I am sitting here at The Crown Aquatics Pet Store, looking at these beautiful fish named Guppy. Guppies are one of the most popular fish among hobbyists. These fish are so renowned that even people who are not into fishkeeping know about these fish. Then what is the reason behind guppies being popular among people? So, I did a little research, and when I looked closely at the statistics, it makes sense why. I am going to write about my finding of guppy fish: Guppy fish care, habitat, tank requirements, breeding, and many more.
The Guppy Fish, also known as rainbow fish or million fish, is named after Robert John Lechmere Guppy in the 1920s, who sent the first specimens of Guppy to a British Museum “Natural History Museum-London.” The guppy fish is one of the smallest livebearing fish, males are typically 2-4 cm long, while females are 4-6 cm long. Guppies are disturbed all over the world as tropical fish and are one of the most popular tropical fish among freshwater fish. As they are hardy fish, they can tolerate a wide range of water parameters. Guppies are from Northeast, South America including, Brazil, Venezuela, Barbados, Tobago, and Trinidad.
Guppies are mostly kept in a community tank since they are very friendly and attractive. Guppy does not need high tech equipment and gadgets; all you need is a heater to maintain your tank temperature and a filtration system to keep a healthy aquarium water quality. Furthermore, the things that attract guppies are plants (natural or artificial) or small pots to hide for their safety; this will help them to feel less stressed. Guppies are omnivores fish, eats anything that fits in their mouth. In captivity, their diet includes fish flakes, pallets, and other live foods like mosquito larva, bloodworms, tubifex worms, etc.
Guppy Fish Care
Guppy fish are very easy to care for. And the fish is suitable for novice aquarists since they are easy to keep and non-aggressive, goes along with any small community fish. Guppies’ belong to the group of livebearers, they give birth at an incredible rate of free-swimming fry, around 50, instead of laying eggs. They can accept any environment and ecological condition inside the tank.
Guppies require a tank with minimum 10-Gallons in volume. And guppies do best if you give them the right temperature 24-30 degrees Celsius and pH between 6.5 to 7.5. It is important not to overfeed guppies. They should be fed twice a day, and all food should be consumed within 3 minutes.
Guppies have a mating process called polyandry, where there are few female and multiple males. Female guppy fish play a vital role while breeding. They are attracted to a brightly colored male, especially the one with the spots on the flanks.
Aquarium Size
Guppy fish are small that produces a tiny amount of bio-load. However, they still need a reasonable amount of space. You must make sure that you have a tank that is big enough for them to thrive. For general rule based on estimation, one gallon of water is enough to support one male guppy fish and add 4 gallons of water for the additional Guppy.
If you decide to keep female Guppy, then the ratio is 1:3, for every male, there should be at least two female guppies. Otherwise, the females will be stressed all the time, because the male chases the female all the time. If you don’t need any offspring, you can keep only male Guppy in the tank. And if you need offspring, you need another breeding tank, an aquarium for fry since guppies are known for eating their offspring.
Temperature
The temperature range for keeping Guppy is quite broad; the fish can survive in the range from 14°C to 33°C. However, you should keep the temperature stable; the ideal range is 22°C to 26°C.
At the low temperature, guppies tend to live longer, about 3-5 years, and grow more substantial, but this condition can easily get your guppy fish sick. Lower temperature can also cause the reproduction function and egg development process at rest.
At very high temperatures, oppose to the low temperature, the lifespan of guppy decreases by a year or less, and they don’t grow large.
Water Quality
Guppy fish is one of the hardy fish; they can adapt to a wide range of water parameters, i.e., they are known for their ability to adjust to different environments. Though the pH of water ranging from 6.8 to 7.8 is most preferable. If you want your guppy fish to feel comfortable, you need to minimize in fluctuation in temperature and water hardness. When it comes to choosing aquarium filtration, they don’t have any special needs; the basic filtration system is enough for guppies. Any quality Hang on the Back filter or Sponge filter will keep the water in perfect condition. As in to support the nitrogen cycle, you can add live plants to your aquarium and maintain your water condition. You need to do at least 10% water change weekly.
Filtration
Guppies favor tank with fresh and regularly renewed water. So, you will need to have a good filtration system to maintain a proper water condition for your fish to stay healthy. A filtration system is a house for beneficial bacteria that helps maintain your water chemistry. If you are setting up a new fish tank, you can grab on some used filter pads from already established tank’s filter.
Feeding Guppies
Guppies are easy to feed; they accept anything you provide that fits in their mouth. The fish receives food flakes, pellets, frozen, or live food. As for the live food, guppies like eating, bloodworm, brine shrimps, mosquito’s larva, corethra, and so on. And to brighten up the color and make the fish healthy, you need to add these live food in their diet once in a while.
You can also offer you guppies with real vegetables. Vegetables like; peas, cucumber, lettuce slices of poached zucchini are a good source of nutrients.
Guppies are small fish, they have a little mouth, and small abdomen. Therefore, they should be fed with a small amount of food that fits in their mouth. Feed them 2-3 times a day with a portion that the fish can finish within 3 minutes. It is the best idea to remove any leftover food.
If you are a person with a busy schedule and have no time to prepare live food for your fish, you don’t need to worry. There are many commonly available artificial food that contains all the nutrients that your fish needs. Here are the best foods for you fish that I have chosen.
Guppy Fish Characteristics
Scientific Name: Poecilia Reticilata
Origin: Northeast, South America
Common Name: Guppy Fish, Millions Fish, Rainbow Fish, Fancy Tail Guppy
Lifespan: 2-3 Years
Size: 1.5-2.5 inch
Temperature: 70-82 Degrees Fahrenheit
pH: 6.8-7.8
Fish Types: Delta tail guppy, Round Tail Guppy, Flag Tail Guppy, Fan Tail Guppy, etc.
Aquarium Size: Minimum 10-gallons
Gender: Male, Female
Five Best Guppy Food for Color, Growth and Immune Support
If you are in a hurry, then just read this short paragraph. My research points out that, TetraMin Nutritionally Balanced is the one you should pick for your fish, due to its excellent quality and benefits. This formula is enhanced to ensure the good health of your fish. This food is easy to digest, and your fish will love the food. Moreover, the food doesn’t lack any essential nutrition, offers complete nutrition your fish requires.
- Tetra TetraMin Large Tropical Fish Flake Food
- Hikari Usa Tropical Fancy Guppy for Pet Health
- Omega One Super Color Flakes
- Hikari Usa Inc AHK21108 tropical Micropellets
- New Life Spectrum Optimum All Purpose Flakes for Fish
- API TROPICAL GREENS FLAKES Tropical Fish Greens Flakes Fish Food
Types of Guppies
– Green Red Dragon
– German Platinum Crown Tai
– Blue Moscow
– Blue Moscow Albino
– Black Moscow
– Mozaic
– Red Mozaic
– Red Singapore
– Japan Blue
– Black Thai
– Metal Lace Thailand
– Cobra
– Red King Cobra Halfmoon
– Full Platinum
– Metallic Guppy
– Snake Skin Guppy
– Blue Grass Guppy
– Red Blonde
Tankmates
Guppy is a very peaceful fish and is very friendly and attractive as well. These fish create no harm to their tank mates. So, any fish that are small and not aggressive goes well with guppy fish. Therefore, fish like angelfish, green terror, parrot, Jack Dempsey, betta fish won’t make a good tank mate. Fish like, neon tetra, glowlight tetra, molly, dwarf gourami, harlequin rasbora, the platy does a great job as guppies tankmates.
Sexual Differences
Guppies are one of the easiest breeds to distinguish sex. Anyone with very little knowledge about fish can differentiate sex. Here are the things that separate the sex of Guppy.
- Males are relatively smaller as compared to female,
- Males guppy are more colorful, has more stripes, markings where females are usually gray with color patterns only in their fins and tail.
- Guppy females have rounded and pronounced abdomen
- In the juvenile stage, a male is the first to get their full color than female.
Guppy Lifespan
Guppies grow up fast, they mature within 15-20 weeks and can live up to 2 years. If they are provided with good tank conditions, they can live up to 3 years in captivity. The thing that you need to keep in mind is that if the water temperature rises, the metabolism process rate grows up; hence, lifespan reduces.
Interesting Facts about Guppies
- Guppy fish is named after a researcher and geologist Robert John Lechmere Guppy.
- The fish is also known as million fish because they breed at an incredible rate, i.e., at least 50 eggs in a month and rainbow fish because they have a wide range of colors.
- Due to selective breeding, there are thousands of different types of guppies with a variety of color patterns, body shape, body size, and tail types.
- Guppies are easy to care for.
- Like humans, Guppy gives birth to live young, and if you look closely at the translucent body of the female before giving birth, you can often see the eyes of the babies.
- Guppies eat their offspring, so you need to provide a hiding place for the fry planting thick live plants.
- As guppies are hardy fish, these fish are used to fight malaria, where one to two pairs of guppy fish are placed in ditches and still water to feed on mosquito larvae.
- Guppy fry is able to look after themselves from the moment of birth.
- The lifespan of guppy fish is about 2.5 years on average, and they breed throughout their life.
- Guppy fry grows very rapidly; a juvenile gets into the adult stage within 20 weeks.
- Guppies have 23 pairs of chromosomes, the same number as humans have.
Guppies FAQs
Where Do Guppy come from?
Guppies are originally from South America, countries such as Brazil, Barbados, and Guyana. Nowadays, many breeders around the globe are breeding guppies and exporting to other countries.
What is the best aquarium size for guppies?
Guppies are small fish, so they don’t require an enormous amount of room if you cannot afford it. Although there is a golden rule, one guppy needs 1-gallon space.
How many guppies can I keep in my tank?
You can keep one guppy to one gallon of water volume ratio. But, you should keep the males and females in a 1:2 ratio.
What is the best substrate for Guppy?
As guppies are colorful fish, providing them darker substrate will brighten up their color more. So go for aquarium soil or darker sand.
What filtration system should I use in the guppy tank?
Guppies need a moderate flow of water. And they don’t require a high tech filtration system to your tank, any filter having a capacity of circulating the water twice its volume will do best. For example: if you have a 10-Gallon tank, a filter having a capacity of 20-gallons per hour will do the job fine.
What should I feed my Guppy?
Guppies are an omnivore, and they accept any food you give them. To feed guppy fish, feed them a mixed diet, fish pallet, flakes, and live foods like brine shrimp, mosquito larva, bloodworm, etc. Make sure they eat all the food within 3 minutes. Else remove all the excess food.
How often should I feed Guppy?
I advise you to feed your Guppy with two small meals per day.
How long can Guppy live without food?
Guppy can last about one month without any food. But, your aquarium is a house of not only guppies but also microorganisms and algae. Guppies feed on these organisms, plant matter in the absence of food. So if you are planning a holiday, get an automatic feeder and increase the light to grow vegetation.
When do guppies mature?
It takes 15-20 weeks for a guppy fry to mature.
Which fish eat Guppy?
Any predator fish, aggressive, or a fish big enough to swallow Guppy can eat guppy fish.
What other fish can I keep with guppies?
Any non-aggressive, peaceful fish does fine. For example, swordtail, platy, neon tetras, glowlight tetras or any tetra, mollies, algae eaters, Cory catfish, and many more.
When will guppy fish get their color?
At week 2, their color should have darkened up, and after two months, they should have all their colorations.
Is Guppy easy to breed?
Yes, of course, you need to make sure you provide enough hiding place for the fry since the adult fish eat their offspring.
