Guppies | Poecilia reticulata | Guppy facts and how to take care of them

 

             Guppies are a beautiful and relatively cheaper fish! This fish brings a lot of colors in your aquarium together.it was discovered in 1886 they have been bred selectively quite extensively due to which you will find a ton of colors and patterns in these fish.  It lives for about 2 years, and it can grow between half an inch to 2 inches long. It is an omnivorous fish and has both plant and meat-based diets. This fish requires a minimum of 5-gallon tank space, and the tank should have freshwater plants and supporting substrates. Guppies have over 300 types. They were named after John Robert Lechmereguppy who discovered them in 1886. This fish is also called the millions fish as it has an amazing breeding rate. They are also called the rainbow fish because you can find all types of colors in these fish just like a rainbow. It is also used for mosquito population control as it loves to eat mosquito larvae. Guppies like to stay in a group and swims constantly. If your fish is hiding in the tank that means it's either stressed or ill. Females in the wild are grey while males are color full unlike in the aquarium trade where females can show some color too. They have been selectively bred so much that there is rarely a color you won't find in this fish. When you selectively breed a fish you choose a pair of fish whose colors and patterns you like and let them mate, as different generations of there offspring are born a new color is developed via pairing the required colors of the fish. Males are generally smaller than females and grow between 0.5 to 1.5 inches, females can grow between 1 to 1.5 inches.

          Guppies have different types of body patterns like cobras which have vertical lines and rosettes, snakeskin pattern guppy has a chainlike pattern Tuxedo types have 2 tone body color, in this case, half the body is in one color and the other half is in the other color, it can be black and white, white and blue, yellow red and is called the tuxedo pattern like the suit. Like the body their different types of tail patterns also like the grass tail which has small dots looks like grass growth, leopard tail has dots just like a leopard and the lace tail which has a web-like design, and the last is the mosaic tail which has irregular dots that are connected. Other then the body and tail color pattern there are different types of tail shapes as well, like a spade, round, triangular, sword, and flag-shaped. When making the tank for the guppies remember that they are from South America, The best tank mates for guppies are guppies themselves, the more the merrier. If you want to keep guppies just to enjoy their colors you can keep an all-male tank, and if you want to breed on a smaller level then keep 2 males for one female. Other peaceful fish like neon tetra, cardinal tetras, platies, and Mollys can also be perfect tank mates. Don’t keep guppies with large aggressive fish as they are slow-moving and other fish can catch up to them pretty easily. Guppies have a relatively simple diet, they are not fussy eater, and because its an omnivore it can take both plant and meat-based diet for a balanced diet include, blood worms, mosquito larvae, green peas, lettuce, spinach leaves, and flake food. The common mistake that the hobbyist does with these fish is overfeeding. Feed this fish enough food that it can eat in two minutes. Feed it twice a day where you can feed it once with a meat-based diet and the other time with vegetables based food this will be beneficial for its colors and general well being. Breeding guppies is very easy, they need tall plants to hide when breeding, where they can give birth, and the fry can also feel safe. 

      Guppies give birth like us humans, as in they don't lay eggs but give birth to live offspring. Eggs grow inside the female and are matured. Witnessing a guppy giving birth is an amazing event, males have an idea which females are pregnant and which females are virgins, males pass on a sperm packet to the virgin females and the females store it inside there bodies. The sperm packet contains thousands of sperm cells is then used by the female to give birth to offspring for a long time. Females guppies pregnancies last between 21-30days, you can get an idea if the guppy is pregnant or not by looking at her. When the fry is born move them to a separate tank as female guppies can eat the, use java moss in the fry tank so they can hide and feel secure. You can feed them brine shrimp or some other small grain food so they can grow quickly. The most common diseases in guppies are white spot and fin rot, as it has a big tail it is vulnerable to parasites. If you see white spots on its body or tail rot, raise the tank temperature to 29 degrees Celcius and treat it with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal medicines like PimaFix or Mela Fix. Links for both of them are in the description. So the final verdict is that guppies are pretty and low maintenance fish, if you take care of them, they can earn there won food, as your colony can double in size in no time, and then each guppy pair can fetch you $1-2.