Saturday, January 30, 2016
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Guppy Species and Origin
Species
Poecilia reticulata Peters 1860, the common guppy. South America (Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela) and nearby islands. Maximum size around 2.5", males usually about half that size but with brighter colours, particularly on the tail. A very variable species, wild-caught fish are sometimes traded but mostly aquarists will find the more brightly coloured fancy guppies on sale. Does well in freshwater or brackish conditions, pH 7-8, dH 9-19, temperature 18-28 C. Wild-caught guppies and non-fancy "feeder" guppies are notably more robust than fancy guppies. Fancy guppies require a mature aquarium with good water quality to do well.
Poecilia wingei Poeser, Kempkes, & Isbrücker, 2005, the Endler Guppy to the aquarium trade but Campoma guppy to science. Endemic to Venezuela, but only in Campoma region where the common guppy is not naturally found. Males smaller than male common guppies but more brightly coloured. Females similar in size and colouration to common guppies. In general terms maintenance is identical to that of the common guppy, except that warm water conditions are preferred, ideally around 26-28 C. Common and Endler guppies hybridize readily, and most of the Endler guppies available in pet stores are in fact hybrids of the two species. While perfectly nice fish in themselves, aquarists after pure-bred Endler guppies will do better by obtaining them from aquarium clubs, auctions, etc.
Micropoecilia picta (Regan 1913), is known as the Swamp Guppy in the trade and is referred to as Poecilia picta in many older aquarium books. It is a small species getting to about an inch or so in length and rather resembles a wild-type guppy at first glance. It is a bit more streamlined than the average guppy though, and its tail is not so large. Coloration is very variable, and a number of aquarium strains have been developed. Typically the fish is silvery-green with patches of yellow, blue, and black. Males are smaller but more colorful than the females. A brackish water species, the swamp guppy does not do well kept in a freshwater tank; pH 7.5-8.0, hardness 20 dH or more, specific gravity 1.003-1.005. Temperature 26-28 C.
Fancy guppy varieties
Describing the full range of fancy guppies available is impossible. Fancy guppies can be found in practically every colour imaginable, some entirely one colour, others a mix of colours. Blue and red guppies are particularly popular. There are of course albino guppies as well as all-yellow "blonde" guppies. Guppies with snakeskin patterns on their bodies and fins are very popular, and any number of varieties have been produced, such as "king cobras" and "green snakeskins".
Monday, January 25, 2016
Feeding Your Guppy Fish
Feeding Your Guppy Fish
 What do guppies eat? An essential part of proper guppy care is learning about guppy food and making sure that your guppies eat the right things. Eating the wrong type or the wrong amount of food can be very bad for your guppies’ health.
In this article, we look at the various types of guppy food that you can feed your fish. This not only includes classic “fish food” that you can buy at pet stores, but also additional treats that you can use to supplement your guppies’ diet.
Finally, we discuss overfeeding your fish – and how bad this can be for them! – and tell you how much guppies should eat and how often to feed them.
What is guppy food? Is it different to other fish food?
You can feed your guppies standard “fish flakes” as the foundation of their diet, though it’s always a good idea to supplement this flake food with other things, such as live or freeze-dried foods (more on this later!).
The best kind of flake food to buy for guppies would be a tropical flake food designed to enhance their colour.
Otherwise, different types of flake food are generally very similar to each other, and any type should be as suitable for guppies as it is for any other fish.
Pellet fish foods are also available. However, these are often too large for guppies’ mouths. Special smaller pellets – also known as micropellets
 – are available for small-mouthed fishes like guppies, but we generally suggest sticking to flake foods as the foundation of a guppy diet.What other foods can guppies eat?
While flake foods are the core guppy food, you should also feed your guppies other foods to ensure they have a healthy, varied diet. This includes vegetables, live foods and freeze-dried foods.
Popular live or freeze-dried foods include:
If you feed live food then there is a small risk of transferring disease to your fish. To avoid this, frozen and freeze-dried foods are available. They’re not quite as nutritious as live food, but they do offer many of the same benefits without the same risk of disease.
Finally, you can also feed your guppies vegetables, such as
How much food should guppies eat?
“How often should I feed my guppies?” is one of the most common questions we receive from new guppy owners! And it’s a good question, as overfeeding can be very bad for your fish.
Guppies only have very small stomachs – about the same size as one of their eyes! This means that adding too much food can cause them to eat too much and block their intestines. A trail of poop behind your guppy is a sign that your fish has over-eaten!
You should feed your guppies one or two times per day, but only in very small amounts at a time. Slowly add extremely tiny pinches of food to your tank, for about thirty seconds, never adding more than your fish can eat in that time.
If you leave food in your tank after feeding then it will rot and pollute your water. You should therefore remove any uneaten food after the feeding session. It’s often a good idea to feed just before doing a water change, as you can then remove any uneaten food when changing the tank water.
If you keep your water at a fairly low temperature then your guppies will eat even less. Their metabolism slows down at lower temperatures, which means they need less food than when they are kept in warmer water.
The main thing to remember when deciding how much to feed your guppies is this: it’s extremely unlikely that you’ll ever seriously harm a fish by under-feeding it, however, you could certainly do it a lot of harm by over-feeding it!
How long can guppies live without food?
How long guppies will survive without food depends on a many factors, such as their age, how healthy they are and the temperature of their water (guppies eat less when kept in lower temperature water).
As a rough guide, you could expect a guppy to survive for approximately one weekwithout any food whatsoever. Much longer than that and you’ll most likely lose some of your fish to starvation.
If you’re going on holiday then you could buy an automatic fish feeder
 that will release set amounts of guppy food at regular intervals. However, this is risky, as the feeder could malfunction and release too much food! Another option would be a feeding block– a block of food that sits in the water for your fish to nibble on – but these have their problems too. Feeding blocks can make your water cloudy and throw off your water parameters.
If possible, ask a friend or neighbor to come in and feed your goldfish once or twice, but remember to teach them how to do it properly! Your friend may not know much about feeding guppies, so you should tell them how much to feed them, when to feed them and, ideally, you should dish out appropriate amounts of food for them in advance.
|
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Types of Guppies
The type of breed or name of guppy is not consistent around the world. Unlike dogs or other pets that have international exchanges guppies, like most fish have different classifications in different countries. Also due to its various gene types a new type of breed is made every day which is not kept within a consistent standard. For example what is called a Cobra in Korea is called a Snake skin in the U.S. and a Dragon in East Asia. So here is an attempt to give some basic info to aid in identification of your guppies.
1. Shape
Shape – The first thing you want to look for in your guppies is good overall body shape.
1) Forehead: The upper part of the body should not be bent nor too round. It should be sharp and straight looking.
2) Head: In the case of guppies bred in mass a numbers, many of them have longer heads. Too long a head or too short a head does not look rightly balanced. Those with long heads usually become bent when they get older.
3) Dorsal: The rectangular area of the dorsal looks better when width is longer than the length. It is experienced that the longer length type has a longer tail fin than the longer width type.
4) Tail fin: A good Fancy Guppy is distinguished by the size of the tail. It is a better type when its tail is bigger and wider. In case of Delta type or Fan tail guppies it is standard of the I.F.G.A. to have a 1:1 rate of the length from the angular point of the tail to the end of the tail and the length from the angular point of the tail to the end of the head. In many other countries those with long tails are classified into a different breed called the veil tail.
2. Body Type
There are 6 main colour/pattern/body varieties in guppies.
1. Tuxedo or Half Black – Lower body black
2.Cobra – Snake-like pattern on body.
3. Mosaic – as the name would suggest, blotches of colour down the body. (Probably the most common variety in Australia)
4. Glass – This variety carries a clear gene, so no pigment whatsoever.
5. Metal – Metallic/pearlescent body.
6. Solid – A solid body colour. (Most common in Australia would probably be the platinum, a solid white or yellow pearlescent.)
3. Upper Body Colour
1) Gray: Most common colour type that resembles a common pond fish colour. This colour is considered Dominant compared to other body colour.
2) Golden: This colour type is result of a change in Melanin (colour gene) in the body. It is also called blond in US
3) Tiger: This type has dark black edges on individual scales.
4) Solid: Solid colour body. (Same colour whole length of guppy body)
5) Albino: Albino is whitening of the body colour caused by lack of Melanin.
6) Real Red Eye Albino: There are two types of red eye colours for Guppies. Red wine colour red eye type is called Albino eye. The clear pink colour eye is called Real Red Eye Albino, RREA
7) Metallic Deep metallic colour on the head/upper body. Slight variation in colour and depth of metallic may be cause by the water condition and health of the fish. Some types have metallic colour covering its entire body.
Platinum sparkling silver body colour. Similar colour strains are Coral and Micrify.
4. Type of Tail
Guppies not only have a variety of body colour but different types of tail too.
1) Wild: most common tail fin
2) Pin: the middle of the tail fin made longer
3) Spade: a tail fin shaped like a spade
4) Top Sword: the upper end of the tail fin made longer
5) Bottom Sword: the lower end of the tail fin made longer
6) Double Sword: both ends of the tail fin made longer
7) Lyre Tail: shaped tail with the middle part shorter
Delta: a triangular shaped tail fin
9) Fan: a tail fin shaped like a fan
10)Long Fin Type
There are two different varieties of the long fin type - Ribbon type and Swallow type.
1) Ribbon type: This is the type with an elongated fin.
2) Swallow type: This is the type with a rugged fin.
5. Tail Pattern Type
1) Solid Tail: This type has a solid colour tail such as red, yellow, green, purple, black etc. It’s considered superior when the colour is clear and does not contain different colour shades.
2) Grass: This is a variation of a Mosaic pattern and has small dots all over on the tail making it appear as if grass seeds were on it. Strains such, as Blue Grass is one of the very popular strains along with the German Yellowtail Tuxedo, and RREA Neon Tuxedo.
3) Mosaic: It has bigger dots that are inter-connected. Mosaic strains have been developed for a long time and are common but often superior to most strains. Mosaic is not very popular in Korea, but a strain such as Blue Mosaic is very beautiful and is used to improve other strains.
4) Leopard: This type has dots that are much bigger compared to Grass type. Strains such as Leopard Tuxedo are very beautiful, but are considered difficult to stabilize the pattern over generations.
Run down on the basic types:
1. Tuxedo:
Tail fin: Either a fan tail or a delta tail. In case of a single colour breed it is better to be plain - no spots or dotted patterns.
Dorsal: Compared to other breeds, it has a longer and bigger dorsal.
Colour: It should be dark and both sexes must have a metallic silver colour on its dorsal. Tuxedos of the Neon heredity and the German Yellow Tail must have a yellow lip line.
Characteristics of the female-sex Tuxedo: Although both Tuxedo sexes have similar colours, the female-sex is lighter than the male-sex. It must have a silvery colour on its dorsal. Compared to other female-sex breeds it is usually smaller
Types of Tuxedo: German Yellow Tuxedo, Green Tuxedo, Black tail Tuxedo, Sky-blue Tuxedo, Neon Tuxedo, Mosaic Tuxedo, Cobra Tuxedo, Leopard Tuxedo, etc.
Other: Tuxedo breed is known to have been crossbred in the early 1960s in Germany. By then there were only two types, Blue and Green. However after much crossbreeding the German Yellow Tuxedo, one of the most popular guppies was made. Both sexes have a unique colour. Most of the German Yellow Tuxedos are small both in size and numbers. This is believed to be the cause of too much breeding.
2. Cobra
Tail fin: Its original pattern is in between Mosaic and Glass breeds. However new crossbreeds show their own characteristics.
Dorsal: Usually white or yellow with the same tail fin pattern. Generally a majority of this type have a small dorsal. Constant crossbreeding is necessary.
Colour: From head to tail it has a snakeskin pattern of a metallic colour. Due to their dotted pattern on the pectoral, its unpolished beauty makes it a preference among people.
Characteristics of the Female-sex Cobra: Generally the female-sex Cobra doesn't have a pattern it its fin. Due to this dominant gene, female-sex cobras are widely used to crossbreed a fixed breed. However, recently many female-sex cobras with different characteristics have been bred which are likely to affect other breeds.
Types of Cobra: King Cobra, Lace Cobra, etc.
Other: Cobra was distributed to all parts of the world from the Mac Guppy Hatchery located in the U.S. in 1965. However some believe that its original breed was made in Germany. It is a very popular breed among amateurs to guppy manias.
3. Mosaic
Tail fin: Delta tail shaped almost like a triangle with a Mosaic pattern. The colour of its tail is rather preferable if its end has several different colours rather than plain red.
Dorsal: Either white or dark pink. It has either no pattern or similar patterns like that of its tail fin.
Colour: Like the Tuxedo, it is of dark colour from its waist to its tail. However not on its upper part.
Characteristics of the female-sex Mosaic: It is a very similar pattern to that of the Glass female-sex. There are many with a top sword tail fin. It is believed that this is due to the dominant gene of its origin breed. Its pattern is spread apart and not so clear like the male-sex but its tail has a clear pattern.
Type: Red Mosaic, Blue Mosaic, Santa Maria Mosaic, etc.
Other: The name Mosaic originates from the Japan. Having imported the Tuxedo breed from Germany in the early 1960s, they started to crossbreed a fixed breed. It is believed that this breed was made in the process of fixing the Tuxedo breed from the Wild type.
4. Glass
Tail fin: Mostly fan tailed with two different types of pattern according to their sizes. However both types have dotted patterns on their tails. There are many with yellow coloured tails in the middle but these are not considered to be good breeds. The ones with greenish/bluish colours are the best.
Dorsal: Lighter than the colour of their tail fin, there are many white colour breeds. Their patterns are similar to that of their tail fin or bigger as if spread apart.
Colour: Metallic wild colours
Characteristics of the female-sex Glass: Compared to other female-sex breeds, Glass is very big in size. Some full grown female-sex Glasses are 9cm in length. Mostly greyish coloured the tail fin is smaller than the male-sex but has a dotted pattern. There are some female-sex Glasses with a longer upper end tail like the top sword fin but these are known to be the result of crossbreeding with the Mosaic breed. Plain-coloured with round tail is considered to be the best breed. If the female-sex is plain-coloured, it doesn't affect the fin pattern of the male-sex. This is due to the fact that round tail is possible to obtain fan tail.
Type: Blue Glass, Red Glass, etc.
Other: There aren't enough records on the Glass breed. Only that it started to be exported from Singapore by the end of the 1960s. It is believed that its origin is Europe. Like the German Yellow Tuxedo, it is one of the most popular noble types of guppies in the world.
5. Metal
Tail fin: Differ from breed to breed according to their characteristics.
Dorsal: Differ according to the shape and colour of the fin.
Colour: Metallic colour on the upper part
Type: Metal Cobra, Metal lace Cobra, Metal glass, Metal glass Cobra, etc.
Other: Metal is known to be first bred in the Soviet Union thus called the Metal Moscow in the West.
6. Platinum (as an example of solid body colour)
Tail fin: Characteristics of the crossbred.
Dorsal: Similar to the tail.
Colour: The upper part is of silver, gold, and platinum.
Other: Platinum was first crossbred in Germany. Recently many different types of breeds have been made. Like the Albino, Platinum is a trait possible in all breeds.
Now as we know from guppies they can cross quiet readily, so you will likely find that the guppies in your tank or down the store are some form of cross of these main types, I hope this will help to Identify what you have in your tanks, and maybe even help to identify what went into your guppy.
Guide to identifying your Guppies
(main produced strains)
1. Shape
Shape – The first thing you want to look for in your guppies is good overall body shape.
1) Forehead: The upper part of the body should not be bent nor too round. It should be sharp and straight looking.
2) Head: In the case of guppies bred in mass a numbers, many of them have longer heads. Too long a head or too short a head does not look rightly balanced. Those with long heads usually become bent when they get older.
3) Dorsal: The rectangular area of the dorsal looks better when width is longer than the length. It is experienced that the longer length type has a longer tail fin than the longer width type.
4) Tail fin: A good Fancy Guppy is distinguished by the size of the tail. It is a better type when its tail is bigger and wider. In case of Delta type or Fan tail guppies it is standard of the I.F.G.A. to have a 1:1 rate of the length from the angular point of the tail to the end of the tail and the length from the angular point of the tail to the end of the head. In many other countries those with long tails are classified into a different breed called the veil tail.
2. Body Type
There are 6 main colour/pattern/body varieties in guppies.
1. Tuxedo or Half Black – Lower body black
2.Cobra – Snake-like pattern on body.
3. Mosaic – as the name would suggest, blotches of colour down the body. (Probably the most common variety in Australia)
4. Glass – This variety carries a clear gene, so no pigment whatsoever.
5. Metal – Metallic/pearlescent body.
6. Solid – A solid body colour. (Most common in Australia would probably be the platinum, a solid white or yellow pearlescent.)
3. Upper Body Colour
1) Gray: Most common colour type that resembles a common pond fish colour. This colour is considered Dominant compared to other body colour.
2) Golden: This colour type is result of a change in Melanin (colour gene) in the body. It is also called blond in US
3) Tiger: This type has dark black edges on individual scales.
4) Solid: Solid colour body. (Same colour whole length of guppy body)
5) Albino: Albino is whitening of the body colour caused by lack of Melanin.
6) Real Red Eye Albino: There are two types of red eye colours for Guppies. Red wine colour red eye type is called Albino eye. The clear pink colour eye is called Real Red Eye Albino, RREA
7) Metallic Deep metallic colour on the head/upper body. Slight variation in colour and depth of metallic may be cause by the water condition and health of the fish. Some types have metallic colour covering its entire body.
Platinum sparkling silver body colour. Similar colour strains are Coral and Micrify.4. Type of Tail
Guppies not only have a variety of body colour but different types of tail too.
1) Wild: most common tail fin
2) Pin: the middle of the tail fin made longer
3) Spade: a tail fin shaped like a spade
4) Top Sword: the upper end of the tail fin made longer
5) Bottom Sword: the lower end of the tail fin made longer
6) Double Sword: both ends of the tail fin made longer
7) Lyre Tail: shaped tail with the middle part shorter
Delta: a triangular shaped tail fin9) Fan: a tail fin shaped like a fan
10)Long Fin Type
There are two different varieties of the long fin type - Ribbon type and Swallow type.
1) Ribbon type: This is the type with an elongated fin.
2) Swallow type: This is the type with a rugged fin.
5. Tail Pattern Type
1) Solid Tail: This type has a solid colour tail such as red, yellow, green, purple, black etc. It’s considered superior when the colour is clear and does not contain different colour shades.
2) Grass: This is a variation of a Mosaic pattern and has small dots all over on the tail making it appear as if grass seeds were on it. Strains such, as Blue Grass is one of the very popular strains along with the German Yellowtail Tuxedo, and RREA Neon Tuxedo.
3) Mosaic: It has bigger dots that are inter-connected. Mosaic strains have been developed for a long time and are common but often superior to most strains. Mosaic is not very popular in Korea, but a strain such as Blue Mosaic is very beautiful and is used to improve other strains.
4) Leopard: This type has dots that are much bigger compared to Grass type. Strains such as Leopard Tuxedo are very beautiful, but are considered difficult to stabilize the pattern over generations.
Run down on the basic types:
1. Tuxedo:
Tail fin: Either a fan tail or a delta tail. In case of a single colour breed it is better to be plain - no spots or dotted patterns.
Dorsal: Compared to other breeds, it has a longer and bigger dorsal.
Colour: It should be dark and both sexes must have a metallic silver colour on its dorsal. Tuxedos of the Neon heredity and the German Yellow Tail must have a yellow lip line.
Characteristics of the female-sex Tuxedo: Although both Tuxedo sexes have similar colours, the female-sex is lighter than the male-sex. It must have a silvery colour on its dorsal. Compared to other female-sex breeds it is usually smaller
Types of Tuxedo: German Yellow Tuxedo, Green Tuxedo, Black tail Tuxedo, Sky-blue Tuxedo, Neon Tuxedo, Mosaic Tuxedo, Cobra Tuxedo, Leopard Tuxedo, etc.
Other: Tuxedo breed is known to have been crossbred in the early 1960s in Germany. By then there were only two types, Blue and Green. However after much crossbreeding the German Yellow Tuxedo, one of the most popular guppies was made. Both sexes have a unique colour. Most of the German Yellow Tuxedos are small both in size and numbers. This is believed to be the cause of too much breeding.
2. Cobra
Tail fin: Its original pattern is in between Mosaic and Glass breeds. However new crossbreeds show their own characteristics.
Dorsal: Usually white or yellow with the same tail fin pattern. Generally a majority of this type have a small dorsal. Constant crossbreeding is necessary.
Colour: From head to tail it has a snakeskin pattern of a metallic colour. Due to their dotted pattern on the pectoral, its unpolished beauty makes it a preference among people.
Characteristics of the Female-sex Cobra: Generally the female-sex Cobra doesn't have a pattern it its fin. Due to this dominant gene, female-sex cobras are widely used to crossbreed a fixed breed. However, recently many female-sex cobras with different characteristics have been bred which are likely to affect other breeds.
Types of Cobra: King Cobra, Lace Cobra, etc.
Other: Cobra was distributed to all parts of the world from the Mac Guppy Hatchery located in the U.S. in 1965. However some believe that its original breed was made in Germany. It is a very popular breed among amateurs to guppy manias.
3. Mosaic
Tail fin: Delta tail shaped almost like a triangle with a Mosaic pattern. The colour of its tail is rather preferable if its end has several different colours rather than plain red.
Dorsal: Either white or dark pink. It has either no pattern or similar patterns like that of its tail fin.
Colour: Like the Tuxedo, it is of dark colour from its waist to its tail. However not on its upper part.
Characteristics of the female-sex Mosaic: It is a very similar pattern to that of the Glass female-sex. There are many with a top sword tail fin. It is believed that this is due to the dominant gene of its origin breed. Its pattern is spread apart and not so clear like the male-sex but its tail has a clear pattern.
Type: Red Mosaic, Blue Mosaic, Santa Maria Mosaic, etc.
Other: The name Mosaic originates from the Japan. Having imported the Tuxedo breed from Germany in the early 1960s, they started to crossbreed a fixed breed. It is believed that this breed was made in the process of fixing the Tuxedo breed from the Wild type.
4. Glass
Tail fin: Mostly fan tailed with two different types of pattern according to their sizes. However both types have dotted patterns on their tails. There are many with yellow coloured tails in the middle but these are not considered to be good breeds. The ones with greenish/bluish colours are the best.
Dorsal: Lighter than the colour of their tail fin, there are many white colour breeds. Their patterns are similar to that of their tail fin or bigger as if spread apart.
Colour: Metallic wild colours
Characteristics of the female-sex Glass: Compared to other female-sex breeds, Glass is very big in size. Some full grown female-sex Glasses are 9cm in length. Mostly greyish coloured the tail fin is smaller than the male-sex but has a dotted pattern. There are some female-sex Glasses with a longer upper end tail like the top sword fin but these are known to be the result of crossbreeding with the Mosaic breed. Plain-coloured with round tail is considered to be the best breed. If the female-sex is plain-coloured, it doesn't affect the fin pattern of the male-sex. This is due to the fact that round tail is possible to obtain fan tail.
Type: Blue Glass, Red Glass, etc.
Other: There aren't enough records on the Glass breed. Only that it started to be exported from Singapore by the end of the 1960s. It is believed that its origin is Europe. Like the German Yellow Tuxedo, it is one of the most popular noble types of guppies in the world.
5. Metal
Tail fin: Differ from breed to breed according to their characteristics.
Dorsal: Differ according to the shape and colour of the fin.
Colour: Metallic colour on the upper part
Type: Metal Cobra, Metal lace Cobra, Metal glass, Metal glass Cobra, etc.
Other: Metal is known to be first bred in the Soviet Union thus called the Metal Moscow in the West.
6. Platinum (as an example of solid body colour)
Tail fin: Characteristics of the crossbred.
Dorsal: Similar to the tail.
Colour: The upper part is of silver, gold, and platinum.
Other: Platinum was first crossbred in Germany. Recently many different types of breeds have been made. Like the Albino, Platinum is a trait possible in all breeds.
Now as we know from guppies they can cross quiet readily, so you will likely find that the guppies in your tank or down the store are some form of cross of these main types, I hope this will help to Identify what you have in your tanks, and maybe even help to identify what went into your guppy.
Monday, January 18, 2016
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Guppy - Poecilia reticulata
Guppy - Poecilia reticulata
Common name: Guppy
Family: Poeciliidae
Usual size in fish tanks: 4 - 6 cm (1.57 - 2.36 inch)
014
Recommended pH range for the species: 7 - 8
Recommended water hardness (dGH): 12 - 18°N (214.29 - 321.43ppm)
0°C 32°F30°C 86°F
Recommended temperature: 19 - 29 °C (66.2 - 84.2°F)
The way how these fish reproduce: Pseudo-LivebearerWhere the species comes from: South America
Temperament to its own species: peaceful
Temperament toward other fish species: peaceful
Usual place in the tank: Middle levels
Feeding
They’ll eat almost anything that fits into their mouths. In addition these fish will try to eat everything you give them until they almost explode, so dBon’t overfeed Nthem, even if they give you the hungry eyes look. Guppies have small stomachs, so feeding them two times a day with a small amount of food is a good idea, however feeding once a day is OK too. You can offer them small flakes, small granules and they love frozen food like bloodworms, tubifex, artemias and so on. Sufficient amount of food is everything that they can eat within 2 or 3 minutes. If even after this time there is food floating around, you are overfeeding them.Origin
Guppies originally come from rivers of South and Central America. They live there in fresh and even brackish rivers. Nowadays you can find them in other rivers in warm climate like in FloriKda, and in some Asian rivers where they were deliberately introduced to eat mosquito larvae to decrease the numbers of malaria occurrences.Sexing
The male and a female almost look as if they don’t even belong to the same species. Males have tiny bodies and huge colourful fins. Their tail fin is almost as long as the whole body. Females on the other hand have very large and bulky bodies. They can be almost 2 times bigger than a male and they are far less colourful and have short fins.Breeding
Guppy fish is a pseudo-livebearer which means that the female doesn’t lay eggs, but her eggs are fertilized and later they hatch inside of her body. It takes about a month from fertilization to “giving birth”. Parents don’t need any special conditions, there just has to be a male and a female in a tank. And since a female can even store sperm inside of her body, sometimes she can breed months after she saw a male. So they breed very easily, and just as that easily they can overpopulate the aquarium. The adult fish will eat their young if they catch them, just as any other fish will see the guppy fry as delicacy. But if you give the fry some hiding place between plants like Java fern or a heavy growth of Vallisneria for example, they will survive and continue on breeding. Also you can move a female into a separate tank (150 litres or 40 US gallons, sponge filtration, slow water movement) to give birth and then put her back into the original tank to ensure the highest rate of survival of the fry. The fry can be fed by crushed flakes, granules or special fry food. After about 3 months, they are fully grown and they start breeding themselves.Lifespan
Guppies usually live 2 years. In my experience, some specimens can live 3 or more years. On the other hand, such a lifespan is rare; about 5% of Guppies live so long. Mostly they will live only about a year. One of the reason for their short lifespan is that they are often inbred, which causes genetic deformations and vulnerability to diseases.Tank requirements
Most of the guppies are kept by beginners in small tanks, sometimes even bowls without any filtration, but that is wrong. They need at least 40 litres (10.57 US gallons, 8.80 Imperial gallons) per 10 specimens and those small fish bowls are absolutely not suitable for keeping any fish except for some extraordinary situations such as curing ill fish or having a large bowl (60 litres, ~16 US gallons, 13 Imperial gallons). Otherwise these fish don’t have any special requirements. Just keep the water reasonably clean, neutral and warm during a colder season. Tall plants are good additions since they’ll give a sense of protection and since males get into fights or they may harass females, they will also be seen as great hiding places for the fry.Tank mates
Guppy fish is a very social fish. They should always be kept with other fish, at least 15, never alone. When choosing tank mates, you should consider that they are very active. They swim around all day and they often annoy other fish. Don’t put them together with long fined fish like the betta fish and such slow moving species. Also avoid even slightly aggressive fish like gouramies, paradise fishand so on, otherwise the guppies will be eaten. If you want to keep more guppies, always buy two females per every male. If you’ll keep more males than females, males will harass the female until she is not be able to take it anymore and she dies. Without females, males will also more often parade themselves in front of other males and nip at each others’ fins.Short description
One of the reason for the popularity of guppies is, that they come in uncountable amounts of colour forms. Their fins can have many different patterns, colours and shapes, and by breeding, you can make some new ones too. Some breeders sell only males of their unique guppies, so nobody but them can breed their unique breeds.Pictures
Thanks a lot to William Yen who has allowed us to use the pictures.
Following pictures were bought by aqua-fish.net from jjphoto.dk
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)