Guppy Fry Tank Size

[Damo.Lo]

Hey All 

I’ve ventured into the chaos of guppy’s. I have 3F 1M in a 5g. ( I know 5g is pushing the limits even with 4) I live and work at home so I monitor all my tanks constantly. 

I have a few seasoned sponge filters ready for when the fry start dropping, but my first question is when the lady’s get about a week out from giving birth I want to put the fry in a separate 5g and once done move them back. Is that okay? 

A few more questions

how many is to many fry in a 5g?

how long do they take to mature enough to need a larger tank and how big should a grow out tank be? ( and how many in said tank) 

can I use a tub? Or polystyrene box? ( I have a few poly boxes already) 

Any advice would be appreciated I want to be as ethical as possible. 

[Fish Folk]

Guppies are a lot of fun!

There are a lot of possible answers here. Much will depend on your space, experience, goals, etc.

Answering your questions first!

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- I have a few seasoned sponge filters ready for when the fry start dropping, but my first question is when the lady’s get about a week out from giving birth I want to put the fry in a separate 5g and once done move them back. Is that okay? 

This should be Ok. Bear in mind that your 5 gal. aquarium is going to be more at risk with water parameter consistency. You may want to consider densely planting it to absorb any ammonia spikes, and to provide a place for fry to hide & graze. 

- how many is to many fry in a 5g?

You can keep a relatively large group of ca. 50+ Guppy fry in a seasoned, planted 5 gal for about a month. water change 20% each week. After that, they'll want a 10 gal.

- how long do they take to mature enough to need a larger tank and how big should a grow out tank be? ( and how many in said tank) 

You can get away with keeping Guppies in a 10 gal. colony setup. Eventually, it may get over-crowded. I love a 20 gal long aquarium for a colony arrangement. 

- can I use a tub? Or polystyrene box? ( I have a few poly boxes already)

Yes, this can work. As long as you use seasoned sponge filters and tank water to start things out, this is fine. Guppies graze on algae all day long, so a planted set up is always preferable. 

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One option is to get a hang-in breeder net to put fry into for growing out. Here is a Guppy breeding project video where  my son used a hang-in net, then moved fry to a divided 10-gal. If you're savvy with sponge filters, you can do a lot...

Now, I like to take guppies outside to mini ponds for 3-4 months over the summer. They eat larvae outside, so I don't feed them at all. Then, I bring them in at the end of the season...

Kept Outside:

Moved Inside:

I have worked on a few arrangements with Guppies in over the last few years. Presently, I am dedicating 4x aquariums to them -- working with just two lines. One line is this one in the above video, I keep in a 55 gal. -- I call them "Precious Metals" because the bodies are a sort of forge-molten mix of gold+silver+bronze. Here is a photo...

I am also working on a strain I'm calling "Sapphire Dragons" for next year. They're kept in a rack with  20 gal long, and two 10 gal tanks...

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by Fish Folk

[Guppysnail]

On 10/19/2022 at 6:04 AM, Damo.Lo said:

how many is to many fry in a 5g?

I have kept guppy fry in everything from a 2.5g to a 29g. 
 

To many is water parameters do not stay pristine. 
 

My observations is size of tank dictates how fast my guppy’s grow and color. The 2.5 took forever even for a few fry.

A 5 they grew and colored a better than a 2.5 but once several batches were mixed the youngest grew crazy slow and a few did not thrive. 
 

Anything over 20 (20/29)they grew at the same pace in both but much quicker. 10 is good and growth was only slowed marginally compared to over 20. 
 

Hope that helps. It’s just my personal experience 

[Damo.Lo]

@Fish Folk thank you for the amazing reply I will read watch and watch again and come back with a million questions haha I’m excited now 

@Guppysnail thank you, I will keep that in mind. Did they all eventually get to full size or did it actually stunt there mature growth? 

[Guppysnail]

On 10/20/2022 at 4:43 AM, Damo.Lo said:

Did they all eventually get to full size or did it actually stunt there mature growth? 

Yes and ? Yes they all achieved a sellable size. The only ones I kept were ones raised in a 20 and placed in a 29. Those grew to my girls are just under 3 inches. The others I adopted out so I do not know their adult size.