Guppy Insider

Catalogue : - Things to Know About Guppies Before Buying One - Beginner's Guide to Breeding Guppies - Basic Guide to Raising Guppy Fries - Inbreeding in Guppies - Alternatives to Guppies 

Guppies aren't the only fish that can store their fries in the belly and able to give birth for months without any presence of male. Almost all fish that belong to the Poeciliidae family have the same reproductive system as guppies. Among the Poeciliidae fish, the most popular ones are endler, molly, platy, and swordtail. There are also other Poeciliidae fish that have recently become more popular as pets, but I try to focus on the popular 4.  Endler Endler is one of guppy's closest relative. Infact, you can mate guppies with endlers to produce fertile offsprings. The majority of endler being sold today are actually not pure endler, but rather mixes of guppies. Most of the endlers that are sold retain their much of the wild appearance. Infact, their appearance almost resemble wild guppies. Compared to wild guppies, male endlers have distinctive sword-like coloration on the tail. The males are smaller than male guppies, so they can be smaller alternatives to guppies. It is said ...

 Around 10 years ago, guppies were famous as beginner's fish. Their ability to tolerate high amount of nitrate and different water conditions made them ideal to keep for those who are still new to fishkeeping. However, things have changed. Many guppies that are sold in stores today are very delicate as the result of constant inbreeding. Many, if not, most farmers often ignore the consequence of inbreeding. To keep the price of the fish cheap enough, farmers do not have the time to sort the fish. With so little profit to be made for each guppy, farmers have to sell as many guppies as possible in the quickest possible time. The massive reduction of population leads to higher chance of inbreeding among the guppies in the farm. Furthermore, male guppies randomly impregnate every fertile female they can find so imagine the amount of fish that are born from the same fathers.  It has been scientifically proven that inbred are less immune towards parasites (Source : https://www.s...

 Raising guppy fries is actually quite easy. Once they're born, they're able to swim freely without parental care. Infact, their parents eat their own fries ! Guppies don't have nurturing instinct like some fish do. They will try to eat whatever that can fit into their mouth. There are two ways you can prevent the fries from getting eaten : Put them in separate place or put some plants. The plants help the fries to hide from the adults and incase the adults try to chase the fries, the fries can swim through the small gap between plants that slow down the adults. They can safely swim around with the adults after 2 months old in which the size is large enough to not fit into the mouths of the adults. At first, the adults might try to eat them, but after learning that it's useless, they will eventually get used to it. Apart from those two common tips, there are also tips that I've developed based on my personal experience. Adding juveniles in the tank is one of the sec...

One of the charms of owning guppies is breeding them. With so many color and pattern variations, combined with their relatively quick reproductive cycle, there's endless possibilities to create new strains. Understanding how their reproductive system works is essential for breeders who are committed to design their own guppies. The following guides will help you understand the basics. Determining Gender Male guppies have pointy gonopodium at the bottom, while the females don't. Males are also smaller in size and among some strains, the tail is larger than the females. In some strains, you can easily tell the difference between males and females by just looking at the colors.  Important Measures to Know Female guppies are able to give birth multiple times for 6 months without the presence of any male. This means that when you buy a female guppy from a community tank/farm, there is no doubt that the female is carrying sperms from the male(s) that impregnated her. Getting a virgin...

  Things to know before you decide to buy guppies : Choosing Gender  Female guppies, like any other poeciliidae fish, are able to give birth multiple times within 6 months without the presence of any male. This means that when you buy a female guppy, there is a very high chance she will keep giving birth for months. If you don't wish for babies to be born in your tank, avoid buying females. It is very easy to tell the difference between males and females by the following pictures : As you can see, the males feature their distinctive gonopodium. Males tend to be more colorful and in certain strains of guppies, it is very easy to see the difference between males and females. Males are also smaller in size. If you wish to put both males and females together, the females must outnumber the males. This is because male guppies like to chase the females around and this can stress out the females. To reduce the time for each female to get chased by the males, the females must outnumbe...