Origins

Birth

Guppies are live-bearing fish. The female expels
between 20 and as many as 70 young per batch.
These newborn guppies are called small fry.
As soon as they are born, the fry instincively
know that they have to shelter from other fish
otherwise they would become a tasty snack.

The small fry are not even safe from their
own mother!

A plant like Java Moss is ideal for providing
protection for the fry. This may be purchased
from the pet store where you obtain your other
aquarium requirements.

The fry grow rapidly, attaining maturity in
approximately three months. Once a female has
become fertile, she is capable of becoming pregnant,
giving birth then becoming pregnant again, producing
as many as ten batches per year.

Feeding

The small fry can be fed on brine shrimp during
their first week of life. The second week they can be
moved on to flake {dry fish food}. Bloodworms may be
introduced to the aquarium; taking care to keep them
in a specially-built container, as the worms that are not
eaten straight away may bury down beneath the gravel
at the base of the tank. Another popular live fish food
is daphne.

It is possible for an over-enthusiastic fish-keeper
to kill the fish by over-feeding.
One pinch of flake is enough for the aquarium per day.
Live fish food may be given in place of the flake once
a week.

Varieties of Guppy

Male Guppy

The male guppy is smaller in size than the adult
female and a lot more attractive.
They spend all their time swimming around the
females trying to mate with them or dancing in
front of them.
The males vary in colour and markings, no two are
ever the same. They measure approximately two
centimetres in length.

Female Guppy

Females guppies are a lot less active than
their male counterparts.They do their best to
ignore the attention that the attractive little
males bestow upon them.

Care

The aquarium should be no smaller than 24"x8"x8".
Air stones should be buried under the bottom
layer of the tank to oxygenate the water and
also to provide entertainment for the little fish.

Once attatched to the pump, the air stones
will provide the guppies with a constant
stream of bubbles for them to enjoy.
Guppies like to "flick"; and will happily flick
through a stream of bubbles.

The temperature of the water should be kept between
26 and 28 degrees centigrade {80-82 degrees f} with
the use of a water heater.

Once a week, approximately a third of the tank
should be emptied out and replaced with fresh,
clean water.