Guppy Fry

Question
Hey There Nicole =]

i have a thirty Gallon with 5 glowlights 2 neons, 4 were eaten by my gourami which i have given away, 1 black neon,, his buddies were also eaten =] and 4 cories.  My LFS hasnt had neons in for a while they are still waiting so i cant add no more tetras at the moment.

In my 10 gallon i had four guppies and a dwarf gourami.  I decided to move my guppies into the thirty.  I then noticed little guppies swimming round.  I caught them, there was only three.  My thirty gallon is well planted compared to the 10 so i put the fry in there away from the gourami.

Will the fry be safe from the tetras and guppies if they are hidden?

They are 2cm long :) They must have been survivng on bits of flake is this okay for them?

Answer
Hi Jack,

The only way to be sure the fry won't get eaten, is if they are bigger than the mouths of the fish that are in the tank. Otherwise, there are only things you can do to improve your odds - such as the addition of extra plant cover and caves. Feeding a varied diet will help them grow...the faster they grow, the faster they will be able to take care of themselves! Or be traded in, whatever your plan.

Keeping guppies in a well planted tank is one way of helping to ensure that they escape predation, provided you have bushy plants - floating hornwort or Indian fern, for example, is ideal, as is cabomba.

You could try making some caves out of cobbles. Just pile up a whole bunch so there are crevices, if you have any open areas. Floating plants work really well. Water sprite is one plant you can use as a floating or a rooted plant, and floating plants with roots help too.

I just posted something about food for fry:
http://bb.wetwebmedia.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=967
With fry this size, I would definitely emphasize the nori (like I mentioned, a plastic clothespin or magnetic "chip clip" works well) and small frozen foods such as daphnia or brine shrimp.

The crushed flakes will work, but they grow faster and are more vigorous overall if you vary their diet. Make sure to change lots of water! At least do a big weekly water change of 50% or so.

I hope that helps, take care. Have a nice weekend!
Nicole