5 Best Breeding Boxes For Guppies in 2023 – Reviews & Top Picks

Do you want to breed your guppies? Maybe you have a pregnant female, whether you wanted to breed or not. Either way, did you know that mothers and fathers will eat their baby fry if given the chance?

Yeah, it definitely doesn’t bode well for guppy fry survival rates. However, this is where the breeding box comes into play. Today we’re here to help you find the best breeding box for guppies (Tom’s Aquarium Nursery is our top pick) and provide some helpful information on how they work.

About Breeding Boxes & How They Work

Breeding boxes are super simple tools that you can use to isolate a pregnant mother fish to keep her safe. However, the most important aspect of these things is that they allow fry to be safe as well. Guppies and most other fish will usually eat their fry if given the chance.

Breeding boxes come with special slits and V-dividers, so once the fry are born, they fall through the slits and are kept safe from the cannibalistic parents. Some of these breeding boxes can house 2 pregnant mothers and their fry.

They can be mounted either inside or outside of the tank, depending on the model, and if it is an exterior version, will need an air or water pump for water flow requirements. Other than that, there is nothing special or super important about fish breeding boxes.

A Quick Look at Our Favorites in 2023

Rating	Image	Product	Details
Best Overall		TOM Aquarium Baby Nursery	Durable Good size Good partitions & divider	Check Price
		Lee's Two-Way Guppy Breeder	Space friendly Has a good divider Good airflow and water flow	Check Price
		Marina 3-in-1 Guppy Trap	Great divider Good ventilation Good for smaller tanks	Check Price
		Marina Hang-On Breeding Box	Doesn’t take up room inside of the tank Good size to keep pregnant fish comfy Has a good V-divider with slits in the bottom	Check Price
		Fashionclus Breeder Rearing Trap Box	Durable Easy to mount Enough room for 2 pregnant fish and fry	Check Price

The 5 Best Breeding Boxes For Guppies

Here we have what we think are the top 5 breeding boxes. Let’s take a closer look at each of them in some detail right now.

1. TOM Aquarium Baby Nursery

The TOM Aquarium Baby Nursery is relatively small, coming in at 6.3 x 3.7 x 4.6 inches, but it is more than large enough to house 1 or 2 pregnant guppies and/or their offspring. This thing is made of high-quality plastic, and as long as you don’t drop it, it should be fine.

It’s pretty durable all things considered. You can place this item in a separate tank, or if you have a large main tank, you can place it in there as well. It comes with many side vents to create optimal water flow and oxygenation, so there should be no problems concerning those factors.

What is neat about this thing is that it comes with a center divider so you can isolate 2 pregnant fish from one another if needed, or just keep one in a large and open space. It also comes with V partitions to offer maximum safety, both to the adult fish and the fry.

It even comes with a built-in filtration unit, one that can be moved from one side of the nursery to the other. It’s not very powerful, but it should do the trick. You can also use this as an isolation tank for injured or aggressive fish.

2. Lee’s Two-Way Guppy Breeder

This is a very simple and straightforward breeding boxes for guppies. In terms of mounting, simply place it in the bottom of your tank. It does not need to be mounted on the wall of your tank, which does make things a bit easier.

When it comes to size, the Lee’s Breeder comes in at 7 x 3.2 x 3.5 inches, which is pretty decent for guppy breeding purposes. It’s large enough to do the job, but not so large that you will need a totally separate tank for it.

When it comes to quality, it is nothing special or overly durable. It is made out of basic plastic but should do fine as long as it is not dropped. This thing comes with many side vents to make sure that the fry and pregnant fish have lots of water flow and oxygenation for optimal water conditions. It also comes with a V-partition divider which can be removed or put in at will.

This means that you can isolate pregnant fish for their safety, and it allows the fry to have a safe place to rest and grow as well a space where they will not get eaten. You can also take the mother out, remove the partition, and let the fry grow in the breeding box until they are large enough to handle life on their own.

3. Marina 3-in-1 Guppy Box

What is interesting about this particular breeding box is that it is said to be a floating breeding box. In other words, it will not sink to the bottom of the tank and should float at the surface. Yes, this does sound convenient, but beware that if you don’t attach it to the side of your tank, it can float around from side to side, and in all honesty, it does not float very well at all.

It is not overly large and comes in at 3.2 x 6.5 x 3.2 inches. It will save space in a tank, but it is too small for anything other than guppies or fish of a similar size. Just like the others, the Marina 3-in-1 Guppy Trap is made of basic plastic.

It is not overly durable but should do fine as long as you don’t drip it from far up. On a side note, this breeding trap can be used as an isolation unit for overly aggressive or injured fish.

Furthermore, this item comes with good venting on the sides for water flow and oxygenation, which is beneficial. Finally, it does come with a v-insert divider to keep the pregnant females separate from one another if needed.

It has slits in the bottom to allow the fry to fall through so they do not get eaten by the parents. However, some fry, the smaller ones, may fit through the very bottom slits and end up right in the tank.

4. Marina Hang-On Breeding Box

In terms of breeding boxes, the Marina Hang-On Breeding Box is definitely a unique option to keep in mind. The reason for this is because it is one of the few that actually hangs on the outside of the tank.

It is not very hard to mount and comes with all the necessary hardware to mount it on the outside of the tank, but it does need to be mounted, unlike many other breeding boxes out there. This breeding box is fairly large, coming in at 5.8 x 10.7 x 5.7 inches, but then again, it does not take up space inside of the tank.

The box itself is more than large enough to house 2 pregnant guppies, or even some large fish as well. This item can be used to isolate injured fish if needed, although it is not recommended. What you do need to know about this thing is that you need to use either an air or water pump to keep new water flowing into the tank, and to allow old water to get out and be filtered by your main filtration unit.

This is something that can make installation a bit of a pain in the neck, and on a side note, this thing is quite loud and tends to make sputtering noises. It does come with a V-divider to keep 2 pregnant fish apart, and slits in the bottom of the divider so fry can get away from potentially cannibalistic mothers.

5. Fashionclus Breeder Rearing Trap Box

This final option here on our list today is very simple and straightforward. First of all, this is an interior breeding box. Simply use the included suction cups to mount it on the inside of your tank. It does not get much easier than that.

With that being said, the suction cups may come undone at times and cause the Fashionclus Breeder Box to sink. It’s a fairly large breeding box, coming in at 3.74×2.75×5.12 inches, and it has more than enough room for 2 pregnant guppies.

It also includes a V divider so the fry can get away from their parents, which helps to prevent them from being eaten. This thing is actually made of really hard and durable plastic, which is a bonus no doubt.

However, there are slits in the bottom of this box, ones which may allow smaller fry to slip through, but these and the side slits are necessary for water movement and ventilation.

Conclusion

If you plan on breeding your guppies, you would be wise to get a breeding box, or else most of the fry will undoubtedly be devoured by the parents. We would definitely recommend looking into one of the options which we have reviewed above.

Featured Image Credit: underworld, Shutterstock