Feeding Manny live guppies

[JodiLeigh]

I have wanted to get a little tank of tiny fish for my room for a while now and then I thought well why don't I get some fish that Manny can eat! So now I'm thinking of buying a pair of breeding guppies so I have a nice little supply of guppies to feed Manny. I will also put some in my big fish tank downstairs and give some to my little nephew which he will love!
Anyone have any advice on this?

I have been reading about it and it seems pretty simple the only thing I have to watch out for is TOO MANY little guppies as they breed excessively apparently.

But the thing I wanted to ask is if anybody knows if I supplement the guppies water with this liquid calcium+D3 stuff will the guppies then hold an amount of this goodness and pass it on to Manny when he eats them?
It kinda makes sense that they would but I don't know about the metabolism of a guppy so don't know if enough calcium would be kept in the body to make it worth while.

I am supplementing Manny's water anyways but just thought it would help especially if he ends up eating more fish then pinkies and even pinkies as their bones aren't fully formed don't have a massive amount of calcium in them anyways.

[guidofatherof5]

I wouldn't count on the modified guppies to do the job.
In theory it sounds good but I don't think a guppy will be able to carry the amount of calcium needed by a garter.

[chris-uk]

Supplementing the guppies won't avoid the need to supplement when you feed them to the snake. I agree with Steve, the guppies just won't have enough calcium stored in their bodies, they'll only take in as much as they need so supplementing their water will be pointless, and may actually alter the water chemistry in a bad way.
Good luck breeding the guppies.

[JodiLeigh]

I wouldn't count on the modified guppies to do the job.
In theory it sounds good but I don't think a guppy will be able to carry the amount of calcium needed by a garter.

You wouldn't count on modified guppies to do the job of holding enough calcium or for feeding in general?

I would still like to breed them just wanted to know if the idea of supplementing the fish would be worth buying extra liquid calcium.

I would have carried on putting it in his water dish but just thought if it was safe and it worked then a little extra calcium would be something to look into.

But never mind, it will still be nice to have a little tank in my room.

Oh and is there anything I can do to reduce the risk of parasites in the guppies?

[guidofatherof5]

Good for feeding in general.

[JodiLeigh]

Supplementing the guppies won't avoid the need to supplement when you feed them to the snake. I agree with Steve, the guppies just won't have enough calcium stored in their bodies, they'll only take in as much as they need so supplementing their water will be pointless, and may actually alter the water chemistry in a bad way.
Good luck breeding the guppies.

My idea was just to help calcium intake not to replace having to supplement his water or food, just wanted to see if it was worth buying extra but as I suspected it obviously would be pointless.

Thank you =] I like having fish and never bred them so this should be interesting.

[JodiLeigh]

Good for feeding in general.

Oh good!

Do you feed guppies or any other live fish to yours?
And how do you feed the fish to your snakes? (if you do)

Also what about parasites? What are the risks and how can I reduce them?

[EasternGirl]

I don't believe that he feeds live fish to his snakes. I don't either...I think usually, when people feed live fish...they put them into the snake's water dish and then the snake eats them. I don't know anything about live fish...so sorry...can't advise you on the parasites.

[guidofatherof5]

I do feed live fish very rarely.

[JodiLeigh]

I do feed live fish very rarely.

And how do you feed them to your snakes?