Guppy Care & Breeding Guide

Guppies (Poecilia reticulata) are the quintessential beginner fish — hardy, colourful, and prolific breeders. But keeping and breeding them well takes more than just dropping them in a tank. Here’s what you need to know.

Tank Setup

• Minimum tank size: 10 gallons
• Temperature: 22–28°C (72–82°F)
• pH: 7.0–8.0 (guppies prefer slightly alkaline water)
• Filtration: gentle — sponge filters work well and won’t suck up fry
• Plants: heavily planted tanks provide cover and reduce aggression

Stocking Ratio

Keep a ratio of 1 male to 2–3 females to prevent males from harassing females. An all-male tank is also a beautiful, low-drama option.

Feeding

• High-quality flake or micro pellet food (staple)
• Frozen or live baby brine shrimp, daphnia, or bloodworms
• Spirulina flakes for colour enhancement
• Feed 2–3 times daily in small amounts

Breeding

Guppies are livebearers — females give birth to live, free-swimming fry every 28–30 days. A single mating can produce multiple broods without re-mating.

• Isolate pregnant females in a breeding box or heavily planted fry tank before birth
• Fry are born fully formed and can eat crushed flakes or baby brine shrimp immediately
• Adults will eat fry — provide dense plant cover (java moss works great)

Common Health Issues

• Fin rot: improve water quality first
• Columnaris: fuzzy white patches; treat with antibiotics
• Wasting disease: skinny, hollow belly — often parasitic

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