Golden Guppy

🔹 Scientific Name: Poecilia reticulata

🔹 Common Name: Golden Guppy

🔹 Type: Freshwater Livebearer

🔹 Coloration: Metallic gold or yellow body and fins, with variations including solid, snakeskin, and tuxedo patterns. Males are more vivid and ornate than females.

📏 Size

• Maximum Size:

  • Males: Up to 1.5 inches (3.5–4 cm)

  • Females: Up to 2.5 inches (6 cm)

• Males are smaller and more colorful; females are larger and plainer but still attractive in golden strains.

🌍 Native Habitat

• Origin: Wild guppies are native to northeastern South America, including Venezuela, Guyana, Trinidad, and nearby regions.

• The Golden Guppy is a selectively bred strain created in aquariums and does not exist in the wild.

⏳ Lifespan

• Average Lifespan: 1.5 to 3 years

• Lifespan can improve with high water quality, good diet, and minimal stress.

🍽️ Diet

• Diet Type: Omnivorous

• Wild guppies feed on algae, insect larvae, small invertebrates, and biofilm.

• In aquariums, a balanced and varied diet includes:

  • Flake food or micro-pellets formulated for tropical fish

  • Live or frozen food: baby brine shrimp, bloodworms, daphnia

  • Vegetables: blanched peas, spinach, or spirulina flakes

🧬 Breeding

• Breeding Behavior: Livebearer – gives birth to fully-formed, free-swimming fry

• Breeding Season: Year-round in home aquariums

• Gestation Period: Around 21–30 days

• Each batch can produce 20–50 fry, and females can store sperm for multiple births

• Fry need dense plant cover (like hornwort or Java moss) or breeding boxes to avoid being eaten

🐟 Best Tank Mates

Golden Guppies are peaceful and social, making them ideal for community tanks with other non-aggressive fish.

• Great tank mates:

  • Other guppies

  • Platies, mollies, swordtails

  • Corydoras catfish

  • Otocinclus

  • Small peaceful tetras (e.g., neon, ember, rummy-nose)

  • Snails and shrimp

• Avoid:

  • Fin-nippers (e.g., tiger barbs, serpae tetras)

  • Aggressive species (e.g., some bettas, large cichlids)

  • Overstocking, which can stress guppies and lead to poor health

🏡 Aquarium Requirements

• Minimum Tank Size: 10 gallons for a small group

• Water Parameters:

  • Temperature: 72–82°F (22–28°C)

  • pH: 6.8–7.8

  • Water Hardness: 8–12 dGH (moderate to hard water preferred)

• Tank Setup:

  • Gentle filtration (sponge filters are ideal)

  • Live or artificial plants for shelter and fry protection

  • Weekly water changes (20–30%) to maintain excellent water quality