Guppy
| Origin= Central America to Brazil (Introduced throughout the world and nowadays found in the wild in many warmer regions) Scientific Name= Poecilia reticulata Max. Size= Non-Cultivated form: Males: 1.18" (3CM) Females: 1.96" (5CM). Cultivated Form: Males: 2.36" (6CM) Females: 3.11" (8CM). pH= 6.5-8 Temperature= 15-31C (58-90F) Temperment= A peaceful species for a community tank, but may chase other fish. Minimum Tank Size and/or Tank Type= A 5G (20L), community tank. Favourite Foods= Live & Artifical foods. Other Info= Like most livebearers, Guppies do well with freshwater aquarium salt in the tank, put in as the directions follow. Breeding Info= TANK: With .75-2.5G (3-10L) capacity and breeding trap for 1 female. GENDER: The Male is brightly coloured and has a gonpodium. Non-cultivated forms of the female guppy tend to little, if not no, colouring. BREEDING RATIO: 1 Male : 3-4 Females BREEDING WATER: 22-24C (72-76); pH of 7-8; half hard to slightly hard, fresh; add 1 teaspoon NaCL for every 10 litres of water. OTHER BREEDING INFO: For the basic breeding group of 1 male & 3-4 Females, use a tank with a 12G (50L) capacity without any substrate on the bottom but with an efficient mechical filter and floating plant thickets. Seperate spawn-ripe females, putting them either singly in small tanks or singly in small traps suspended in a large tank, or in an adequately large trap. From small tanks pour off fry of the same strain into a large tank with a water level of about 3.93" (10CM) and raise this level as the young fish grow. One basic rule: Never keep several strains together in the same tank. As soon as it is possible to identify the sex of the fry seperate the males from the females. The later the males attain sexual maturity the greater is the probability that they will reach the largest possible size. Because the generations follow quickly one upon the other, in time, with constant inbreeding, there are degenerative changes in the fish, particularly a decrease in their size. It is, therefore, advisable to obtain brood fish of the same strain but from different, unrelated groups. You should feed the fry finely sifted zooplankton or brine shrimp nauplii. |  Photo Credit: Exotic Aquatics |
              
  |