Breeding guppy fish is straightforward. These colorful little fish breed fast, but the hard part is protecting the baby guppies. Other fish and adult guppies eat their young.
So, it is a good idea to separate adult guppy fish from the fry. When you separate the fry from the adults, you increase their chances of survival. One way to do this is to set up a breeding box for your guppies.
A breeding box is a container that you attach to the main tank. It lets in water but keeps out adult fish. The guppy fry also cannot get out of the breeding box.
After the female gives birth in the breeding box, remove her so that she doesn’t eat her babies as well. Guppies do not lay eggs, so there will be tiny bite-sized baby guppies swimming around.
Breeder boxes are an essential part of your guppy tank setup if you want to save guppy fry. All the breeder boxes below are affordable and practical choices. They work great for setting up a nursery for your guppies. These are the best breeder boxes for guppies:
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Petzilla in-Tank Aquarium Breeder Box for Fish
This breeder box stops adult guppies from attacking baby fish. Not only is it an excellent breeding box for guppies, but it works well for other fish that can share a tank with guppy fish too. For instance, tetras, platies, and mollies.
Boxtech Guppy Fish Tank Breeding Box
This breeding box has a bottom compartment perfect for newborn baby guppies. But, it doubles as a hospital too. It can isolate sick fish from healthy fish and help stop the spread of diseases and parasites. Other uses include separating aggressive fish or bullies from other bigger fish.
Pet Island Breeding Boxes For Guppy Fish
Like all the other breeding boxes, the pet island breeding box is ideal for isolating baby fish from adults. You can also use it to quarantine injured fish, sick fish, shrimp, and other sea clownfish. The unique self floating design also saves space and is suitable for medium size fish tanks.
Capetsma Fish Breeding Box
Another excellent choice for protecting baby fry from adult fish. The Capetsma Fish Breeding Box is perfect for keeping pregnant guppies until they give birth. The bottom also prevents food residue and waste from escaping into the main tank.
Aquarium Fish Breeder Box
If you are looking for something made of mesh and not plastic or acrylic, you can consider the NGE Aquarium Fish Breeder Box. It is another useful breeder box that can separate the newborn fry from adult fish and other functions similar to the other breeder boxes mentioned above. It also isolates injured or aggressive fish. It is not plastic or acrylic but mesh.
Benefits of Using Breeding Boxes
Breeder boxes are cheaper to maintain. It works by using the resources of the main tank, for example, the heater and the filter. These breeder boxes also match the current water parameters of the main tank, for instance, the TDS level, and pH level.
Breeder boxes are convenient because you don’t need to wait for a new aquarium to cycle. You can release the baby guppies in the main tank once they’re big enough.
One thing to note is that a breeder box is a temporary setup. You cannot keep guppy fry in one for too long. It slows down the growth of the baby guppies.
Only keep baby fish in the breeding box for two weeks. After two weeks, you can release the guppy fry into the main tank if there is enough space. Or, you can move the fry to a new tank.
If you don’t have space for a breeder box, you can use a separate tank or add some live plants to provide cover for baby fry. Live plants won’t save all the baby guppies, but it improves their chance of survival.
Separate tanks for baby fry should use the same equipment as the main tank. Also, keep the water conditions the same. Place the pregnant guppy into the separate aquarium before she gives birth.
Return her to the main tank after she gives birth. Try not to cause too much stress to the female during transfer as it might cause the guppy to die. You can also consider making DIY guppy fish breeding box if you have some spare time and excess plastic jars at home,
References
- How Long Can I Keep a Guppy in a Breeder Box? – Planted Tank – https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/21-fish/621985-how-long-can-i-keep-guppy-breeder-box.html
