Guppy

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For other uses, see Guppy (disambiguation).

Guppy

Male (left) and female (right)

guppies

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Cyprinodontiformes

Family: Poeciliidae

Genus: Poecilia

Species: P. reticulata

Binomial name

Poecilia reticulata
Peters, 1859

Synonyms

Acanthocephalus guppii
 A. reticulatus
Girardinus guppii
G. petersi
G. poeciloides
G. reticulatus
Haridichthys reticulatus
Heterandria guppyi
Lebistes poecilioides
L. reticulatus
Poecilia poeciloides
Poecilioides reticulatus

The guppy (Poecilia reticulata), also known as the millionfish,[1] is one of the most popular
freshwater aquarium fish species in the world. It is a small member of the Poecilidae family
(females 4–6 centimetres long, males 2½–3½ centimetres long) and like all other members of the
family, is live-bearing.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Taxonomy
• 2 Distribution
• 3 Ecology and behavior
• 4 Reproduction
• 5 In the aquarium
• 6 See also
• 7 References
• 8 External links

• 9 Further reading

[edit] Taxonomy
Robert John Lechmere Guppy discovered this tiny fish in Trinidad in 1866, and the fish was
named Girardinus guppii in his honour by Albert C. L. G. Gunther later that year. However, the
fish had previously been described in America. Although Girardinus guppii is now considered a
junior synonym of Poecilia reticulata, the common name "guppy" still remains. Over time
guppies have been given a variety of taxonomic names, although Poecilia reticulata is the name
currently considered to be valid.[2]

[edit] Distribution
Guppies are native to Barbados, Brazil, Guyana, Netherlands Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago, the
US Virgin Islands, Venezuela.[3]

However, guppies have been introduced to many different countries on all continents, except
Antarctica. Sometimes this has occurred accidentally, but most often as a means of mosquito
control, the hope being that the guppies would eat the mosquito larvae slowing down the spread
of malaria. In many cases, these guppies have had a negative impact on native fish faunas.[4]

[edit] Ecology and behavior

Guppies exhibit sexual dimorphism. While wild-type females are grey in body colour, males
have splashes, spots, or stripes that can be yellow, orange, blue, red, black, or even purple.

Guppies are often bred for their natural colour, so over the years the domestic guppy has grown
weaker. As a result, guppies will sometimes die after 2–3 days after stress or pH shift. A guppy
may not survive a sudden increase or drop in temperature.

[edit] Reproduction

A baby guppy in an aquarium at 1 week old

A pregnant guppy at about 26 days

Female(left) and male(right) guppy in a hatchery

Guppies are highly prolific livebearers.[5] The gestation period of a guppy is 21–30 days, with an
average of 28 days, varying according to water temperature. After the female guppy is
inseminated, a dark area near the anus, known as the gravid spot, will enlarge and darken. Just
before birth, the eyes of fry may be seen through the translucent skin in this area. Guppies prefer
water temperatures of about 27 °C (72 °F) for reproduction. The female guppy has drops of
between 2–100 fry, typically ranging between 5 and 30. From the moment of birth, each fry is
fully capable of swimming, eating, and avoiding danger. After giving birth, the female is ready
for conception again within only a few hours. In fact, guppies have the ability to store sperm, so
the females can give birth many times, after only once breeding with a male. If not kept separate
the older, mature guppies will eat the fry so the use of a breeder box, net breeder, or a 5–10
gallon tank is recommended.

Young fry take roughly one or two months to reach maturity. In the aquarium, they are usually
fed ground flake foods, baby brine shrimp or unless they are put in a separate tank, the babies
will eat uneaten food from the adults. In addition, they nibble on algae.

The guppy has been successfully hybridised with various species of molly (poecilia
latipinna/velifera), eg male guppy and female molly. However, the hybrids are always males and
appear to be infertile.[6] The guppy has also been hybridised with the Endler's livebearer (poecilia
wingei) to produce fertile offspring. The adult guppies sometimes eat their fry; owners may use a
breeder cage to prevent this.

[edit] In the aquarium

Males of six different varieties of guppy.

Guppy standards

The guppy prefers a hard water aquarium and can withstand levels of salinity up to 150% that of
normal sea water,[7] which has led to them being occasionally included in marine tropical
community tanks, as well as in freshwater tropical tanks. Guppies are generally peaceful, though
nipping behaviour is sometimes exhibited between male guppies or towards other top swimmers
like platys and swordtails and occasionally other fish with prominent fins such as angelfish. Its
most famous characteristic is its propensity for breeding, and it can breed in both fresh water and
marine aquariums.[8]

Guppy breeding by aquarists produces variations in appearance ranging from color consistency
to fantails and "spike" swordtails. Selective breeding has created an avid "fancy guppy" collector
group, while the "wild" guppy maintains its popularity as one of the hardiest aquarium fish.

Well fed adults often do not eat their own young, although sometimes safe zones are required for
the fry. Specially designed livebearer birthing tanks, which can be suspended inside the
aquarium, are available from aquatic retailers. These serve the dual purpose of shielding the
pregnant female from further attention from the males, which is important because the males will
sometimes attack the females while they are giving birth. It also provides a separate area for the
newborn young as protection from being eaten by their mother. However, if a female is put in the
breeder box too early it may cause her to have a miscarriage. Well planted tanks that offer a lot
of barriers to adult guppies will shelter the young quite well. Java moss, Duckweed (Lemna
Minor), and Water Wisteria are all excellent choices.

[edit] See also

• Poecilia wingei, the Endler's Livebearer. This is considered a separate species, but
some[who?] believe it may be just a different variety of guppy.

[edit] References
1. ^ Eli Agbayani. "Common Names of Poecilia reticulata".
http://www.fishbase.org/comnames/CommonNamesList.cfm?
ID=3228&GenusName=Poecilia&SpeciesName=reticulata&StockCode=3424. Retrieved 2007-
04-24.
2. ^ Eli Agbayani. "Synonyms of Poecilia reticulata".
http://www.fishbase.org/Nomenclature/SynonymsList.cfm?
ID=3228&GenusName=Poecilia&SpeciesName=reticulata. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
3. ^ Eli Agbayani. "Countries where Poecilia reticulata is found".
http://www.fishbase.org/Country/CountryList.cfm?
ID=3228&GenusName=Poecilia&SpeciesName=reticulata. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
4. ^ "Poecilia reticulata". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. April 2007 version. N.p.:
FishBase, 2007.
5. ^ Guppy. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Retrieved on 2007-
05-07.
6. ^ Ghadially, F. N.; Myron Gordon (1956-12-29). "A Localized Melanoma in a Hybrid Fish
Lebistes x Mollienesia" (pdf). Cancer Research: 597–599.
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/reprint/17/6/597.pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
7. ^ Chervinski, J. (1984) Salinity tolerance of the guppy, Poecilia Reticulata Peters. Journal of
Fish Biology 24: 449-452.
8. ^ Shikano T, and Fujio Y. 1997. Successful propagation in seawater of the guppy Poecilia
Reticulata with reference to high salinity tolerance at birth.Guppies are easy fish to look after.
Just in case of fin nipping to your Guppies remove the fin nippers. FISHERIES SCIENCE 63:
573-575.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Poecilia reticulata

• Poecilia reticulata (TSN 165903). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved

on June 8 2004.
• "Poecilia reticulata". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. April 2004 version.
N.p.: FishBase, 2004.
• Club Live World. – Guppy's standards (500 photos)
[edit] Further reading
• Houde, A. E. (1997). Sex, Color, and Mate Choice in Guppies. Princeton: Princeton
University Press. p. 224. ISBN 0691027897.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guppy"

Categories: Live-bearing fish | Introduced freshwater fish of New Zealand | Ovoviviparous fish |
Poeciliidae | Non-native fauna of the British Isles
Hidden categories: Articles containing Latin language text | All articles with specifically-marked
weasel-worded phrases | Articles with specifically-marked weasel-worded phrases from October
2009