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I'm thinking about getting a trio of guppys and am planning on feeding most of the fry to my other fish to cull them. I know my betta boys really would enjoy the snack. Question is, how many would be safe to give them a week. 1, 2 more?

Steph

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I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
~ Mae West

bettas aren't really carnivorous or predatory... I really wouldn't suggest doing that... If you must do it, I wouldn't do more than 1 a week.

actually, Bettas ARE carnivorous and predatory. if you can bring yourself up to feeding your bettas some guppy fry, than by all means, go for it.

and i wouldn't feed them anymore than 2 or 3 guppy fry a week. a betta flake food or pellet food should still be a main staple.

Bettas are not predatory to guppys. I have kept MANY bettas with guppy fry and never lost one to the betta. The only thing that would really classify them as carnivorous is the insects they eat...

Last edited by Daniel at 18-Jan-2005 11:08

if u want ur betta boyz to have a treat, feed them blood worms and have pellets/ flakes for main diet. but for the guppies,i would see how they react to one guppy before getting too many. i m sure you wouldnt want to raise some gups u bought as food.

it would definately be just as a treat once a week or so, they get Hikari pellets as a staple, blood worms on occasion, peas, in the spring black flies when they are out and mosquitos when I can catch them. We don't treat for bugs around here so I know there aren't any chemicals on them. Thanks.

Steph

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I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
~ Mae West

ah, my bettas actively hunt down fry she devil is a born baby killer i seen her ram the fry grass to startle them out then she runs around nabbing them one by one, sometimes they even come to her, her fav is platty fry, all she has to do is hang around fat females for a few weeks, then her patence is payed off as she gets them as soon as they come out, i catch most of em before she does though, thats why i would be worried leaving her and her mate wit hthe fry, there wouldent be any left! but why not just leave a betta in there for a few days when u notice fry, then remove, then if u see any more put another in for a go, it makes them much happier to actually hunt than to have food dropped in front of them, and their mouths are big, so they can eat 2 week old fry depending on the temp of the tank, dont use them as a staple, they can be fattening and they arnt all that nutritus, just like us, we cant survive off sweets even if we think we can

I'm with Dan on this one. Most Betta's will not eat fry. They are indeed carnivorous, but they mostly eat bugs in the wild. AND thanks to us their tales that we have bred them to have, makes them slow. Meaning that most fry would be able to escape the hungry jaws. lol

We use an Oscar for cull clean up. No fuss no muss!

Steph, is this not the perfect excuse to get that crayfish you always wanted?

i've always found adult guppies to be very proficient guppy fry eaters

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Calla is right, we breed guppies also. Mom will most def eat her young...

i have a state of mind that i cant feed live fish to anyother so i would feed them live guppies, but it could work.

Did you just contradict yourself in a one sentence reply?