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.
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