Newborn guppy fry can eat good-quality flake crushed into a fine powder, suitable prepared fry food and newly hatched brine shrimp. They can start feeding soon after birth. Offer very small meals several times a day, making sure the food reaches the babies without leaving piles of waste.
The first challenge is easy to understand: tiny fish have tiny mouths. The second is less obvious. Food small enough for those mouths is also remarkably easy to overfeed.
Fortunately, raising guppies does not require a cupboard full of specialist products. A suitable food, sensible portions and clean water will get you much further than buying everything with a picture of a baby fish on the label.
Finely crushed flake is a useful starting point
A good-quality flake intended for small tropical omnivores can be crushed into a fine powder. This makes it one of the simplest options when babies appear unexpectedly.
Crush a little separately so you can see how fine it is, then offer a tiny amount. Watch the fry rather than assuming that anything disappearing into the water has been eaten.
If they repeatedly take pieces and spit them out, the food may still be too large. If it falls past them and collects on the bottom, adding more is unlikely to solve the problem.
You don't necessarily need a different food from the adults. You do need a size the babies can manage.
Prepared fry foods are convenient—but go carefully
Powdered fry foods and very small prepared foods can work well. Choose something suitable for livebearer fry and pay attention to the particle size.
Their convenience is also their weakness. A small-looking pinch can contain a great deal of food. You want feeding fry, not a tank that looks as though somebody has stirred flour into it.
Begin with less than you think you need. You can offer a little more if you can see the fry taking it readily; removing food from amongst plants is considerably less convenient.
Newly hatched brine shrimp are worth considering
Newly hatched brine shrimp are a useful live food for growing guppies. Their movement encourages feeding, and their small size makes them suitable for many young fry.
They can be especially helpful if you are deliberately raising a brood and enjoy the breeding side of the hobby. However, you do not have to run a brine shrimp hatchery to raise healthy guppies.
The words newly hatched matter. Full-sized brine shrimp are a different proposition for a newborn mouth. As the youngsters grow, you can gradually introduce other appropriately sized foods and more variety.
How often should you feed them?
For fry you are actively raising, around three to five very small meals a day is a useful starting routine. Spread the feeds through the day rather than giving them all close together.
A manageable three-feed day might mean a small meal in the morning, another when you return home and one later in the evening. If you have time for more feeds, keep the individual portions small.
There is no benefit in pouring in extra food before work to make it last all day. Much of it may become waste before the babies get to it.
Adult feeding advice does not transfer neatly to fry. Young fish are growing rapidly, so I would not routinely give them fasting days or treat one large daily feed as equivalent to several small ones.
Make sure the smallest fry actually eat
In a community aquarium, the adults may intercept the food before it reaches the babies. Place a little near the fry's cover rather than putting everything into the busiest feeding spot.
In a rearing tank, larger siblings can also outcompete smaller ones. Spreading a small portion across a few areas can help. Look for the quieter youngsters feeding too.
Growth will not be identical across the brood, but fish falling increasingly behind deserve closer attention. Check food access, space and water conditions before simply increasing every portion.
Clean water is part of the feeding routine
More meals mean more waste entering the aquarium. Remove leftovers carefully, keep ammonia and nitrite undetectable and use testing to guide maintenance. Partial water changes should use suitable dechlorinated water at a similar temperature.
Don't assume a tank full of tiny fish has a tiny waste load. Several feeds a day soon change that calculation.
If you are still deciding where the babies should live, start with this guide to unexpected guppy fry.
Help them grow beyond the first few meals
Feeding is only one part of raising a brood. Filtration, water quality, growing space and knowing when to separate youngsters matter too.
In Guppies, I bring those pieces together so you can follow your fish from newborn fry to the next generation. Explore the complete eBook if you would like the whole guide beside you as they grow. Or read the free sample to see how I explain things.
