One of the cheapest, most popular and yet beautiful fish that every aquarist is familiar with, is the Guppy (Poecilia reticulata), also known as the millionfish. Belonging to the Poecilidae family, Guppy is a small fish with the females growing to 4–6 centimetres long and the males 2½–3½ centimetres long.
This fish is live-bearing and are often bred for their natural colour. Breeding Guppy is very easy. Courtship starts when males spread their fins and curve their body in front of the females. The male will swim up against the female to mate. Once the female is inseminated, a dark area near the anus, known as the gravid spot, will enlarge and darken. The gestation period of Guppy is between 21 – 30 days which varies depending on the water temperature. Female Guppy drops the fry which are ready swimming, eating and capable of fending for themselves. The number of fry that a female Guppy can drop is between 2 – 100. As in other Poecilia family members, the females can retain the male sperm after a single mate and hence able to give birth many times in the absence of males.
The fry takes about one to two months to reach maturity and Guppy can live up to two years on average. Guppy feeds incredibily on anything, even with a small stomach and mouth. Its diet may consist of lettuce, bloodworms, tubifex worms, flakes, mosquito larvae etc. Feeding Guppy at least 3 times a day will keep the Guppy happy.
Guppy fares well in water temperatures of 23-24 °C (82-84°F) but they can also live in water between 19.0 – 29.0°C (69 – 86 °F). Guppy is a community fish and will live happily with a group of their own. Due to their small size, they are often targets of prey by the larger fish. Therefore, avoid placing Guppy with big fish. Recommended pH of 7.0 – 8.5 in the water is good for Guppy.
Guppy is an excellent choice for beginners and children.
Enjoy the Guppy video!
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9:57 pm on November 24th, 2009
An excellent for beginners! This was my first fish ever and normally these are the fishes that are normally taken for granted because they are so easy to take care of. Hobbyist most of the time dwell on the expensive fishes and spend so much money on them. At some point, I’m sure they’ve taken cared of a guppy before when they were young. I use to collect colorful guppies in my old aquarium when i was young and it was such a thrill. I suggest checking this site for different species of guppies, if you don’t know what specie your guppy is.
http://www.aquariumfishexperts.com/?s=guppy
11:41 am on February 11th, 2010
Hello! Nice write up! This was also my first fish. I kept guppies for 5 years and ended up with over 12 tanks for guppy. They are great fish to start with and learn about fish breeding.