What do I feed my guppies? When do I need to change the water in my guppy tank? How big do guppies get? It’s great that you are considering getting your guppy fish! Guppies are fantastic fish and make a great addition to any aquarium. Guppies are active, colorful, and full of personality.
Let’s start with the basics to answer some of your common questions about keeping guppies.
Guppies are tiny fish that make ideal pets for beginners because they are straightforward to take care of and relatively inexpensive compared to other aquarium fish like goldfish and bettas.
However, guppies can grow up to 2 inches in length, so it’s essential to understand the size they can reach before deciding whether or not you want them as pets.
Below are the average adult sizes of both wild guppies and domesticated guppies.
How Big Do Guppies Get?
Ever wondered how big guppies get? And how long does it take for them to reach their maximum size? I have sorted everything out for you, so let me explain it. If you have a male guppy, the most it can grow is up to 1.5 inches.
On the contrary, if your guppy is a female, it can grow up to 2 inches long. Female guppies grow more than compared to males do. But not all guppies can reach this age as they require care, good genes, and nutrition to grow healthily.
As the optimal height of female and male guppies differs, it is undeniable that their weights differ too. A male guppy weighs around 0.7 grams, whereas a female guppy is slightly heavier and can weigh around 0.13 grams.
It does not make them really long to reach their maximum size, as they only live for two years at max. They quickly reach their maximum growth stage because of this reason.
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Reasons Why Your Guppies Are Not Growing
Are you searching how big can guppies get on the internet all the time and realize that your guppies are stuck at one size? It is possible, as many factors can affect a pet guppy’s growth. Keep on reading to know what they are.
#1- Lack Of Nutrition
How big does a guppy get without food? It will only die. Guppies love to feast on fat and carbohydrates. Are you sure you are providing your fish with enough of them? Guppies need a lot of food to carry out their daily activities.
You should be feeding them fish food that would suffice their nutritional needs twice a day. A lack of nutritious food will only pause their growth. Besides fish, food like brine shrimp, egg yolk, and beef heart can drastically boost their growth because of all the nourishment they contain.
#2- Genetics
Genetics plays a vital role in every living thing’s life. Good genes are the key to a good life. If your guppies were born with poor genes, no matter what you feed them, they wouldn’t grow to their fullest.
If your guppies were born with genetic issues, then there is nothing that you can do about them. The only option you will have will be to breed some more guppies. Because genetic problems are not in one’s hands.
#3- Aquarium Space
The appropriate amount of aquarium space is significant for a guppy to grow. Putting a month-old (or older) guppy in a half-gallon tank is not advised. Once it reaches thirty days, you should immediately shift it into at least a one-gallon tank.
Aquarium spaces that are too big for guppies can also hinder their growth. Yes, want to know why? Here is the logic behind it. In large spaces, it takes a lot of energy to find food in the aquarium since the guppies have to swim a lot.
Hence, it also affects a guppy’s growth as it won’t be able to find an adequate amount of food.
#4- Water Parameters
For any aquatic creature, having the correct water parameters is essential for survival. Guppies don’t require particular water parameters; they are pretty simple to keep. They can stay healthy between wide ranges of water parameters.
To keep a guppy happy and growing, ensure their water temperature stays between 22-28 °C and pH levels from 6.8-7.8.
They happily accept challenging waters, so their water hardness should be around 8-12 dGH. Ammonia can kill them, so there should be none of it in their tanks. The same goes for nitrates.
How To Breed Guppies For Size?
Guppies are beautiful pets to keep. Do you want to witness how big can guppies get from their birth till the end? You can breed some on your own. There are no hard and fast rules to breeding guppies, as they mate several times a day.
They would need just a few things to ensure the new fish growing have no gene deformities. The first thing is that they will need a tank appropriate in size. I suggest you use a tank of at least 10-gallons in size. So they get extra room for the other new fry.
Good filtration is also necessary; ensure that you don’t have uncovered filtration systems as they can kill your fish. Go for covered systems, or sponge filters, to be exact. The substrate is also considered necessary in a tank, but guppies aren’t picky.
Add whatever substrate you want to add; you can even leave the aquarium floor empty. All these things would make guppies feel at home, and you will be able to breed them in no time.
Guppy Growth Stages
I always felt like guppies stay the same in size all of their lives. Even at this age, it is hard for me to differentiate at what growth stage they are. But I sorted out things for you so you’d know how big do guppy fish get and what are their growth stages.
#1- Fry Stage
Newborn guppies are called fry, and during their fry stage, they spend all of their time hiding in the tank. They do that to save themselves, as the adult fish can eat them present in the tank.
They hide inside the water plants or other aquarium decorations; you’ll only see them coming out for food. Guppy fry is tiny and hardly measures 0.6 cm at most. They are also fragile and require a lot of care.
#2- Juvenile Stage
When guppies reach the age of 4 weeks, they are no longer in the fry stage as they enter the Juvenile stage. They’re not as weak at this age as they were in their fry stage. You can quickly determine their genders now. Their gravid spots and males can identify the females by their gonopodium.
#3- Young Adult Stage
By the 6th week, as the guppies enter their teenage age, they get sexually active. They start frequently mating at this age. If you don’t want to have more guppy Fry in your tank, the best option is that you should separate them.
By this stage, they cannot be eaten up by other fish, so that you can put them in a community tank or the main tank. Be sure that your guppies are getting proper light, nutrition, and care by your side; otherwise, they will only get weak and may die.
#4- Adult Stage
Congratulations! If your guppies have reached the age of 6 months, they are now fully grown. It is their adult stage, and now no danger prevails to them regarding other fish.
They may grow further even after this stage, but their growth will be prolonged, and you’ll hardly be able to notice it? So how big do guppies get? Wait for them to reach their adult stage. You’ll surely get your answer.
Guppies And Their Maximum Size
As I mentioned above, it takes guppies 6 months to reach their maximum size as they are full adults by this age. They can reproduce, mate, and protect themselves from other fish now. If a guppy fish was born with some extraordinary genes, it might even grow further.
But that is a rare case. How big can guppies get? It depends on their genes, but they will hardly grow further once they reach adulthood.
How To Speed Up Guppy’s Growth?
Can you also not wait to see your guppies grow to their fullest and want to boost their growth? Here’s how you can do that. Follow the points I mention here and speed up your guppy’s growth.
Lighting For Guppies
To live a healthy life, proper lighting is essential for guppies. If your tank receives appropriate sunlight, it is very beneficial for your guppies and the live plants too.
But if your tank is not receiving enough light, consider investing in artificial lights that would suit your aquarium needs. Your guppies and plants will need a minimum of 8 hours of sunlight if you want to speed up your guppies’ growth.
Guppy Tank Water Temperature
Carefully monitor your aquarium’s water temperature is between 22-28 degrees Celsius. For all aquatic creatures, the right amount of water plays a crucial role in their lifespan. If the water temperatures get too low or too high, your guppies will die instead of growing faster.
Guppies Diet & Feeding
Guppies eat a lot when they are in their fry stage. Don’t worry about overfeeding. You can feed your guppy fry even 4-8 times a day. Invest in good quality guppy food like guppy fish flakes, brine shrimp, freeze-dried daphnia, and worms.
Nutritious food will automatically increase their rate of growth. As they reach their adult stages, increase their serving sizes to adjust to their growing needs.
Ammonia, Nitrite, And Nitrates
If you want your guppies to strive healthily, you must closely check ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates in their tank water. The water level should always have a low amount of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. On the other hand, it should have a good amount of oxygen, so your guppy feels happy in its tank.
Final Verdict:
Guppy fish is fun to have. They are low maintenance, and because of their ornamental appearance, people love to keep them. If you wanted to know how big do feeder guppies get or how big do guppies get, I hope this piece of writing educated you.
Guppies grow quickly, and it does not take much to reach their adult stage. However, it would be best if you took good care of them; otherwise, their growth can stop at some stage. They can even form several deformities if their needs are neglected.
Get a good size tank, arrange a good filtration system, and add your guppy fish to it. If you feed them well, they can breed in just a brief period. Soon you will have a tank full of guppies.
You can enjoy having guppy fry a lot. Arrange a new tank for them, give them to your friends and families, or make some profit by selling them; the choice is yours. After all, now you know how big do guppies get.
Frequently Asked Questions
#1 – How many guppies should be kept together?
In an ideal situation, you can keep three guppies together in a 5-gallon tank. Just remember this formula in your mind and if you want to have more guppy fish, increase the tank size accordingly.
#2 – How long do guppies stay alive?
Generally, guppies stay alive for 1-2 years. In exceptional cases where they have good living conditions and healthy genes, they can even reach the age of 3 years.
#3 – How can I make my guppies grow faster?
If you want to make your guppies grow faster, you should ensure they have their proper diet, sunlight, suitable water parameters, and aquarium size. Also, feeding them 4-8 times a day can make them grow faster.
#4 – How big do guppies get when pregnant?
The average gestation period for guppies is around 22-26 days, and during this stage, while they are pregnant, they get big around their gravid spots. Due to their inflated size, you can identify a pregnant guppy fish.
#5 – How big do female guppies get?
Female guppies can grow bigger and weigh much heavier than male guppies. They can grow 3-6 cm in size and have rounder bodies as compared to males. They begin mainly breeding when they are 1 inch in size.
#6 – How big do male guppies get?
Male guppies grow slow and typically grow 1.5-3.5 cm at most. They weigh much lighter than female guppies, even if they are fully nourished.
It does not indicate that male guppies are weaker. It is just that the females grow extraordinarily faster and more extensive.
#7 – How big do Endler guppies get?
Surprisingly, Endler guppies are tiny and can only grow up to 1.8 inches. They are much smaller than guppies. Although the same case goes for their females, too, they might grow a little more than their males.
#8 – How big do fancy guppies get?
Fancy guppies look a lot more beautiful as compared to other guppies. They can grow bigger than ordinary guppies too. When they are fully grown, they can be 2 inches in size, and they also have much larger bodies and fins.
