Guppy Fact Sheet The Guppy , Poecilia reticulata is an attractive and normally peaceful fish. It was named after Robert John Lechmere Guppy who discovered this fish in Trinidad. He believed that this was a previously undiscovered fish. After being scientifically described, the fish was called Girardinus guppii . The common name of Guppy was given the fish.

The Guppy males tend to have a smaller body and bigger fins than the female. The fin underneath the fish in about the centre of the fish's body (the anal fin) is long in the male and is used in fertilisation. The male is capable of pointing it forwards so it can make contact with the female and transfer the sperm. In the female, this fin is triangular in shape. The males tend to be much more colourful than the females. Modern female guppies often have good colours, but the wild ones did not. Modern Guppy males tend to have purer colours, while the wild ones tend to have more varied ones. Often the wild males have more colours on each fish.

It was later found that the fish had been previously discovered by Wilhelm C. H. Peters, described and named. The fish is now usually called Poecilia reticulata. The most common of the common names is 'Guppy'. There are several other common names including 'Rainbow Fish' and 'Millions Fish'. The name Rainbow Fish is appropriate to its many and varied colours, but is misleading because of the several other fish with the same name. I prefer the name "Guppy'. However, I would note the name 'Guppy' is sometimes used for other fish. Fish I have seen called 'Guppies' include goldfish, Neon Tetras, Zebra Danios and Gambusia. This is simply misleading and can be confusing.

Origin

Guppies are native to several Caribbean islands and north western South America including Barbados, Guyana, Netherlands Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands, Venezuela and Brazil.

Companions

The Guppy is a popular aquarium fish. It can be kept with other small peaceful fish, including Platies, Swordtails and Mollies. It is in the same family as these fish and is in the same genus as Mollies. Other fish suitable as companions are White Cloud Mountain Minnows, Neon Tetras, Cardinal Tetras, Siamese Fighting Fish, Peppered Catfish and other Corydoras catfish, Cherry Barbs, and other small peaceful fish.

Note that many of the fish just named are schooling fish. I would recommend that these be kept in groups of at least four, and preferably more. The Guppy is not a very strongly schooling species and can be kept singly or in small groups, although I certainly prefer larger numbers. It is both the way they usually occur naturally, and they look good. A tank of the highly coloured Guppies is a beautiful sight. Males and female guppies can be kept together although if they are I suggest that at least one female be kept for each male. If you keep several males with one female, all the males want to mate with the female and do not give her much peace.

Fish I would not recommend as companions for guppies include Black Widow Tetras, Serpae Tetras, Buenos Aires Tetras, Paraguay Tetras, Red Eye Tetras, Tiger Barbs, Rosy Barbs, Paradise Fish, Galaxias, and any other fish that can be fin nippers. Larger fish are also generally not suitable companions for Guppies.

Feeding

The Guppy is easy to feed. They are omnivores like most fish,and benefit from some vegetable food including algae. Guppies will eat most fish food. I suggest a good flake food as a basis for the diet, if possible supplemented with other food to give variety. Good flakes include the Wardley Total Tropical or Total Colour. As well as Wardley there are many other reputable manufacturers of fish food who make excellent foods. Other foods can include live food like Daphnia. Mosquito larvae (Wrigglers) are an excellent food. In the wild, Guppies will eat a lot of these. Their upturned mouth is well adapted to eating wrigglers. Blood Worms are related to wrigglers and are also a good food. Frozen Blood Worms are also good, as are several other frozen foods. Live or frozen Brine Shrimp are good. I also find that Guppies will benefit from dry fry food as achange.

Do not over feed your fish. I suggest feeding once a day, but not too much. For most types of food the fish should have finished it in a couple of minutes. Guppies are good eaters and generally will get the food quickly. Larger food including Algae Wafers is also good. Because these are hard, the Guppy will take longer to eat them.

Water

Guppies generally thrive in fairly hard, slightly alkaline, water. They can tolerate very large amounts of salt in the water. In some countries they are bred in water which is a mixture of half fresh water and half sea water. The Guppies thrive in this water, but these fish can cause problems when people put them into normal fresh water aquariums. As well as having to be acclimatised to the fresh water, the Guppies have not been exposed to columnaris disease. These fish can die very quickly in a normal aquarium unless strong treatment is done quickly. To get immunity the fish have to be exposed to the disease, and the disease cured.

Rain water is not good water for guppies although many people have used it successfully. If this is the water you have, I suggest using a rainwater conditioner (A mixture of salts). If you are using tap water (as I do), make sure you get rid of the Chlorine or Chloramine.

For a tank of mixed small tropicals, I suggest a pH of 7 and a moderate amount of salt and hardness. In most places normal tap water, with the Chlorine or Chloramine removed and the pH adjusted to 7 is suitable for Guppies, and to a mixed community. If in doubt about your tap water, I suggest visiting your local aquarium store. They should know about the local water.

Temperature

The Guppy is a tropical fish. However, different strains of Guppy have different tolerances to low temperatures. I have even heard of strains that are claimed to be able to tolerate temperature down to 4Ì? C (39Ì? F). I have never encountered any of these. Once I heard of a creek to the north of Adelaide that was supposed to have a naturalised strain of Guppies. I searched for the creek. I was able to identify the creek from the description I was given. There were no Guppies in it. (Actually, there was not even any water.) Although I tried to find where the Guppies would have gone, I was unable to find any Guppies. I suspect that this was a case of mistaken identity of the fish.

As a general thing I would not suggest a temperature of lower than 18 degrees C (65 degrees F). Guppies will certainly tolerate up to at least 32 degrees C (90 degrees F), and probably higher. Although I sometimes give the maximum and minimum temperatures types of fish can tolerate, it needs to be remembered that subjecting fish to their limits is not good and you are stressing the fish very badly. Stress will leave the fish very vulnerable todisease.

I generally set the thermostat at 24 degrees C (75 degrees F) although some people prefer a few degrees higher, especially for breeding.

Hardiness

The modern Guppies have been selective bred for colour and fin length, as well as other external characteristics. In the process they have lost much of the original hardiness of the Guppy. The life span of the Guppy now is often no more than a year.

Pest Fish

The Guppy has been introduced to every continent except Antarctica. In some places it is causing considerable damage to the native fish of the areas it has been introduced to. You should not release aquarium or pond fish into the wild, and you should ensure that they cannot get introduced accidentally.

It is worthy of note that many of the most destructive introduced fish and other animals have been introduced deliberately, often by government agencies.

Steve Challis has many other fish fact sheets and other articles on a wide range of subjects at http://www.bettatrading.com.au. This includes a fact sheet about a related fish, the Endlers Guppy at http://www.bettatrading.com.au/Endlers-Guppy-Fact-Sheet.php.

Author: Steve Challis
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

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Frage von revernance : Can i keep a swordtail by himself?
I don’t want to buy 2 more swordtail female, so will he be okay by himself in a 10 gal tank with 3 small guppies? Has anyone done this before?

Beste Antwort:

Answer by Ryan
i’m sure someone has done it before. Get a bigger tank for the swordtail or get it a new home. the can get rather big. A 10 gallon is just too small for one that is a full grown adult. If anything it may stunt its growth and may also cause body deformation.

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Frage von : How long does it usually take a platy to grow from birth to adult size?
How long does it usually take a platy to grow from birth to adult size?

Beste Antwort:

Answer by PeeTee
The variables include such things as water temperature, pH, cleanliness, type and amount of food, and genetics. If you continually let the earliest maturing fish do the spawning the average size of the fry will decrease and the age of maturity will become earlier,but the fish will be less desirable as breeders. Eventually you will end up with a tank full of feeders.
The reason for that is that when a fish becomes sexually mature it’s growth rate slows and that early breeding gene is passed on to the next generation. The answer is to separate the sexes and sell or cull the earliest maturing fish and select your breeding stock from the largest and most attractive of those that are left.
That’s probably more answer than you wanted,but the simple and most direct answer is “It’s up to you.”. Learn how to provide the best conditions for fry growth and you will have control of the growth rate.

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Frage von : Stocking plans for a 10 gallon tank?
Here are two stocking plans for my 10 gallon tank. They’re based on AqAdvisor, and I just wanted to make sure they would work as well as what types of filters/heaters/etc. I would need. If neither of these stocking plans will work, please tell me why and feel free to suggest a new one – I like a wide variety of fish.

Stocking Plan 1
2 male, 3 female Venezuelan Pygmy Cory (Corydoras habrosus)
2 male, 3 female Endler’s Livebearer (Poecilia wingei)
pH: 7-7.2
Hardness: 8-12
Temp.: 73-78

Stocking Plan 2
1 male Betta splendens
2 male, 4 female Celestial Pearl Danio (Danio margaritatus)
pH: 6-7.5
Hardness: 8-10
Temp.: 75-78

Thank you to anyone who answers!

Beste Antwort:

Answer by DMAN
scratch your idea completely.

you are talking about putting enough fish to fully stock a 55 gallon tank in a 10 gallon tank… go back to square one… 1 betta in a 10 gallon tank is plenty… dont put anymore fish in there with it… it will just kill them… and a few live plants( plastic ones will tear up there fins.) and mabe a few ghost shrimp and snails… but thats it… you cannot really put fish in a 10 gallon tank… it is way to small and cruel to the fish… your 6 danios should be in 25-30 gallons… your cories same thing if not more and you endler’s need be in 20 gallons + sorry but you need to do more research before you make your decision

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Frage von : Can you tell what colour the guppy fry will be when they become adults?
My guppy fry are about a week old and about 10 are yellow and 15 are a dark brown with gold spots. Does anyone know what colour they’ll be when they grow?

Beste Antwort:

Answer by piranhas rule
they will remain the same color. just the colors will become more visible and more bright

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Frage von : When the Platy female gives birth does the male have to be in the tank?
I have a pregnant platy fish and I heard they are live bearers. When they are giving birth to the babies does the male have to be in the tank or not because he might eat the babies? Has anyone got any advice. I have a separate tank which I will keep her and the male in together in till I think she is nearly ready to give birth, should I keep the male in or should I put him in the other tank with all the other fish?
Also how big does the platy get? And how long is she pregnant for?

Beste Antwort:

Answer by Elizabeth
Both the male and the female will eat the fry, so keep him in a separate tank. I’ve seen my female platies literally pop out a baby and turn and devour it. If you want the fry to survive their mother then you’ll need to add a lot of cover and places for them to hide. I would recommend buying a clump of hornwort (live plant) or two and anchoring it down for them to take refuge in. Java moss is also a good option if you can find it for sale and don’t mind anchoring it to something as well.

You could also try getting some of those tiny flowerpots with the little hole in the bottom and sticking them upside down so that the babies can get in and hide but the mother cannot. If you want most of them to survive you could put the female in a breeding trap or net breeder, but these tend to stress out the fish even more and cause problems.

As for size, it tends to vary a bit with platies. Females are larger than the males, and most of mine got about 2 1/2 inches long. You can get some strains of larger ones though, and of course the larger the female the more fry she tends to have. They usually give birth every month or so, but it can vary a bit because they often have several “batches” of fry in various stages of development at once. Good luck with your soon-to-be babies!

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HD Ornamental Fish (Poecilia reticulata)Breeding Workshop from Kingdom of Beetle Taiwan.MP4

Some Guppy Fry footage. timwheatley.org Video Bewertung: 0 / 5

Frage von Hannah : How many fry to platy give birth to?
My platy is pregnant! what is the average amount of babies a platy will give birth to?

Beste Antwort:

Answer by Maddie E
Depends on their age and how many broods they’ve had in the past. For their first, it may only be 10 or so, but for older females theres been records of over 100. Usually the average is around 30 or so

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Frage von fish man : How do i get my male platy interested in my female?
I have bought a female and a male platy from Petsmart with the intention of breeding the pair. When I got them both in to the tank they school but they have no interest in breeding. Any tips to get the male interested?

Beste Antwort:

Answer by Mike L
Just because you buy 1 male and 1 female it doesn’t mean you can get them to breed. If you are seriously interest in breeding, I suggest you buy another 4 platy (1 more male and 3 more females) with more compatible mates in the tank, you’ll have a better chance of breeding them.

You also need to make sure a few things are perfect in your tank.

A) Your tank has to have finished cycling (if it’s a new setup)
B) The water conditions have to be PERFECT. Get a test kit if you’re unsure of your water quality.
C) Increase the temperature another degree or two, I’ve found my fish breed more the warmer the water is.

Also, if you haven’t done so yet, get a breeding net, or a little 5-8 gallon to put the fry in when they’re born. Platty are terrible parents and will eat their young any chance they get.

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Frage von Honorable ti gason an nwa : What are some central and south american freshwater fish species which live in fast flowing streams?
The streams can be mountain or otherwise.I’m just curious on the matter.Are there any fish from Central and South America which are not part of the Poecilia the family.I would like to know if there are any catfish species found there?

Part 2 of my question.This is irrelevant to the first question.Okay, here goes, what do you think of these fish species which are found in my country/island (which is in the eastern caribbean):

1.Sicydium plumieri :

http://v3prod.news.ncsu.edu/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/kwak4001.jpg

2.Rivulus cryptocallus:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2453/3644676060_c7e361310b.jpg?v=0

http://media.photobucket.com/image/Rivulus%20cryptocallus/najots77/Riv_cryptocallus_3.png

They’re one of the few which are native.Can you rate them out of 10?

Beste Antwort:

Answer by JENELL
Many varieties of tetras and SA cichlids. There are numberous vaieties oc SA catifsh, browse a fish specie info site.

The fish pictured both look interesting, the 1st one very colorful and pretty. But as far as rating them as aquarium inhabitants, you’d have to go not just on how nice they look but whether they adapt weel to being kept in tanks, and what their water quality requirements are.

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Frage von : Why does my Guppy flip around like crazy when I feed it?
I have a 10 gallon aquarium (with heater and filter) with 3 fancy guppies, a small pleco (I know they can grow HUGE, but my friend has a 130g tank and she wants it when it gets too big), and a snail.

Every time I feed my fish, this one guppy starts to flip around like crazy and is just all over the tank doing spirals and stuff. It has been doing this for over a month! Is something wrong with it? What could be the problem? Is there a solution?

Thanks!

Beste Antwort:

Answer by Robbie
What kind of food do you feed them? It could be because they love the food. My guppies do this too, its completely normal. All guppies I have had and I have now have done this. Good Luck.

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