# Breeding Guppies For An Occasional Treat



## Ohio Cichlid Lover (Feb 27, 2012)

I would like to breed some guppies as a treat for my cichlids. I just have a few questions...

1) Is a 10 gallon tank big enough to breed guppies?

2) What kind of guppies is a good choice?

3) How many guppies should I start with M/F ?

Thanks!


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Who do you plan of feeding these to?


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## Ohio Cichlid Lover (Feb 27, 2012)

I plan on feeding them my Dempsey, Firemouth, and Red Devil. It's not going to be all the time. Just as a treat maybe once every 2 weeks. Is this a bad idea? I've heard that if you start feeding cichlids live fish it will make them more aggressive towards each other. I never believed it but is it true??


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

Guppies make great treats for your bigger cichlids as they are easy to breed and are cheap to breed. A 10 gallon is fine for breeding guppies as you will thin the stock all the time from feedings. As far as making them more aggressive, I think they are harder on new tank mates do to the fact that they think any new fish is food  but I havent seen any difference in aggression toward each other. My fish seem to enjoy their treats and you get to see a hunting side to your fish you don't normally see.


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## Ohio Cichlid Lover (Feb 27, 2012)

Will any type of guppy do? I heard fish particularly like the fancy guppies. I plan on getting a few males and a lot of females.


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

I just bought what was on sale at petsmart which was fancy guppies, In a 10 gallon I was only able to keep one male as the top male killed off the other 2 males in the tank (I know guppies killing each other who would of thought) any how he did his job well and I had lots of feeders with only one male. My dad has them in his 55 planted tank now and theres is about 5 or so males in it and I keep his tanks stock in check.


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

for a 10g i would say 1m and 4f as if you go beyond that you will be over run with guppies lol. i use to do this but i stop since i think its a waste of a tank =p. i feed all my fish freezed dried black worms and live night crawler as treats. alot more protein.


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## Ohio Cichlid Lover (Feb 27, 2012)

ok....Thanks for the info.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

If you are going to do guppies, just get the regular "feed" guppies. They will breed at a faster rate. Some of the more plain platies are a good option as well.


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## Ohio Cichlid Lover (Feb 27, 2012)

Great...Thanks


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## Ohio Cichlid Lover (Feb 27, 2012)

I've just started up the tank so it has to cycle. It's just gonna be for breeding. Do I still need a substrate??


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

I didnt use substrate as its easier to just clean the glass bottom than mess around with sand or gravel, but have some flake plants in the tank so the guppy fry have somewhere to hide as the adult guppies will try to eat them.


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## Ohio Cichlid Lover (Feb 27, 2012)

Ok..will do. Thanks


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## Chromedome52 (Jul 25, 2009)

Do NOT waste time with fake plants; get some floating, fast growing plant such as Anacharis, Hornwort, or Najas. A small tank full of guppies needs the ammonia sucking live plants, as the population will be going up and down a lot. They also provide micro fauna for the guppy fry to nibble on.


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