Guppies can eat the following vegetables:
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Corn
- Cucumber
- Green beans
- Kale
- Peas
- Potato
- Spinach
- Zucchini
Guppies are omnivorous fish, meaning they’ll eat just about anything that you drop in their tank, and they won’t know when to stop. So, it’s important to understand how to safely prepare the proper foods to keep your guppies healthy and happy.
Guppies can eat several other human foods if the foods are prepared correctly, which I’ll discuss in detail in this article.
What Vegetables Can Guppies Eat Safely?
Guppies can safely eat vegetables including algae, bell pepper, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, corn, cucumber, green beans, kale, peas, potato, pumpkin, lettuce, mustard greens, spirulina, spinach, and zucchini.
However, some of these vegetables can quickly contaminate a guppy aquarium. Use broccoli, cabbage, and the fleshy parts of cucumbers and tomatoes sparingly in your guppy food. These vegetables can go rancid in the water, ruining it quickly.
What Fruits Can Guppies Eat Safely?
Guppies can safely eat bananas, grapes, apples, and watermelon.
Guppies can get valuable nutrients from eating fresh fruit, but fruit should be limited to one to two-times per week because they are high in sugar.
This high sugar content can also cause bacteria blooms in your fish tank. Be sure to remove any uneaten fruits after a few hours.
Fruits are also not something that guppies would find in the wild, so feed them as a treat, not part of their regular diet.
Bananas will provide your guppy with plenty of potassium, magnesium, vitamin C and B-6.
Grapes will provide your guppy with plenty of calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and B-6.
Apples have plenty of vitamin C, but they’re too hard for guppies to digest raw. Make sure to blanch or boil the apples before feeing them to your guppies.
Watermelon is also rich in vitamin C and vitamin A.
Marrow Veggies
Cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin, and tomatoes belong to the marrow family of vegetables. That’s because their insides are like jelly and contain multiple seeds.
When it comes to feeding marrow veggies to your guppies, you’ll need to remove the pulp first then cut the vegetable into small pieces.
Pumpkins are the exception to this rule. They should be given to your guppies raw. You need only cut them into bite sizes before putting them in your guppies’ tank.
Leafy Green Veggies
Leafy greens include lettuce, spinach, and romaine. These are best served fresh and raw. Just make sure to wash them well before you start cutting them up into thin, small slices.
If you want to go the extra mile, you can boil the veggies for a minute or so then feed them to your guppies.
Seeded Veggies
Vegetables that are made up of single seeds are known as seeded veggies. They include peas, corn, and sweet corn.
For these vegetables, you need to let them boil for a minute or more in order to soften them up for your guppies.
Additionally, seeded veggies can be given frozen and not necessarily fresh.
Root Veggies
Root vegetables consist of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Similar to seeded veggies, carrots should be boiled and softened before being thrown into the fish tank.
On the other hand, you should dice potatoes and sweet potatoes into tiny bites. You’ll need to cut grooves into them too so that your guppies can easily eat them.
Nightshade Veggies
Bell peppers belong to the nightshade family. You should wash them off, de-seed them then rewash them again. Cut them into small sizes, boil them for one minute to make them softer. Wait for them to cool down before you feed them to your pet guppies.
What to Remember Before Giving Vegetables to Guppies
Most fish owners know about vegetable pellets or flake foods that’ll provide swimming pets with the plant-based proteins they need. These processed foods, however, aren’t good for your guppies to consume.
That’s why you should add enough fresh vegetables to your fish diet. That’s how you can keep them healthy and alive for longer.
There are many things you need to remember, though, when giving veggies to your guppies and these include:
Avoid Rancid Smelling Vegetables
You should avoid giving your guppies veggies such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and onions at all costs. These vegetables will foul your tank and contaminate the water. That’ll ruin your pet’s home and they might end up consuming rotten veggie pieces.
Frequently Remove Uneaten Vegetables
Fresh vegetables shouldn’t be left in the guppy tank for more than three to four hours. After which, the veggies lose their taste and your guppies no longer want to eat them. The uneaten pieces will start to rancid your water tank too.
Harder vegetables, such as carrots, can stay in the water for up to 12 hours before you should remove them.
Consider a Vegetable Clip
Having a vegetable clip hanging on the side of your guppy tank will keep your veggies in place. You’ll be able to add and remove the freshly cut vegetable bites whenever you want to.
It’s an accessory that keeps a guppy’s tiny mouth in mind. Placing your veggies into a clip makes it easier for your fish to nibble on the chopped-up vegetables.
What Human Foods Can Guppies Eat?
While guppies will eat just about anything you feed them, there are only a few varieties of human foods that they should consume.
As noted above, guppies can safely consume certain fruits and vegetables, algae and spirulina, and some human foods such as egg yolks, beef heart, and freshwater brine shrimp.
Protein sources such as egg yolk and beef yolk are also high in fat, so these food sources should be fed to your guppies sparingly, or only fed to the guppy fry to help them grow. It will also quickly contaminate your water, so remove any food that your guppies don’t eat.
What Can I Feed My Guppy When I Am Out of Food?
If you are out of flaked food, prepare a homemade food of protein and vegetables to satisfy your guppies’ nutritional needs. When preparing food for guppies, variety is key to make sure they’re getting what they need to stay healthy and strong.
If you’re attempting to feed your guppy fry, they’ll need a meal that’s higher in protein and fat. Consider adding egg yolk or brine shrimp. Adults should be fed protein a couple of times per week.
Guppies won’t be picky about the fruits and vegetables that you feed them, so a quick rummage through your refrigerator should give you some guppy food options. Consider blending up a mix of approved vegetables and fruit to create a paste to feed your fish.
Since you won’t be using portions instructed by packaged fish flakes, estimate how much of your homemade food your guppy needs by slowing adding food to the tank for 15 minutes. Allow your guppy to eat as much as it can in that time, then stop. You don’t want to overfeed your fish, which could cloud up the tank and cause other health problems.
How Do I Make Homemade Guppy Food?
To make homemade guppy food:
- Wash all the vegetables and fruit well with water so you don’t introduce any chemicals into your aquarium.
- If the fruit or vegetable has seeds or soft interior (think bell peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers), remove these parts or you’ll risk your aquarium water going cloudy or rancid.
- If the vegetables and fruit are soft, cut them into small pieces that will easily fit in your guppies’ mouths.
- If your vegetables or fruits are hard, such as carrots, corn, and peas, boil them first for a few minutes to soften them before cutting them up into bite-sized pieces.
Alternatively, you can blend all fruits, vegetables, and proteins into a soft paste. Then, freeze or dry this paste so it is easier to break off into bite-sized amounts for your fish.
With any method, it may be wise to invest in a vegetable clip if you plan to regularly feed your guppies homemade food.
A vegetable clip will attach to the inside of your aquarium to house the fresh food, so it doesn’t spread to the rest of the tank and contaminate the water. It also makes it simpler to remove any excess food that your guppy doesn’t consume.
What Foods Can Guppies Not Eat?
Guppies will eat anything you give them, so take caution to not feed them something that could make them sick or offers no nutritional value.
Don’t feed your guppies bread or breadcrumbs because it usually has ingredients that will contaminate your aquarium water, such as artificial flavors or colorings, corn syrup, sugar, and yeast.
Do not feed your guppies rice, as it doesn’t provide them with any of the important vitamins and minerals it needs to stay healthy.
Avoid meats such as chicken and beef, which can quickly pollute your tank and cause the water to go rancid.
And lastly, while guppies eat bugs in the wild, it’s best to avoid feeding your guppies insects from around your house. Often, these insects are carrying bacteria and disease, which is bad for your guppy and for its water.
In Conclusion
Guppies can safely eat certain fruits, vegetables, and proteins that can supplement their flaked food diet with important nutrients. But take caution as to what you feed them and how you prepare it, as it will impact their health and the health of your aquarium.