What Do Guppies Eat?

Guppies are voracious eaters and need to be fed plenty of food each day. Thankfully, this fish has a vast diet making it easy for you to feed them. 

So, what do guppies eat? This fish needs to have a strong diet of protein, fruits, and vegetables in order to stay healthy. Because of this, you’ll find that you have plenty of food options to give them, including brine shrimp, egg yolks, apples, and cucumbers. 

If you’re interested in learning about how to properly feed your guppy, you’ll want to keep reading. Below you’ll find some of the best food to feed guppies as well as other important feeding information. 

What Do Guppies Eat in the Wild?

Guppies eat a handful of things in the wild, but mainly enjoy munching on brine shrimp and insect larvae. In fact, wild guppies love these two food options so much that they will quickly eat through large portions of them daily. They’ll also eat algae and small pieces of food floating in the water left behind by larger fish. 

What Kind of Food Do Guppies Eat?

This fish is omnivorous so it eats a wide variety of meat and plants.  

Flake Food

Flake food might be small, but it’s filled with protein and minerals. In fact, it’s given to fish because it helps them to stay healthy and receive the nutrients they need. Most flake food also contains fiber. 

Blood Worms

Blood worms are high in fat and can help younger guppies grow faster. However, because they contain so much fat, they should only be fed to your fish every so often. 

Brine Shrimp

Guppies love brine shrimp. This food isn’t only packed with protein, but can give your guppy an energy boost. Brine shrimp have also been shown to help with the healthy development of young guppies and can also encourage them to grow faster. 

It’s ideal to feed your guppy live brine shrimp as they tend to contain more nutrients than prepackaged ones. However, live brine shrimp can sometimes invite diseases to form in your aquarium. To prevent this, you’ll either need to make sure to buy your brine shrimp from a reputable dealer or carefully grow and monitor your own. 

Vegetable Pellets

Vegetable pellets are made of dried vegetable pieces that disintegrate in the water. Most pellets feature pieces of algae, peppers, carrots, spinach. You can give your guppy about 1-2 pinches of pellets per day. 

Be careful when using vegetable pellets as sometimes they could cloud the water. This murkiness could make it difficult for your fish to see. It will also mean you need to clean the tank a bit more often. 

Making Your Own Guppy Food

If you want to ensure that your guppy is fed a fresh, healthy diet, you might consider making their food rather than buying premade options.  

Chopped-Up Beef Heart

One option to give your guppy is beef heart. High in fat, beef heart also provides plenty of vitamins and minerals for younger guppies. You’ll want to remove most of the fat before you give it to them. Once you do, chop it up into small pieces and sprinkle it over the top of the tank. 

Egg Yolks

You could also give your guppy egg yolks. Egg yolks are packed with vitamin A, magnesium, and calcium which make them great to give your fish. 

You’ll want to whip the yolks in a bowl until they’re smooth. You can then put small drops into the tank’s water for your guppy to consume. Make sure to not overdo this as too much egg yolk can make your fish sick. Egg yolks can also make the water very dirty and hard for your fish to swim in, so you’ll need to clean the tank out regularly.  

Vegetable Paste

Another homemade meal to make your guppy is vegetable paste. You can throw some zucchini, cucumber, corn, cabbage, and potato pieces into a blender. After the vegetables are pureed to a smooth consistency, spread the mixture out on a baking sheet and put it in the oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes. Once it has completely dried, remove it from the oven and let it cool down. You can then break the paste up into fine pieces to sprinkle into the tank. 

You could also rub some raw garlic on the flakes. Not only is it anti-bacterial, but garlic has been shown to be a favorite flavor for numerous types of fish. 

In addition to the vegetables mentioned above, some others to consider giving your fish include: 

• Peas
• Cauliflower
• Green beans
• Kale
• Tomatoes
• Pumpkin
• Bell peppers

Do I Need to Cook Vegetables Before I Give Them to My Guppy?

This really depends on the vegetable you plan to give them. For instance, you can give options like cucumbers and tomatoes to them raw, but corn and potatoes need to be boiled. It’s important to double-check whether or not a vegetable needs to be cooked. Otherwise, you might accidentally make your guppy sick. 

Fruit Pieces

Guppies enjoy nibbling on soft fruit, like bananas and grapes. It provides them with extra vitamins and minerals. For some fruit, like apples, you might want to steam them so they’re softer for your fish to chew. 

Because of the high sugar content in fruit, you’ll only want to feed them it every so often as a treat. You’ll also need to make sure to remove left-behind fruit pieces as it could cause harmful bacteria to grow due to their high fructose. 

How Often to Feed Guppies

Adult guppies should be fed no more than three times per day. Baby guppies should be fed around 5-6 times per day and every 2-3 hours for their first six weeks. Once six weeks have passed, you can start gradually decreasing the amount of food you give them. 

You’ll also want to monitor how quickly they eat the food. For instance, if you sprinkle food into their tank and they quickly eat it, this is a sign they are hungry and you should add a little more into the tank. 

On the other hand, if you see that they aren’t eating the food, they’re probably full. This will prevent you from putting too much food into their tank and wasting it. 

Guppies have a vast diet making them easy for fish owners to feed. Despite this, it’s important to not overfeed them as too much food could make them sick. If you find that you might have given them too much food, it’s okay to go a day without feeding them. This will help their body to completely process the food they eat so they don’t get ill. 

Can Guppies Eat Goldfish Food?

Guppies can eat goldfish food but it won’t give them any health benefits. Goldfish food is also meant to be for fish that have a main diet of algae and plant-based food. 

Goldfish food can also be somewhat big and difficult for guppies to consume. Because of this, it’s important to crush them before feeding to your guppies. However, it’s best to forgo goldfish food and give your guppy other options for their meals. 

How Long Can Guppies Go Without Food?

You might be surprised to learn that adult guppies can go for up to two weeks without food. However, younger guppies can only survive for up to three days without eating. 

Can I Feed Guppies at Night?

Guppies are unable to see at night so feeding them during it would be a waste of food. 

Do Guppies Eat Algae?

Yes, guppies can eat algae. Many fish tanks tend to naturally let algae grow and guppies will munch on it. However, algae can grow faster than guppies can eat it. Because of this, you’ll want to make sure to remove part of it so the algae don’t rapidly spread throughout the tank. 

Do Guppies Eat Each Other?

Adult guppies don’t usually eat each other but might nip at each other’s fins and tails. On the other hand, guppies do eat their young sometimes. If you want to prevent this, you’ll need to quickly remove the baby guppies from the tank before another one makes them a meal. 

Do Guppies Eat Bread?

This fish can eat bread but it’s not a healthy option, especially if it’s heavily processed. Due to this, it’s best not to give it to them. 

Can Guppies Eat Duckweed?

Duckweed is a type of aquatic plant that usually floats on the top of water surfaces. Most guppies don’t usually like this plant, but a few might. If you’d like to see if your fish would enjoy it, you can blend some of it up, dry it, and then sprinkle it into the tank. 

Guppies might be small fish but they have a large appetite. While they have a vast diet, it’s important to make sure to only feed them healthy sources of protein, fruits, and vegetables. By keeping the information above in mind, you can be sure that your guppies will stay healthy and happy.