fantail guppies

Question
I am new to the fish hobby. I have set up a 10 gallon aquarium and have only 2 guppies at this time. I'm planning to add more in the near future. I am wondering how often I should feed the fish. I have flake tropical fish food. Thanks for you input.

Answer
Hi Wilma,

Did you nitrogen cycle the tank before adding the two guppies that you have?  If you did not they will likely get sick and die from the cycling process.  It's much recommended to do a fishless cycle to the new tank (something all new set ups biologically go through) before adding fish because most fish won't make it through this process.  Also, This is when the beneficial bacteria accumulates to break down the waste that the fish produce from ammonia to nitrite and finally to nitrates.  In a cycling tank there isn't enough bacteria to break down the waste and the ammonia and nitrite levels rise in the tank, and fast.  These are extrememly toxic to fish and will kill them.  Ammonia and nitrites should always be flat 0.  Nitrates should be 5-20 ppm.  I would test your tank asap for all three of these with a liquid drop test kit (do not use strips, they are horribly inaccurate).  The cycling process normally takes 8-12 weeks but can be longer with fish present because the steps you take to save them will prolong the process.

You first need to test the tank to see what your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are.  If you have any ammonia or nitrite present you need to do 25% water changes every other day and double dose the Seachem's Prime (a water conditioner and ammonia/nitrite detoxifier) in the new water until you have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite.  I would lower the temp to 75 F since ammonia isn't as harmful to the fish at lower temps.  Feed every other day to preserve water quality.  Once completely cycled you can get 6-8 guppies in your tank.

You should only feed 2 mouthfuls daily to fish in a fully cycled tank.  Overfeeding causes a multitude of problems.  Also, feed a variety of foods: cucumber slices, spinach leaves, shelled peas, high quality flake and pellet and bloodworms.

If you have any other questions please let me know.

Good luck : ) April M.