Mosaic Guppy Care Guide
The Mosaic Guppy is a selectively bred strain of Poecilia reticulata with a mottled, multi-coloured tail; a hardy, peaceful livebearer.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
The Mosaic Guppy is a selectively bred ornamental strain of the guppy, Poecilia reticulata (Peters, 1859), of the family Poeciliidae. The 'Mosaic' name refers to the irregular, mottled patches of mixed colour on the caudal fin. The base species is a small livebearing fish.
Taxonomy
- Family: Poeciliidae
- Genus: Poecilia
- Scientific name: Poecilia reticulata var. Mosaic
- Base species author: Peters, 1859
Habitat
The wild ancestor is native to South America: Venezuela, Barbados, Trinidad, northern Brazil and the Guianas. It occupies varied freshwater and brackish habitats from weedy ditches and canals to small streams and densely vegetated lakes and springs. The Mosaic strain is a captive-bred aquarium form.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 40 L
- Temperature: 22-28 °C (72-82 °F)
- pH: 7.0-8.5
- GH: 10-25 °dGH
- Lifespan: 1-3 years
- Water flow: low; planted aquarium preferred
Diet
The guppy is omnivorous. In the wild it consumes zooplankton, small insects and detritus. In the aquarium it accepts a varied diet of dried, frozen and small live foods.
Compatibility
It is a peaceful, mid-water livebearer suitable for community aquaria with other livebearers. Fin-nipping species should be avoided, as the long ornamental fins of fancy strains are vulnerable.
Breeding
The guppy is ovoviviparous. Females can store sperm and may produce young roughly every four weeks, with gestation of 4-6 weeks and litters of about 20-40 fry. Males mature at about 2 months and females at about 3 months. Breeding is easy and occurs readily in captivity.
Conservation status
The wild species Poecilia reticulata is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessed 2020). The Mosaic strain is a domesticated aquarium form.
Breeding Mosaic Guppy
Overview
The Mosaic Guppy is a selectively bred strain of Poecilia reticulata with a mosaic-patterned tail made up of mixed colour patches. 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 mosaic tail 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.