I had another guppy die.

[emeraldking]

Do guppies eat their own fry?

That depends per individual guppy wether it will eat the fry or not.

but some people get away with 2 females per 1 male

Well, even with a ratio 1m:1f... Not always does one need to have more females per male guppy.

what is a "live bearer"? there are many different types of those
what are the "tetras"? the one you stated before the reed eyed tetras

Exactly...!