Guppies are one of this fish generally looked at as "easy to breed" by most aquarists. Indeed, the main
requirement for breeding guppies seems to be having a male and a female in the same tank. Expect fry at
some point. Having been captive-bred for hundreds, possibly thousand of generations now though, guppies
are a much more fragile lot than the fish available even a few years ago. Along with selective inbreeding
for certain traits comes a weakened immune system. Those fancy fins are very prone to rot. As a foil to
their being easy to breed, guppies can oftentimes be difficult to keep alive.
I have found that the addition of some aquarium salt will help to ward off the fungal and bacterial
infections that so many guppies are prone to. I use marine salt (any brand will suffice), due to its
ability to also stabilize the pH and add certain trace elements to the water. The salt content of the
water usually reads between 1.003-1.006.
After keeping the guppies in this water for a few weeks, I stop adding salt during my water changes
and instead use the "waste water" from my Reverse Osmosis unit. This water is very hard, having a
conductivity reading usually around 1800-1900 uS (GH of approximately 900-950ppm). The guppies have
been thriving in this, and I am now on my fourth generation of fry.
Sexing guppies is relatively easy. Generally speaking, the males have much longer, ornate and colorful
finnage, whereas the females tend to have smaller fins and not as much color. Of course, a more sure
fire method of sexing guppies is to examine their anal/ventral fin. As is true with most common livebearers,
the ventral fin on the male is formed into a pointed device called the gonopodium, which is used for
depositing sperm. The female's fin is larger and rounded in order to aid in sperm reception.
For a good success rate, a stocking ration of at least two to three females per male is required,
otherwise the males will harass the females to the point of exhaustion. Guppies do not require a
large tank (I keep my breeders in a 10g tank), but be prepared to upgrade at some point soon, as
there will be a lot of fry to remove and grow out if you are to be successful. Guppies are commonly
referred to as the "millions fish", and there's good reason for it.
The breeding tank can be simply set up. I keep mine with a couple small floating plastic plants,
a sponge filter and a heater. That's it. The fry can hide from the parents until they're large
enough to be removed. In general, guppies are not as prone to eating their fry as some of the
larger livebearers are, and usually you can keep the fry in with the parents. In a community tank,
though, the guppy fry will be eaten in short order. Tank temperature is kept at 82 degrees.
Frequent water changes are the key to happy guppies and quickly growing fry. For fastest growout,
I change out 50% of the water every other day. Guppies are not a large bioload, and more frequent
changes than this (in anything but the most overstocked of tanks) is overkill and doesn't aid in
their growing out any faster.
Fry can be reared with finely crushed flake foods, specialized fry foods or any number of
similar products. What I use to grow out my fry is: crushed Omega One First Flakes, HBH
Fry Bites, HBH Betta Bites, crushed Nutrafin spirulina flakes, Phytoplan and Hikari's First Bites.
The Phytoplan and First Bites are very fnely ground foods, and I find them to be more useful
if the fry are on the smaller side. Most fry can take crushed flakes right away.
Guppies have a natural lifespan of around two years. If growing properly, the fry should be near full size
at 4-5 months. Males can be distinguished from females at around 2-3 months of age.
Tank Setup
Temperature: 82
Size10 gallons
pH: 8.2
water hardness:2000 uS, 1000ppm GH
Salt: Approx 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons.
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