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How low of a temp can guppies tolerate?

Do females generally eat their fry?

I have a 6g that will be empty after its use as a QT for some new Endler's. It's unheated; nightime temp gets down to 72°

I have guppies in another tank, I currently don't get fry because of the other fish doing population control. So I'm thinking I'd like to move one or more of the pregnant females to the 6g if that would work, to at least raise a few fry.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

The profile on this site says 64 degrees Fahrenheit. I've had guppies thrive at that end, so yours would be fine, especially if the fluctuations are gradual.

Guppies will eat their fry.

Well, that's good news about the water temp.

Hmmmm...I may give it try anyhow. I have a bunch of floating plants in the small tank, and maybe their chance of survival would be better away from the angel, paradisefish, loaches, etc

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

You have that right about the loaches, they love fry..
Had a yo-yo before and he cleaned house.

The Amazon Nut...

Guppy's mate best, females give birth at and babies survive best at around 78-80 degrees. Your female guppies will definitely eat the fry, (witnessed it this afternoon) so its best to have lots of hiding places e.g shrub plants or floating plants and remove the fry from the main tank ASAP, ie breeding trap or net. But the adults should survive at any temp as long as its stable.



Last edited by GuppyGal at 14-Oct-2004 03:29

With guppies eating their fry, it seems if you want the fry to survive they'll get eaten, but if you're already up to your ears with fry, they'll thrive and the parents will ignore them. Go figure. Hey, at least you can always sell any unwanted babies to your local aquarium society.

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They shade the glow of it with their mossy-misty costumes,
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So as not to mislead with their own, ordinary faces.

My Guppies do NOT eat their fry. I think if you keep only guppies in a tank, and they are WELL FED they will not eat their own fry. When I had just guppies in my 10g tank, It was nothing uncommon to look in and find fry in groups swimming happily at the top with the male guppies. Not once have I ever seen a guppy eat fry.
I truly believe that if people would keep their guppies well fed enough, then why would they pick the bony little tidbits when they could have juicy tasty bloodworms? No bones to digest there.
Platys are different though, I have seen them actively hunting fry.
Also, Female Guppys have a hormone that kicks in when they go into labor, and shuts off the desire to eat. A female guppy will definetly not eat her fry until at least 24-48 hours after birth. And like I said, In my experience, Guppys dont eat their own young.


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I really have ot disagree with Sneaky Pete my guppies are very well fed. they eat pellets, shrimp and blood worms. And 2 days ago i witnessed my female giving birth then actively chase her newborn and to my dismay gobble him down in one bite. Just please be careful because I think 9 x out of 10 your fry will get eaten

Im not saying its a perfect world. Just in my 10 months of keeping guppies, I have not witnessed any guppies eating their fry. And I find too that often a lot of people say their fish are "well fed" and that means once a day to them. I feed my guppies around 4-5 times a day, just as much as they can eat. I dont feed my other fish this much, but I reckon with how much "breeding" guppies do, they burn tons of calories, and need the extra food.
Pregnant women eat more for their babies, why shouldnt guppies?


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After giving birth the female is VERY hungry and will not hesitate to eat the babies. For almost any fish that's omnivorous, fish fry are fair game.

Livebearers are especially known to eat their young if they can, while cichlids are more the parenting type.

I've also seen males badger the female while she's birthing and eat the fry as they come out.

The Amazon Nut...

Moving targets are very very tempting for fish, and fry will definitely fit into mouths, hungry or not.

Just because you don't witness anyone eating fry does not mean it doesn't happen. I've certainly seen it with my guppies numerous times. Even juvenile guppies will go for fry, but the fry may not fit in the juvenile's mouth.

If you want to save as many as you can, a fry trap is the way to go. If you don't particularly want fry, just leave them with everyone else. About the only thing that won't eat fry are bristlenoses and the like.

Having said that, I have recently spotted a single fry who was born in my loach tank (which recently housed several guppies on a temporary basis) and has survived to grow to be a juvenile! Pretty poor odds, for an entire batch, however!