Caresheet: Guppy Fish | Poecilia Reticulata

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Mari

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Guppy fish Poecilia Reticulata

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Guppies are one of the most popular aquarium fish species and for many the first thing that comes to mind when they think of fishkeeping. They are colorful, fun to keep and their active behavior can brighten up any tank, whether single-species or community. Unfortunately, like many popular fish species, they are often the victim of improper care due to lack of knowledge on their requirements.

Keep reading for more information about fancy guppy care and setting up your own guppy aquarium!

Minimum tank size10 gal (38 L), long
TemperamentPeaceful
DietInsectivore
Temperature64.5-84 °F/18-29 °C
pH7.5-8
Guppy 101 | All you need to know about keeping guppies
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Name

(Fancy) guppy, Poecilia reticulata, millionfish

Guppy fish natural habitat

While guppies have been introduced throughout the world in attempts of mosquito control and by aquarists, they naturally occur in Venezuela, Brazil and various islands in the Caribbean sea. While they prefer streams and pools with thick vegetation, they can be found in almost any type of freshwater habitat and even occasionally in brackish waters.

Note: Like all aquarium fish and inverts, guppies should never be released in the wild. They tolerate a wide range of conditions and can actually survive in most waters, which means they can be very dangerous to native fish populations! If want to get rid of your guppies, please rehome them.

Guppy fish appearance

Their appearance is what made guppies so popular! While females and wild types are usually greyish brown color with the occasional blotch of color, males have been selectively bred to have a wide variety of colors, patterns and fin types. Their tail fins are often long and flowy.

Females can grow to twice the size of males and reach 2.5 inch/6 cm. When they are pregnant, a dark spot will appear behind their belly and they will become noticeably rounder.

Guppy fish requirements

For a small group of guppies, a large setup is not required.

  • A tank of at least 10 gallons/38L should be enough for a few fish, but because a larger group looks a lot better I would personally go for at least a 15 gallons/57L with 6 or more guppies. Because of their activity level, a rectangular aquarium that gives them plenty of swimming space is preferred.
  • If you live in an area where temperatures don’t drop below 64 °F/18 °C, you can choose to keep your guppies in an outdoor setup.
  • Like goldfish and bettas, guppies often seem to fall victim to the myth that bowls and vases are a proper home for them – they’re not. Please don’t keep your guppies in a bowl!
  • Because they usually naturally occur in waters with vegetation, guppies feel safest in an aquarium with both normal and floating plants. If you want to keep things realistic but simple, Cabomba is a relatively easy plant that naturally occurs in guppy habitat!
  • A pH of at least 7 and relatively hard water is recommended to keep your guppies healthy, as they don’t respond well to softer water. Interestingly, like some other livebearer species, they can also be kept in brackish and even full marine conditions. This makes them a great choice for anyone looking to set up a peaceful brackish aquarium. Because of their long, flowy tails they don’t appreciate very fast flowing water, but a regular filter that’s suitable for the tank size should be fine.
  • Be sure to only keep guppies in fully cycled aquariums; keep the water clean and ammonia and nitrite at zero at all times. Due to commercial breeding, guppies can be weak and vulnerable to stress and disease. Bad water values can quickly result in trouble!

Guppy fish tankmates

Although they may occasionally have a nip at fish with longer fins (including other guppies), these livebearers are generally peaceful and should therefore only be kept with other peaceful species. They do well with other livebearers like platies, mollies, swordtails and other calm fish that can withstand the higher pH values guppies thrive in.

When choosing your guppies, it’s a good idea to think beforehand about whether you want to breed them. Because they breed so easily you’ll almost always end up with fry; do you want this? Do you have room for them or a place to rehome them if necessary? If the answers to these questions are yes, you can go for about 2 females to every male to avoid excessive harrassment. If the answers are no, you can stick to a setup with just males to prevent overcrowding!

Guppy fish diet

As revealed by their upturned mouth, guppies are mainly insectivores in the wild. They prey on small bugs that have fallen into the water as well as mosquito larvae, which has led to their introduction in many throughout the world in an attempt to (unsuccesfully) reduce mosquito populations. They also eat algae, especially if other foods are scarce.

Commercially bred guppy varieties will accept almost any food and can be fed regular tropical fish food or guppy food, which is usually a bit smaller and easier for them to eat. A varied diet is important, so be sure to regularly supplement with frozen foods like mosquito larvae! You can even make your own homemade guppy gel food, as described here.

Guppy fish behavior

As mentioned before, guppies are a peaceful species. They enjoy being kept in groups and will stick together, especially when they’re nervous or during feeding time. They are active swimmers and you’ll constantly see them moving around, with the males chasing the females around and trying to impress them by bending themselves into odd shapes and wiggling their fins. This breeding behavior can even occasionally be seen in a males only setup!

Guppy fish will quickly learn where their food comes from and often react strongly when someone approaches the aquarium. If you’ve ever been in an aquarium store with a crowded guppy setup, you’ve probably seen the whole group flocking in your direction when you approached them. They will even chase a finger or hand together if they mistake it for food!

All in all, guppies are very amusing fish to keep. If you’re an experienced fishkeeper, don’t let their reputation as ‘beginner fish’ scare you off. They’re fun to watch and keep and a nice new challenge for any fishkeeper, both beginners and experts. The video below is a great example of a guppy setup and their interaction with each other and other livebearers.

Breeding guppy fish

Guppies are considered to be one of the easiest – if not the easiest aquarium fish to breed. If you put males and females together, there will be fry. Although they run the risk of being eaten by their parents and other tankmates, in a densely planted tank with lots of floating plants the fry have a good chance of survival and you usually don’t have to interfere.

If you want to get into serious guppy breeding, be sure to buy your stock from a responsible (local) breeder or at a guppy show, not at a pet- or aquarium store where you don’t know their origins. These mass bred guppies will often have hidden defects and can be much weaker, so you don’t want them to pass this on to their offspring!

If you have any more questions about keeping guppies or want to share your own experiences, be sure to leave a comment below. Happy guppy keeping!

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9 thoughts on “Caresheet: Guppy Fish | Poecilia Reticulata”

  1. I have heard fancy guppies is hard to raise
    I use to have mutt guppies & didn’t have any
    problems raising them, what’s the difference?

    I have hard water, I have cobomba plant’s &
    hornwort & jungle Val, I have 3-55 gal tanks
    I raised my mutt guppies in & got out of it.

    I’d like to try raising the fancy guppies if I
    could, but not sure if they would make it
    that’s why I am asking if it’s worth it?

    Reply
    • Hey Gayle!

      Fancy guppies are some of the easiest fish to keep. They are pretty inexpensive too.
      Maybe try softening your water, though it depends on how hard it actually is.

      Reply
  2. Keeping 5-6 guppies in a 10 gallon tank and now they have babies. The plants kept dying off so had to put artificial. Lives in a tropical climate so temperature is okay. Keeping a ratio of 1-3 male to female. I guess some are pregnant again.

    Reply
    • Hi Brian!
      Guppies will breed; it’s not a question of when but how much. Numbers might be able to moderate themselves if you don’t purposely remove fry and let nature take its course. However, more than likely, you will need to rehome some at one point or another. The good thing is that spawning means they are happy! So continue doing what you’re doing.

      Reply
  3. Hi I have a 10 gallon that my hamster used to live in (he has passed away, but I’ve cleaned it out made sure there was no leaks or anything) I want to have guppies in that tank but I have a low budget of allowance money about $80, any suggestions?

    Reply
    • If you’re going to keep guppies in a 10 gallon keep in mind that the amount you can keep is limited or their swimming space will become too restricted. With $80 you should be able to get some used products and set up your tank I think. Are you familiar with the equipment you need, like a filter, heater and liquid test kit?

      Reply
  4. I have a leftover 40 gallon tank which I used to put gerbils in (the gerbils didn’t die die I just moved them to a bigger enclosure) and I would like a community tank, preferably with guppies, and was wondering what I can keep in it and what filter to get. Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Hi!

      Guppies can be combined with all sorts of species. Other livebearers are a great option, as are small catfish species (watch your pH though). I know many aquarists also like to keep some kind of predatory fish with their livebearers – something that will eat excess babies but leaves the bigger adults alone. Again, you do have to keep pH in mind, as guppies like it relatively high while many other fish want more acidic water. Dwarf cichlids or golden wonder killifish might work well.

      Filter-wise, I love canisters. So much room for biological filter material! But really, anything works. I personally like “overfiltering” by getting a filter that’s rated for one tank size up or even getting two, but it’s all up to you.

      Good luck! 🙂

      Reply

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