Guppy

Popular with new fish owners and breeding enthusiasts alike, the guppy makes a fabulous pet, as Mel Hearse discovers.

Guppies are those tiny (3-5cm-long), bright fish that you often see darting around an aquarium. While they used to come in various shades of dull brown, Guppies now come in an abundance of colours. Keen to work with Guppies as they are prolific breeders, enthusiasts around the world have selectively bred the fish to produce a huge variety of colours, body shapes and fin arrangements. While they originate from South America and the West Indies, almost all Guppies sold in Australia today are bred in Asia.

Guppies need an aquarium with capacity to hold between 18 and 37L of water, if you’re keeping more than the one fish — which is recommended as they are social creatures that prefer tank mates. Ensure there is adequate extra water so they can swim freely; this is actually important to keep them disease-free. They are suited to a densely planted community tank (they can become stressed without adequate chill-out spots) with other peaceful fish with similar water requirements, being slightly alkaline, hard water. Don’t house them with aggressive or larger species of fish, as those bigger bullies are likely to nip the Guppies’ brightly coloured tails.

The original article was published in PETS issue 61. Click here to subscribe to our magazine.