If you are wondering, what do guppies eat then you have come to the right place.
In this article, I am going to show you all the fish foods that you can feed to your guppies.
In an aquarium, guppies can eat fish foods and live foods. You can also feed fruits and vegetables to guppies in your aquarium.
In the wild, guppies eat plant matter such as algae and plant leaves as well as animal matter such as brine shrimp, small invertebrates, mosquito larvae, and fish fry.
Table of Contents
What do guppies eat in a fish tank?
You can feed a variety of food to your guppies in your fish tank.
Here’s the list of all the types of foods you can feed to your guppies in your fish tank.
- Fish food
- Live food
- Frozen live food
- Fruits and vegetables
1. Fish food
To feed your guppies, there are various types of fish foods available on the market. and to keep your guppies happy and healthy you should feed them a variety of foods to your guppies.
Guppies are naturally top feeders, which means they eat food from the surface or just below the surface of the water.
That being said, guppies are also opportunistic eaters so they will eat wherever they can find food in the tank.
So don’t get surprised if your guppies are eating from the bottom of the fish tank!
Guppies are top feeders by nature, so you should feed them floating fish food.
Floating fish food is available in flakes and pellets.
One advantage of floating food is that it is very easy to remove uneaten food from the surface of the fish tank.
Because guppies are opportunistic eaters, you are not limited to feeding them only floating food. You can also feed your guppies sinking food in addition to floating foods.
When it comes to sinking food for guppies, slow sinking food is ideal.
Best flake food for guppies
Flake food is a convenient and inexpensive option for your guppies.
The best thing about flake food is that you can feed it to your guppies of any size. This is because you can easily crush the flake food and make it into a small size.
There are a lot of flake foods available in the market for guppies.
When it comes to flake food for guppies, you should go with a reputable brand.
Unfortunately, many flake foods contain mostly filler ingredients and only tiny amounts of high-quality ingredients.
You should avoid such flake food because it lacks the essential nutrients that guppies require for proper growth and development.
Furthermore, it can pollute the water in your aquarium.
Here are my recommendations for the best flake food for guppies:
- New Life Spectrum Optimum Flakes 45g (Naturox Series) (link to Amazon)
- Omega One Super Color Flakes 5.3 oz (link to Amazon)
- Aquacarium Tropical Flakes Natural Fish Food (2-lbs) (link to Amazon)
Best pellet food for guppies
Pellets are very convenient to feed your guppies.
Pellets come in various sizes, so you can match the pellet size to the size of your guppies.
One advantage of pellet food is that it dissolves very slowly in aquarium water. As a result, they will not pollute your aquarium water.
By the time the pellets dissolve, your guppies have either eaten them (keep in mind that guppies are opportunistic!). Or else, you should have removed any uneaten food from the tank.
Pellets are dehydrated, which makes them difficult for your guppies to digest. However, this will not be a major issue because once the pellets are dropped in your tank, they will begin to absorb water, which will help with digestion.
If you’re concerned about indigestion, you can soak the pellets in a small container with tank water before dropping them into your guppy tank.
Here’re my recommendations for the best pellet food for guppies.
- Hikari Usa Tropical Fancy Guppy for Pet Health, Fish Food 1.54oz (2 PACK) (link to Amazon)
- Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Fish Food, Small Granules for Small to Medium-Sized Fish, 1.6 oz., A6577 (link to Amazon)
- Cobalt Aquatics Ultra Guppy Nano Bits Floating Pellets 0.6 mm, 6 oz. (link to Amazon)
Best frozen-dried foods for guppies
Guppies can be fed commercially produced frozen-dried live foods in addition to flake and pellet food.
Guppies can be fed frozen-dried foods such as bloodworms, tubixworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, and mosquito larvae.
Guppies feed on these foods in the wild, so they contain all of the essential nutrients that guppies require for proper growth and development.
Here’re my recommendations for the best frozen-dried foods for guppies:
- Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze Dried Blood Worms for Pets, 0.42 oz(12 g) – 2 Pack (link to Amazon)
- Omega One Freeze-Dried Brine Shrimp (link to Amazon)
- To feed your guppies just crush the food to make it small enough to fit into the mouth of your guppies
- Hikari Tubifex Worms Fish Food (0.7 oz.) [Set of 2] (link to Amazon)
Live food
Live foods are very nutritious and live foods are very close to what guppies eat in the wild.
Here’s the list of live foods you can feed your guppies:
- Bloodworms
- Daphnia
- Brine shrimp
- Microworms
- Mealworms
- Mysis shrimp
- Mosquito larvae
- Krill
- Plankton
These live foods can be purchased at your local fish store or online at Amazon.
You can also make live food at home very cheaply. You can, for example, start a brine shrimp hatchery at home.
If the live food is infected with a disease, you run the risk of introducing disease-causing pathogens into your tank.
That is why it is important to get live foods from a trustworthy source.
You can buy live foods online at sites such as Amazon, eBay, and Aquabid. You can also purchase live foods from your local fish store.
Can guppies eat other fish’s food?
You can feed other fish’s food to your guppies.
Here’s the list of other fish’s food you can feed to your guppies
- Betta fish food
- Goldfish food
- Cichlid fish food
- Tetra fish food
- Turtle fish food
- Koi fish food
Though you can feed these fish foods to your guppies, this should not be their primary diet. Because these fish foods are not designed specifically for guppies, they will not provide all of the nutrients that guppies require for proper growth and development.
Betta fish foods, for example, are mostly composed of meaty ingredients because betta fish are carnivorous.
Now as guppies are omnivorous they will benefit from the meaty ingredients. However, guppies also need some plant-based ingredients along with meaty ingredients which they cannot get from betta food.
So you can occasionally feed your guppies other fish foods, such as betta fish food. This, however, should not be their daily diet.
What do guppies eat besides fish food?
Besides fish food, you can feed vegetables and fruits to your guppies.
You can also make homemade fish food to feed your guppies.
What vegetables can guppies eat?
There’re a variety of vegetables you can feed your guppies.
Here’s a list of all the vegetables you can feed to your guppies:
- Lettuce
- Cucumber
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Frozen peas
- Green peas
- Kale
- Cabbage
- Potato
- Pumpkin
- Parsley
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini
- Garlic
- Romaine lettuce
- Bell peppers (green / red / yellow / orange)
- Sweet corn (fresh or frozen)
- Cauliflower
- Green beans
- Parsley
- Endive
- Arugula
- Celery
How to prepare vegetables to feed your guppies?
You’ll need to prepare the vegetables before feeding it to your guppies so your guppies can consume the vegetables.
How to prepare vegetables containing seeds and jelly-like tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini?
- You should wash the vegetables.
- Then remove the jelly part from the vegetables because this part can foul your aquarium water.
- Now cut the vegetables in small pieces (small enough to fit into the mouths of your guppies)
- Then toss the small pieces in your guppy tank
How to prepare leafy vegetables like lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach, cabbage, and kale?
- First of all, wash the vegetables.
- Now you should blanch the vegetables by putting them in boiling water for a minute before putting them in your tank. Blanching the veggies will make them sink in the tank. So your guppies can eat them properly.
- Now cool down the blanched vegetables by holding them under running water before putting them in your tank.
How to prepare fresh or frozen peas for your guppies?
- First of all, put the peas in boiling water for a minute to soften them
- Once the peas are softened then remove their shell
- Now cut the peas into small pieces (small enough to fit into the mouths of your guppies)
- Now put them in your guppy tank.
Green peas are a great remedy to relieve constipation in guppies or any fish.
How to prepare sweet corn and carrots for your guppies?
- Put the veggies in boiling water for a minute to soften them
- Once the veggies are softened then cut them into small pieces (small enough to fit into the mouths of your guppies)
- Now toss the small pieces in your guppy tank.
How to prepare a pumpkin to feed your guppies?
- You don’t need to boil pumpkin to feed your guppies.
- Just cut the raw pumpkin into small pieces (small enough to fit into the mouths of your guppies)
- And toss the small pieces in your fish tank.
How to prepare Bell pepper (Green, Yellow, Red, Orange)
- First of all, wash the bell pepper.
- Now cut the bell pepper and remove seeds from it.
- Now cut the bell pepper into small pieces (small enough to fit into the mouths of your guppies)
- Now toss the small pieces in your fish tank.
Vegetables should not be the primary diet of your guppies!
As you can see, there are so many vegetables that you can feed your guppies.
These vegetables, however, should not be their primary diet because they do not provide all of the nutrients that guppies require for proper growth and development.
The vegetables are high in vitamins and minerals, but they are low in protein.
Guppy fry has a higher protein requirement than adult guppies. As a result, you should not feed guppy fry vegetables.
You should also feed vegetables to your adult guppies in very small amounts.
What fruits can I feed my guppies?
You can feed different types of fruits to your guppies.
Here’s a list of all the fruits you can feed to your guppies:
- Apples
- Banana
- Grapes
- Mango
- Watermelons
Cut the fruits into small pieces to feed to your guppies (small enough to fit into the mouths of your guppies). And then throw the pieces into your tank.
Fruits can provide your guppies with vitamins and minerals. However, fruits should not make up the majority of a guppy’s diet.
You should feed your guppies fruits no more than twice a week.
Homemade guppy food
You can make food for your guppies at your home with the ingredients that I mentioned above.
Homemade guppy food for adult guppies
Homemade guppy food for guppy fry
Can guppies eat aquarium plants?
There are a lot of benefits of keeping live aquarium plants.
Live plants keep your fish tank well-oxygenated. They also add an added filtration to your fish tank by absorbing toxins like ammonia from the fish tank.
Your guppies can also nibble on live plants.
Here’s the list of the best aquarium plants you can keep in your guppies tank.
FAQ
Can guppies eat algae?
Yes, guppies can eat algae. But they will not be able to eat all the algae in your aquarium.
Algae can provide a good amount of protein as well as other nutrients to your guppies.
However, it should not be their primary diet.
You will need to feed other foods such as fish food and other live or Frozen food to fulfill their dietary requirements.
Can guppies eat ants?
Guppies may eat a few ants without any issue.
If guppies eat a lot of ants, this can cause issues to your guppies.
This is because ants have high formic acid and they can release various chemicals when they are threatened. And these chemicals can cause side effects to your guppies.
Overall, you should not feed ants to your guppies.
Can guppies eat shrimp?
Guppies can eat shrimp. Especially if the size of the shrimp is small enough to fit into the mouth of the guppies.
However, if the size of the shrimp is larger than a guppy’s mouth then they may not be able to eat the shrimp.
If you want to keep shrimps with your guppies then you can create a lot of hiding places for your shrimps in the tank by adding live aquarium plants.
Can guppies eat chicken?
You can feed chicken to your guppies. Chicken will provide protein to your guppies.
You can feed raw chicken or boil the chicken before feeding it to guppies.
Just make sure to cut the chicken into small pieces so it can fit into the mouths of your guppies.
Can guppies eat cheese?
Cheese is a dairy product. Dairy products are foreign to guppies i.e. in the wild guppies don’t eat any dairy products.
Besides, cheese is prepared by going through a process and guppies don’t have the necessary enzymes to digest cheese. That’s why you should not feed cheese to your guppies.
Can guppy fry eat egg yolk?
Egg yolk is commonly fed to guppy fry but you can also feed it to adult guppies as well.
Just make sure to boil the egg before feeding the egg yolk to your guppies.
Egg yolk contains protein and vitamins which helps with the fast growth of the guppy fry.
Can guppies eat earthworms?
Guppies can eat earthworms. Just make sure to cut the earthworms into small pieces so that it can fit into the mouth of your guppies.
Earthworms provide protein to your guppies which helps with faster growth.
Can guppies eat oatmeal?
You can feed oatmeal to guppies. You can feed raw oatmeal or you can also feed oatmeal that is cooked or soaked in water.
Just make sure that the oats are small enough to fit into the mouths of your guppies.
Can guppies eat pond snails?
Guppies will eat anything that fits into their mouth. Pond snails are large enough to not fit into the mouth of guppies. So they cannot eat it.
Can guppies eat rice?
Guppies can eat rice. However, rice doesn’t contain all the essential nutrients that guppies need for their proper growth and development so rice should not be their primary diet. Feeding rice once in a while is fine.
Can guppies eat seaweed?
Guppies can eat seaweed. Seaweed can help your guppies with digestion. It can also help to improve the coloration of guppies.
Can guppies eat mosquito larvae?
Guppies can eat mosquito larvae. In fact, it is very nutritious for them. Mosquito larvae provide protein, fats, and fiber to guppies. Mosquito larvae are commonly fed to pregnant guppies because it helps them to give birth to healthy offspring.
Overfeeding can be fatal to your guppies!
Believe it or not, overfeeding can kill your guppies!
There are a few direct and indirect reasons why overfeeding your guppies can be fatal for your guppies.
Overfeeding guppies can bloat your guppies
Guppies are voracious eaters, and no matter how much food you put in their aquarium, they will try to eat it all.
Guppies have a swim bladder, which is an internal organ. It aids them in remaining buoyant in the water.
Guppies’ swim bladders will move from their natural location if they are overfed. In this case, the guppies will be unable to swim or eat properly, stressing the fish.
And if the fish is stressed for an extended period of time, it can even kill the guppies.
Overfeeding can cause deadly ammonia build-up in your tank.
When you put a lot of food in your guppy tank, the guppies will try to eat it all because they are voracious eaters.
Guppies will excrete a lot of waste or poop if they eat a lot of food.
In your fish tank, this fish waste will degrade and produce deadly ammonia.
Furthermore, uneaten food will decompose and produce deadly ammonia in your fish tank.
The ammonia will soon be too much for the beneficial bacteria in your fish tank to handle. And because ammonia is toxic to fish, it can kill yours.
How much food should I feed my guppies?
You can feed your guppies once or twice a day. If you’re going to feed your guppies twice a day, leave at least 10-12 hours between meals. And each time, feed the amount of food that your guppies can consume in a minute.
Learn more about how much each type of food you should feed your guppies
What do guppies eat in the wild?
Guppies are omnivorous, which means they eat both plant-based foods like plant leaves and algae and meaty foods like brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, small invertebrates, and their own fry in the wild.
Aside from these foods, guppies consume leftovers from larger fish, such as meat scraps and plant matter.
Foods such as invertebrates, and insect larvae are more nutritious to guppies than plant matter.
Guppies aren’t fussy eaters. As a result, they will eat whatever is available in their environment. As a result, a guppy’s diet varies depending on where they live.
Guppies forage for food in the wild because it allows them to find food more easily.
Guppies eat their own babies!
Every month, guppies can give birth. And each time, they can have 10 to 100 offspring.
However, not all of the offspring will live. The reason for this is that some of the babies will be eaten by adult guppies.
The behavior of animals eating their own babies is called filial cannibalism. Besides guppies, this behavior is also present in other animals as well.
Why do guppies eat their babies?
There’s not a single reason why guppies eat their babies.
There are a few reasons why guppies may eat their babies.
Food source
After giving birth the female guppies may eat their fry to regain energy and fulfill its nutrient needs.
Male guppies may also eat the babies if they are hungry.
Psychological stress
After giving birth just like human females, guppy females may also experience postpartum depression. And out of stress, the females may eat their babies.
Can guppies eat other fish?
Generally, guppies are very peaceful fish and they can live happily with other small peaceful fish. However, they’re also voracious eaters so they’ll eat whatever fits into their mouths and this includes other fish.
Can guppies eat shrimp?
Guppies can eat shrimps like ghost shrimp, red cherry shrimp, and Amano shrimp if the shrimp are small enough to fit into the mouth of your guppies.
However, you can prevent this by taking certain precautions.
If you want to keep shrimp and guppies together then you should first introduce shrimp in your fish tank. So that the shrimp will get familiar with the environment and know the hiding place to hide in case guppies try to eat them.
This leads us to the second precaution which is you should create a lot of hiding places for shrimp to hide in the fish tank so shrimps can hide if guppies attack them.
One easy way to create a lot of hiding places in the fish tank is to add live aquarium plants in the tank.
Besides providing hiding places, there’re a lot of benefits of keeping live aquarium plants in your fish tank.
Can guppies eat other fish’s fry?
Fish fry is a very nutritious food for guppies. And guppies will eat fry of any fish if it can fit into their mouths.
Can guppies eat snails?
Guppies cannot eat snails because snails cannot fit into the mouth of guppies.
Conclusion
So these are all the foods guppies eat.
I hope you found the information helpful.
If you want to know more about the foods guppies can eat besides fish food then check out this article.
Happy fishkeeping!
