Guppy care guide
Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) — minimum tank 40 L, temperature 22-28 °C, pH 6.5-8. Peaceful middle-water species.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
The Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) is a small livebearer native to north-east South America and the southern Caribbean. Males display extreme colour and tail-pattern variation produced through selective breeding, while females remain larger and drab. The species is one of the most prolific freshwater aquarium fish in the trade.
Taxonomy
- Family: Poeciliidae
- Genus: Poecilia
- Scientific name: Poecilia reticulata
- Common synonyms: Millionfish, Rainbow Fish
Habitat
Native to Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda, where it occupies shallow streams, pools and ditches. The species is highly adaptable and tolerates a wide range of conditions including brackish and even saltwater.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 40 L (10.6 US gal)
- Adult size: 3-5 cm
- Temperature: 22-28 °C (72-82 °F)
- pH: 6.5-8
- GH: 8-15 °dGH
- Water flow: low
- Lifespan: 1-3 years
Diet
An omnivore that consumes algae, diatoms, detritus, zooplankton, plant fragments and aquatic insect larvae in the wild. In aquaria a varied diet of flake or pellets supplemented with small live or frozen foods (daphnia, brine shrimp) and an occasional vegetable component supports colour and reproduction.
Compatibility
A peaceful community fish. Compatible with Platy, Molly, Corydoras, Neon Tetra, dwarf shrimp and other calm species with similar water requirements. Avoid keeping with Betta, Tiger Barb or Angelfish which may nip the long fins of male Guppies.
Breeding
Internal fertilisation; females retain fry for 20-60 days and give birth to typically 30-60 live young per brood (range 2-200). Provide dense plant cover or breeding traps to protect the fry, which are immediately capable of free swimming and feeding on micro-foods.
Breeding Guppy
Overview
The Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) is a prolific livebearer rated beginner-level for breeding. Females give birth to free-swimming fry rather than laying eggs, and reproduction often occurs spontaneously when both sexes are present.
Sexing
Males are typically 1.5-4 cm long, while females are larger at 3-7 cm. The male's anal fin is modified into a tubular gonopodium with a channel through which sperm bundles are transferred to the female; females retain a fan-shaped anal fin and are plainer.
Conditioning the Breeders
Guppies are polyandrous, with females mating with multiple males, and males provide no parental care. Females can store sperm in the ovaries and gonoducts and continue to fertilise ova for up to eight months. Males mature in 7 weeks or less, and females first produce offspring at 10-20 weeks of age.
Spawning Behavior & Birth
Gestation ranges from 20 to 60 days at 25-27.8 °C, depending on several environmental factors. A female drops two to 200 fry at a time, though the figure typically ranges between 30 and 60, with birth occurring over a period of one to six hours. Because males benefit from frequent mating and provide no parental care, a single female may be pursued by several males.
Fry Care
Well-fed adults rarely consume their own young, but safe zones are still required. Well-planted tanks that offer barriers to adult guppies shelter the young quite well, with guppy grass, water sprite and java moss being effective. Specially designed livebearer birthing tanks suspended inside the aquarium can also protect the female from harassment during birth and shield newborns from being eaten.
Common Challenges
Predation of fry by adults is the main loss, so dense cover or separation is important. Sperm storage in the ovaries and gonoducts, lasting up to eight months, means a single mating can produce successive broods even after the male is gone, which can lead to rapid and unplanned population growth in a community tank.
Breeding Tuxedo Guppy
Overview
The Tuxedo Guppy is a selectively bred strain of Poecilia reticulata in which the rear half of the body is solid black, contrasting with a brighter front colour. Like all guppies it is a livebearer with internal fertilisation, and reproduction is very straightforward, requiring no special effort.
Sexing
Males are smaller (about 1.5-4 cm) and more colourful, and possess a stick-like modified anal fin called the gonopodium used to transfer sperm. Females are larger (about 3-7 cm), plumper and duller, and a pregnant female shows a dark gravid spot behind the anal fin.
Conditioning
Maintain several females per male, since males pursue females constantly. To preserve the tuxedo pattern, breeders line-breed selected stock: the fancy colours and patterns are heritable, with colour genes largely Y-chromosome linked, so pairing well-marked parents propagates the strain.
Birth & Fry Care
Gestation typically takes about 4-6 weeks (roughly 20-60 days at 25-27.8 degrees C), after which the female drops live, free-swimming fry. A brood may number from a few to around 100 young, with broods often between 30 and 60. Note that females can store sperm and continue producing broods for six months or more even without a male present.
Common Challenges
Adult fish will eat the fry, so dense planting with floating vegetation gives the young shelter, or the fry can be moved to a separate tank for higher survival. Fry take live foods such as brine shrimp and reach maturity in roughly three to four months.