Fruits aren’t commonly found in the tropical habitats where guppies originally live. This means that your guppies aren’t familiar with seeing or eating fruits. So, while your pet fish won’t object to having grapes, apples, or bananas, it’s not recommended that you give them a lot of fresh fruits.
Keeping that in mind, it’s natural to ask questions such as, what fruits can guppies eat? Should they or should they not continue to have fruits? And how can you properly serve fresh fruits to your guppies? The answers to these questions can be found in this post, so stick around.
What Fruits Can Guppies Eat?
Guppies belong to the omnivore family. This means that they require both plant and meat-based proteins in their diets. In their original habitat, guppies have access to a lot of live protein. That’s why it’s important to replicate these needs so they can grow healthy and big in the fish tank.
Fruits, on the other hand, aren’t a natural part of your guppies’ wild diet. It’s quite rare to find fruits in the tropical forests of south and northeast America—unless they’ve fallen into the water by accident!
Having said that, guppies have big appetites and enjoy eating almost everything. Despite their small stomachs and tiny mouths, they won’t pass up the opportunity to have anything colorful. So, they definitely won’t say no to trying out fresh fruits.
Any of the following would be a great option to give your pet fish:
- Bananas
- Apples
- Grapes
- Papaya
- Mangoes
- Pears
- Watermelon
- Plantains
How to Feed Fruits to Guppies
When introducing new food to your guppies, not only do you need to be careful, but you should be on constant alert too.
They’re small animals with tiny mouths and huge appetites, all of which are factors you need to consider beforehand.
That said, here’s what to keep in mind when giving fruits to your guppies:
- The fruit should always be fresh and not ever canned
- Remove all seeds, pits, and roots
- Thoroughly wash your fruits with warm water
- Drain the fruit properly
- Make sure there’s no residue of chemical pesticide on the fruit
- Deskin the fruit if it’s appropriate to do so
- Cut the fruit into small bite-sized pieces
- Some fruits need to be blanched or boiled first
- Sparingly add the fresh fruit to your guppies’ diet
- Don’t leave the fruit pieces in the tank’s water for long
- Monitor your guppies’ reaction to having eaten fruits
- Check for constipation symptoms or discoloration that may happen
Why Should Guppies Eat Fruits?
Fresh fruits are rich in multivitamins and minerals, and feeding them to your pet guppies will be extremely beneficial. It’ll help boost their immune system and support them while they grow to be healthier and bigger.
Let’s go through how each fruit would help your pet fish.
Apples
Green, yellow, or red apples contain high amounts of vitamin C. They need to be skinned and boiled first before giving them to your guppies. They’re very sugary, so you shouldn’t give them to your fish frequently.
Bananas
Bananas are great immune boosters since they have many vitamins and minerals. Bananas contain vitamins C and B6 along with potassium and magnesium. Add them to your guppies’ diet now and then.
Grapes
Similar to apples, grapes contain high levels of fructose and should be sparingly given to your guppies. They also shouldn’t be left in the water for long or else bacteria might grow. Other than that, grapes contain vitamins A and B, plus calcium, iron, and magnesium.
Watermelon
Watermelons are rich in vitamins A and C which makes them a pretty beneficial fruit for your guppies’ health. Sadly, it’s a seasonal fruit and contains a lot of sugar, meaning, you can’t give it to your fish often.
What to Know Before Giving Fruit to Guppies
Although fruits may consist of healthful minerals and vitamins that your guppies need, it doesn’t mean they can’t get them from more nutritional alternatives.
Since fruits aren’t rich in proteins, they won’t contribute much to your guppies’ diet. They also contain a lot of fructose, a kind of natural sugar only found in fruits and vegetables. This is mainly the reason why these foods aren’t a popular option when it comes to fish feed.
Yet, as we mentioned above, the many vitamins and minerals found in fruits will increase the immunity of your guppies. As an added benefit, they’ll also make their fins more colorful and help them grow faster.
Now, just because it’s not highly recommended to give your fish fruits doesn’t necessarily mean there’s not a proper way to go about doing it. Make sure to keep the following tips in mind before giving fruit to your pet guppies.
Stick to Small Quantities
Everything is good when it’s consumed in controlled amounts. That’s why you should keep an eye on how much fruit you give your guppies and how frequently you do so. Swap out the kind of fruit you give them often and stick to an every-other-week schedule.
Frequently Remove Uneaten Fruit Pieces
Because fruits have too much fructose in them, they go bad very quickly, especially if they’re soaked in tank water.
To stop the water from going rancid, remove uneaten fruit pieces after one or two hours. Not just that, but sugar-filled water will make undesired bacteria bloom quicker in your tank.
Conclusion
What fruits can guppies eat? Your colorful pet fish will enjoy having small bites of bananas, grapes, apples, mangoes, pears, papaya, watermelon, and other fresh fruits. You’ll need to keep in mind how to properly wash and serve them up beforehand, though.
That said, consider also that fruits should be mixed in with your guppies’ diet, but you shouldn’t regularly give your fish fruit. There are a few downsides to doing this. On the bright side, however, fruits along with vegetables are good alternatives for fish food.
Keep your fish healthy and happy!