31/08/2019
• Guppies are also called million fish. They got this nickname due to how fast they breed. Guppy can mate all year round. Females mate with numerous males (phenomenon known as polyandry) and store s***m in the body for the later use. Females can produce offspring during the next 8 months without assistance of males thanks to the stash of s***m in their body.
• Like most live bearing fish, guppies will eat their own young! Quite the parents, aren’t they?! Females give birth to live babies that can be seen even before birth thanks to see-through body of a female. Females in the captivity give birth to 20 to 60 babies (fry) each month, while females in the wild produce 2 to 3 litters per year. In rare instances, pregnancy can end with 100 to 200 babies.
• Babies (fry) are able to fend for themselves from the moment of birth. Some of the biggest threats for their survival are adult members of their own species that eat fry to prevent overcrowding of their habitat.
• Guppies can live to be 5 years old in correct care, while most only live about 2-3 years.
• Warm water can affect how long guppies live by speeding up their metabolism.
• Guppies’ scientific name is Poecilia reticulate.
• Male guppies mature very quickly, taking only two months, females at the age of 3 months. This is another reason they can reproduce so quickly!
• Guppies are named after the man who discovered them. His name was Robert John Lechmere Guppy.
• Guppies come in a large variety of colors, patterns, and tail types. All guppies are different in some way! Guppy is also known as rainbow fish because of the brightly colored body and fins. Females are generally duller in color (or even grey-colored in the wild). Males are brightly colored and covered with spots, stripes and splashes. Thanks to selective breeding, there are hundreds of different types of guppy today. They differ in size, color and patterns on the body and shape of the tail.
• Female guppies are larger than males, but males are more colorful.
• Guppies are great fish for new aquarium owners and experts alike!
• Guppy can reach 1.5 to 3 inches in length. Females are larger than males.
• Guppy is an omnivore. It eats algae and larvae of various insects in the wild, and tropical fish flakes and brine shrimps in the captivity.
• Guppies have been introduced to numerous rivers in Asia to reduce number of larvae of mosquito and help in the fight against malaria.