant idea":roll::idea::roll::!::chair:?




crazyfishlady said:


> Freeze dried blood worm might also be something to add as well.
> I hope your fish aren't inbred, if they are you might start to see some deformities like bent tails or stunted growth.
> Make sure you also find a local pet shop that will buy them back. Places like Petsmart and Petco already have thier own suppliers and will not take them in.


They are way to small for bloodworms and as I indicated previously will not accept BBS yet. Any other ideas for meaties as now they are only consuming the small particulate matter in my beefheart/fish recipes which have veggies.
I doubt it as, to the best of my knowledge, no crosses, even with extended family, has been allowed to propagate.
The angels in my main tank really enjoy the culls.

TR


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

You can't go wrong with cyclop-eze, as COM said, but if you really want to use BBS, you might try san Fransico BBS insteat of Great Salt Lake ones. The SanFran ones are much smaller and more appealing to very young fry.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

or you could "deencapsulate" the eggs


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

emc7 said:


> or you could "deencapsulate" the eggs


Thanks em but already tried that one with no joy on the fry liking it.

TR


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

ron..pm me your address and i will send you some plecocaine.see how they like it.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Have you tried microworms? You can wait til the fry are juvies to sex, just get them befor maturity. When I had guppies I was really lucky and started with a healthy strain that bred true. In line-breeding, you pick a few good males in every generation and sell the rest. But you keep at least two lines, so you don't breed brother to sister 3 generation in a row. Every 2nd or 3rd generation you cross the lines and you breed only first or second cousins. So you pick the two best males, put each in a separate tank with females and label the tanks A & B. Keep the A and B fish separate until the 3rd gen. and then breed only A to B and split the offspring into two lines again.
Developing a new strain is different. You get a wide genetic variety, like buy feeder guppies or cross two species, look for something different and then try to breed for a trait. Or try to combine traits from two different lineages. If this is what you want from the snake skins, crossing them is a good idea. If you just want to improve the health of the fry because you think the line is too inbred, you would do better using a wild-type guppy to outcross. I think they are actually importing them again now so you can get some real genetic diversity instead of adding another inbred line's genetic defects.


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