Wasn't sure where to put this post, but where do people get feeder guppies for their turtles? Most chain pet stores only have the rather fancy more expensive kind.
Thanks for help in advance.
Thanks for help in advance.
Feeder Guppies
- Thread starter OkAdiza
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Most pet stores sell either ROSEY RED or GOLDFISH feeders or both.
They are bred for food and I can't count on my fingers how many times they've killed or made very sick the fish or animals that I fed them to.
I personally recommend against using feeders. But if you have an extra aquarium, you can grow your own generations of feeder live bearing fish. Like guppies and ghost shrimp and at least you can be sure that they're more or less well fed and healthy.
If you get maybe 3 or 4 not very fancy female guppies and one male. In about 3 generations you'll barely know they were once "fancy" and the tank will be full of fish.
There's also another option that I use: Some of the high end fish stores...The ones that sell large Cichlids, etc for hundreds or thousands of dollars, they always have their own feeders and they're always healthy.
The trick is NOT getting any at the chain pet stores
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I highly second ZEROPILOT advice.
This might not be much help but there was a pet store in Fredericksburg several years ago that had feeder guppies kept in untreated water. I got guppies from them for hatching water turtles. I know where it is but don't know their address. I believe it's name started with the letter M. Not even sure it's still there. It was a nice old fashioned pet store right out of the 60s.
Thank you @ZEROPILOT. I will be looking for some to breed. Also thank you @Turtulas-Len. Going to see if I can locate that Fredericksburg shop, you never know. Appreciate the help.
Hi I had guppies and if conditions are good and warm they breed but they also eat the fry! Ensure lots of bridges / small tunnels and fake plant cover to ensure your breeding idea is a success and you get ROI
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YepHi I had guppies and if conditions are good and warm they breed but they also eat the fry! Ensure lots of bridges / small tunnels and fake plant cover to ensure your breeding idea is a success and you get ROI
Lots of plants and even some of that plastic "baby grass" helps babies survive
Maybe Maru Pets ?
Maru Pets Contact Information
Address: 10705 Courthouse Rd
Fredericksburg, VA 22407
Phone Number: 5408912704
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That's it, Thanks
Thanks! I did read that they will eat the fry. Did you ever remove the female breeders till fry got more mature?Hi I had guppies and if conditions are good and warm they breed but they also eat the fry! Ensure lots of bridges / small tunnels and fake plant cover to ensure your breeding idea is a success and you get ROI
- Joined
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- 29,131
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If you have the patience of a Saint, Craigslist can be handy sometimes
Haha! I am actually always on there looking for deals.
Olivertort1
Member
I used to breed them and popped Mom in a floating container they sell with an inverted v trap. The babies sink to the bottom of this then I removed Mom and gave the babies a few weeks until they could fend for themselves. It was pretty cheap, the floating baby trap.
Hi I did reverse, as I had many females. I netted the babies and had a floating mini tank that sat at the top of tank securing the fry and the large fish swam around it looking at the fry inside. Sometimes if I had missed them I just left them as I had good cover and got free tank restocking.
Thanks everyone! I really appreciate all the help! @Ink found someone locally who was breeding them, had too many, and giving them away for free. I was able to get some today. The lady who gave me some identified two pregnant females, and I also took a few little ones.
nootnootbu
Active Member
I recommend not feeding live. I give mine Amzy River Fish which are dried and come in a convenient little jar you can keep around for regular treats. For a main diet, you should feed some pelleted turtle food and give the fish a couple times a week as a treat. Dried river shrimp are also a good treat. And there is a "insect mix" you can buy that is a mix of dried shrimp, meal worms, and crickets. My turtles all LOVE those. For my bigger snapping turtle I give him dried wild caught baltic sprat, which is actually a dog treat, but he adores them!
Thanks for the info. Our turtle likes dried shrimp too! We do that occasionally. Our main diet consists of Zoo Med Aquatic turtle food, Mazuri aquatic diet, frozen blood worms, some times meal worms. We’ve done Reptimin too. He will also eat plants too. Can’t keep live ones in there for long, lol. Guppies are for some more variety and allowing him to be active.
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