Guppy fry as live food/fry control

ConorM

So I know that dwarf gouramis should eat fry. I plan on getting guppies and moving my gourami to a 35 gallon hex. I don't want to breed guppies, but you know how they are. Is it healthy for my Dwarf Gourami to eat the fry? Is it GOOD for them?

Geomancer

As far as I know there is nothing harmful.

Though nature being nature, you may see your Guppy population increase as a lucky survivor gets through ;)

I had a Dinosaur Eel, and my wife worked at Petsmart during college. She would bring home fry all the time for him hehe.

thekoimaiden

As far as the health of your Dwarf Gourami, it shouldn't hurt him. I can imagine they would eat fry in the wild. But the biggest problem I see is the water parameters. Dwarf Gourami like soft, acidic water and livebearers do best in hard, alkaline water. To keep the two of them together you would be keeping each species on the outskirts of their comfort zone. This will put them under stress and cause problems. If you want Guppy fry control, leave the tank rather bare. The adults will eat the fry.

ConorM

The pH is neutral, so both should be fine.

zof

Should and will are two different things, I've seen people try this same thing for fry control only to find the larger fry control fish co-habituate and even is some rare cases guard the fry they were put in to eat (not sure how the Dwarf Gourami stacks up). It all depends on the temperament of the individual fish and I'm sure missing a feeding or two while fry are in the tank will help to spur the behavior you are looking for.

ConorM

Are there any other ways to avoid breeding?

zof

Get all male guppys they are more colorful anyways, even if you get female guppys at the store there is a chance they are already pregnant when you bring them home.

Edit take a look at the profiles at the top of the forum if you need help telling the difference