Guppies are freshwater fish and require clean water to thrive. Therefore, providing good water quality is necessary for their proper growth and development.
Filter helps clean the water and prevent the spike of harmful toxins, but can we keep guppy fry without a filter? Do guppy fry need a filter? Let us find out.
Guppy fry needs a filter as they require clean water for their growth. A water filter helps keep the water clean and prevents ammonia and nitrite. However, if you are not adding a water filter, ensure regular water changes and add lots of live aquatic plants to keep the water clean.
We will discuss whether guppy fry needs a filter and how we can keep guppy fry without a filter in this article. So, let us get into it.
Contents
Do baby guppies need a filter?
Guppy fry requires clean water conditions for their living and growth.
Adding a good filtration system to your guppy fry tank is the primary way of keeping the water clean.
So, guppy fry needs a filter to live comfortably.
Contaminated water can cause bacterial and fungal infections.
Guppy fry is more sensitive and prone to such bacterias.
So, the filter is also needed to prevent them from such issues which can affect their health.
However, guppy fry doesn’t produce as much waste as adult guppies, so you can consider adding a small filter depending on the size of your guppy fry tank.
Also read: Do Guppies Need Filter?
Can guppy fry survive without a filter?
Guppy fry can survive without a filter.
However, we are talking about survivability and not living comfortably.
Also, your guppy fry will not survive long without a filter.
Tank without a filter will get polluted in a very regular manner.
A polluted tank will result in excess growth of algae, bacteria, and parasites.
Polluted water will lack oxygen, making your guppy fry suffer from breathing.
The possibility of an ammonia spike will get increased in contaminated water.
All such issues will make your guppy fish come into critical condition, and even they can pass away.
Adding a filter is necessary to keep the water clean and prevent from such harmful chemicals like ammonia and nitrite.
Also read: Do Guppy Fry Need A Heater?
Why is it necessary to add a filter to our guppy fry tank?
Adding a filter to your guppy fry tank will keep the water clean and away from harmful toxins.
A filter does the work of extracting out all the debris and waste from your guppy’s aquarium.
It helps to prevent cloudy water conditions by keeping the water clean.
Contaminated water results can result in the growth of algae and bacteria in your guppy fry aquarium, affecting their health.
Adding a filter will make sure to prevent your guppy fry aquarium water from getting polluted.
Poor water quality will lack of oxygen, and you must know that beneficial bacteria present in our aquarium require oxygen to break down harmful chemicals like ammonia and nitrite.
In the absence of oxygen, beneficial bacteria will not be able to break down such chemicals, and there can be ammonia poisoning in your guppy fry tank.
Also, excess waste in your guppy fry tank will result in inadequate water pH level, resulting in an ammonia spike, affecting your guppy’s fins and gills.
Adding a filter will help you prevent these issues by keeping the water clean from debris and other harmful chemicals.
How can we keep guppy fry without a filter?
Ensure these things when you are going to keep guppy fry without a filter:
- Perform a 50% water change weekly or when needed.
- Add lots of live aquatic plants.
- Use a special substrate.
- Add an air pump to your guppies tank.
- Perform regular maintenance.
Perform a weekly water change
When we have an added filter to our aquarium, there is a requirement of at least 30% water change weekly.
Without a filter, it is possible that you have to change the water alternatively or 50% weekly as needed.
Water will get polluted faster than usual without a filter.
So, ensure having a regular water change when needed.
However, we recommend adding a filter to your guppy fry tank if the water is getting polluted every other day.
Also read: My Guppy Died After A Water Change.
Add lots of live aquatic plants.
Adding live aquatic plants will help you keep the water clean.
Live aquatic plants will also make sure enough oxygen is present in the water for your guppy fry to live comfortably.
These are some best plants you can add to your guppy fry tank:
- Java fern
- Java moss
- Duckweed
- Anacharis
- Water sprite
- Flame moss
Also read: Do Guppies Eat Plants?
Use special substrate
Picking up the right substrate for your guppy fry tank is essential when not adding a water filter.
Your guppy fry tank with live aquatic plants will require a substrate that provides nutrients for your plants to grow.
Adding rock or sand will not provide such nutrients to your plants.
I use ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia in my guppy fry tank and suggest using this substrate as it is the best you can get.Â
You can buy it on amazon:Â ADA Aquasoil Amozonia.
Add an air pump
Usually, a filter does the work of creating aeration on the surface of an aquarium.
Aeration helps provide more oxygen to the water so that guppy fry can live comfortably.
In the absence of a water filter, an air pump will be helpful for enough oxygen for your guppy fry.
So, consider adding an air pump to your guppy fry aquarium.
Also read: Why Is My Guppy Gasping For Air?
Perform regular maintenance
Only performing a water change will not do the work; regular maintenance is necessary.
Regularly clean the aquarium’s glass and siphon out the debris from the substrate regularly.
Performing regular maintenance is necessary to keep the water clean without adding a filter.
What is the best filter for a guppy fry tank?
When adding a filter to your guppies tank, you can go for a small water filter according to the size of the aquarium.
If you have a 10-gallon tank for your guppy fry, you can add a filter used in a 5-gallon tank.
Guppy fry will not produce much waste, and a small filter will do great for them.
These are the best filter types for your guppy fry tank:
- Sponge filter
- Box filter
Sponge filter
A sponge filter is the best option you can go for when planning to add a filter to your guppy fry tank.
The sponge filter is easy to install, and also you can easily clean it up.
Consider adding an air pump to the sponge filter to ensure agitation.
Sponge filters will not suck small fish like guppy fry, making them the best option to add to your guppy fry aquarium.
We recommend purchasing Hygger Aquarium Double Sponge Filter for your guppy fry tank as it offers multi-filtration functions that will help maintain your tank’s water quality.
You can purchase it from Amazon HYGGER AQUARIUM DOUBLE SPONGE FILTER.
Box filter
You can also consider adding a box filter to your guppy fry tank as it is cheap and easy to maintain.
You can add any biofilter media to the box filter.
We advise you to buy an Aquanique Universal Pump Filter Box.
You can purchase it from Amazon: Aquanique Universal Pump Filter Box.
Conclusion:
Guppy fry needs a filter as it helps keep the water clean and prevent them from various bacteria and fungus.
Guppy will not survive long without a filter as they are very sensitive to fungal and bacterial infection, which develops in contaminated water.
If you have decided not to add a filter, perform a regular water change whenever needed, add lots of live aquatic plants, and use a special substrate.
However, we recommend adding a filter to your guppy fry tank to keep the water quality suitable for your guppy fry.