Family – Poecilia
Scientific Name - reticulata (fancy type)
Common Name – guppy/guppie/millions fish
Locality - From northeastern South America and some of the islands, such as Trinidad, Barbados, and a few of the leeward islands ... but due to the prolific nature and their relish of misquito larvae, they have been spread around the tropics world-wide ... as has also the more successful (aggressive)gambusino (or misquito fish)
pH – moderately hard 6.8-7.6/adaptable (can even be acclimated to live in brackish or even full seawater)
Temperature (in F) - 68-86F (70-74 best for breeding)
Max size (in inches) - 1-2.5"
Minimum tank size - can be kept in a 10g if care is taken but a 20g or larger is better as they tend to quickly multiply to fill their tanks
Sociability - peaceful ... a good fish for a colorful community
Breeding - Livebearer ... gestation period is approx 28-30 days ... Guppies are not as inclined to fry snacking as swordtails but plenty of cover in the form of thick plantings (plastic is fine) and/or lots of jumbled rocky bottom cover as well as some floating material for fry cover is a good idea if you intend any of the fry to survive ... like most livebearers, the fry are born with no air in their swim bladder and must dart to the surface at the moment of birth for their fist sip of air to 'prime' their swim bladder... this is so they do not mess up the mother's equilibrum in the 'womb' prior to birth - but it also makes them extremely vulnerable to predation in those first few moments of life until they can get to the surface and then back down to cover
Temperament - Same as sociability
Comments – wild-type(feeder) guppies are an extremely hardy adaptable species ... fancy strains, while larger and more attractively colored(to most people) are not as hardy unfortunately ... be aware that the fancier strains may be more prone to disease and especially bacterial illnesses - thus the general recomendation to keep breeding colonies in bare bottom tanks (with plants in pots if desired)
Personal Experience - I have had a half-assed colony running for the past 6-7 years with an occasional infusion of a new fish or two for fresh blood ... culls are tossed to the cichlids but they are not primarily kept for feeders (i keep cons for feeder fry production) ... i call the line that has shown up pre-dominant in my tanks flametail or matchstick guppies because the yellow and orange specks on black tail pattern reminds me of a match or torch flame
[ CLICK HERE ] to see the tank the current guppy colony is in
Click for additional info and resources at International Fancy Guppy Association site 
Close up of male with nibbled tail
Shot of several males (BLUR)
Shot of current prime male
Male-females-juvie fry
another shot of the above Male-females-juvie fry
one more shot of the above Male-females-juvie fry
Shot of former breeding tank
photos by BABailey
