World Of Guppies Forum

Duck and Dive · Site Admin Joined: 05 May 2008 Posts: 59

With breeding guppies there are two purposes of breeding that hobbyists choose to do, selective breeding which the aim is to produce a colorful healthy fish. Or which most hobbyists aspire to do is to breed to increase the number of fish, or just because it's so rewarding. But it is your choice of which one to choose.

The breeding tank

It is recommended that you have two tanks one community tank, it's purpose is to keep the males and females in between broads so they can mate again. The other tank will be a rearing tank to raise the fry until they are one quarter of their adult size, then when they reach this size they can be put in the community tank with the adults. The community tank should be 25L (5 gallons or more) but preferably bigger.

Breeding traps

There are a variety of breeding traps on the market but it varies on what you prefer. The most commonly used is breeding nets. This is where you put the pregnant female in and the net has holes small enough for the fry to slip through when they are born. The others such as a plastic one with a griddle at the bottom of it so the fry slip through the griddle into the rearing tank, Hagen multi-breeder is a very good example.

Selective breeding

When you buy the adults make sure they are healthy and the colours you want.

Ground and cover colours: In addition to fin and tail shape, colours play a very important part in selective breeding.
Guppies have a basic or ground colour on which are markings in other bright and iridescent cover colours that catch your attention. The most important ground colours of guppies are: Wild-colour, Albino blond and blue.

Wild-colour guppies have a grey or olive-green ground colours.

Albinos lack black pigments so their bodies are light coloured and their eyes are red.

Blond guppies also have light coloured bodies but the black pigments are not completely lacking.

Blue guppies lack shade of yellow and red and because of this they have a blue shimmer.

By combining these different colours new ground colours can be created.

Breeding to increase number of fish

Breeding to increase the number of fish is easy you just get male and female guppies( a ratio 1 male to every 3 females makes them breed better.) and put them in a tank and wait for babies, its that simple! But you should add some plants, bushy ones so the fry can hide. There are breeding methods such as put the very pregnant female in a breeding net in the rearing tank so the female can't get out of the net and the fry slip through into the tank. Then the female is put back in the community tank to mate again.

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