information about guppies?

Question

how to mate guppies and the best way to take care of these fish

Answer 1

The guppy (Poecilia reticulata), also commonly known as guppie, is one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species in the world. It is a small member of the Poecilidae family (females 4 centimetres long, males 2½–3 centimetres long) and like all other members of the family, is live-bearing. It prefers a hard water aquarium and can withstand levels of salinity up to 150% sea water (58 ppt sodium chloride)[1], which has led to them being occasionally included in marine tropical community tanks, as well as in freshwater tropical tanks. Its most famous characteristic is its propensity for breeding, and it can breed in both fresh water and marine aquariums[2]

Contents [show]
1 Taxonomy
2 Ecology and behaviour
3 Reproduction
4 References
5 External Links
6 Notes



[edit] Taxonomy
Robert John Lechmere Guppy( a.k.a Mr. Gup Gup) (1836-1916) discovered this tiny fish in Trinidad in 1866, although the fish was known to German aquarists prior to that time.

Over time, many species are assigned a different taxonomic name. The guppy is no exception:

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



[edit] Ecology and behaviour
There is a great deal of variety between the populations, many with distinctive coloring or patterning. Those that live in habitats where predators are common tend to be less vividly decorated as a protective measure. Populations that deal with fewer predators are much more colorful. Recent studies suggest that vividly colored males are favored via sexual selection (Handicap principle) while natural selection via predation favors subdued tones. As a result, the dominant phenotypes observed within a reproductively isolated community are a function of the relative importance each factor has in a particular environment.

Occasionally male guppies may behave aggressively towards each other, engaging in fin-nipping and other bullying behaviour. This behaviour is also sometimes exhibited towards other top swimmers like platys and swordtails and occasionally other fish with prominent fins such as angelfish.

Guppies (a.k.a Gup Gup's) live in complex networks, choosing social partners and remembering them. [3].

The extensive work on guppies is summarised in Anne Magurran's Evolutionary Ecology: the Trinidadian guppy.


[edit] Reproduction

Guppy Fry, 1 weekGuppy( a.k.a. Gup Gup) 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. The gestation period of a guppy is 22-26 days. When the female guppy becomes fertilized, a dark area near the anus, known as the gravid spot, will enlarge and darken. Guppies prefer water temperatures of about 22 °C (72 °F) for reproduction. After giving birth, the female is ready for conception within a few hours. If a male does not mate with the female soon after birth, the female can use stored sperm from the previous mating.

People breeding their own guppies should be aware that the adults will eat their young. 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, and of providing a separate area for the newborn young as protection from being eaten by their mother.

Another option for aquarists is to simply provide lots of plants for the young to hide in. Immediately after giving birth, female guppies experience a rush of hormones which serve to decrease their appetites. This can last up to 12 hours, which provides the fry ample time to hide provided that no other adult fishes are around.

Answer 2

These fish have a pretty short lifespan, usually only 7-8 months. They are very easy to care for, however. But they should only be considered if you have either the capacity or a LFS that will buy the many many fry. Guppies can have as many as 120 fry. Males may mature in about 2 months, but females can take 2-3.
Care Information:
These are typically an easy fish to care for. They should have at least 10 gallons, though if you have more than 2 males in a 10g, they may fight. The general rule for guppies is 1" per gallon.

They will readily eat tropical flakes, though a variety in diet will help to keep them healthy. Good variants include frozen foods (brine/mysis shrimp) and live foods (brine shrimp, worms). It is important not to overfeed; they can eat too much food. If this happens, the food will pass through their system undigested, which fouls the water very quickly.
Breeding Information:
They breed readily and easily. One point to know is that if you bring home a female guppy that has been in a tank with males, she is most likely pregnant. Females can store the sperm for quite a long time, and she may not even show signs of pregnancy for a while. The female will develop a dark spot on the abdomen (called the gravid spot) when pregnant.

If you have the capacity, it is possible to breed your own strain of guppy; specific tail shape and color. If this is something you would like to attempt, it is important to inbreed as little as possible. It is also essential to keep a breeding journal in this case. Too much inbreeding can cause many problems, and sometimes occurs in fry not reaching adulthood.

The tail fin has quite a few variations, though pet stores usually only have the delta (triangular shaped), wild (rounded), or fan versions. Others are the pin (middle of the fin is longer, spade (spade shaped), top/bottom/double swords, and lyre (middle of the fin is shorter).

There are two different color areas on the guppy; the upper body and lower body. Colors for the upper body include gray, golden, tiger (small black stripe-like spots), white, albino, metallic, and platinum. Lower body colors are cobra (a snake-like pattern) and black (also called tuxedo or half-black). There are 3 types that these colors fall into; solid, grass (small dots all over the tail), mosaic (interconnected dots, larger than grass), and leopard (large dots).

When breeding, make sure to keep a journal in order to figure out which traits are dominant, if any are gender-specific (i.e. only passed through the female), and to keep track of which fish are related, basically a family tree.

Answer 3

you need a basic tank set up 20 gal or bigger works best. regular filter heater set to 80-84 Fahrenheit they are tropical fish you need Lott's plants floating and anchored and maybe a few decorations that they can hide in. nothing sharp that they could get hurt on they eat tropical fish food brine shrimp exc. and you should grind it up when you are feeding fry you should have at least two females to every male if not more you should also get an algae eater to help with waste clean up i never use those horrid nursery traps they can cause your females to stress out and abort there prgnancys and also it can cause them to die i let mine do it all natural in the tank as long as you have lottsa places for the fry to hide i wouldent worrie pluse you can always pull them out if you want to! when the guppies are around three monthes of age they are ready to breed males sometimes sooner they are rampent breeders they have been called the million fish gestation is from around 21 to 31 days when the femal is ready to drop fry her graved spot will turn black which is located on her belly her belly will go from big and fat to kinda boxie looking and she could possable stop eating and she will find some where quiet to hide from everyone tell shes done having her fry! Females are useually bigger and less colorfull the males have bright colors and larger fins ther also have a fin on there bellys that is hard and pointed it is used to impregnate the female once the female is impregnated she can have several batches of fry with out a male present because they store spurm! thats about all i can tell ya best a luck to ya!!

Answer 4

Article on breeding guppies: http://freshwater.fanatics.googlepages.com/guppybreeding

Answer 5

put females and males together they will do the rest feed them once a day