Guppies
Guppies are the most popular aquarium fish, native to South America. They are very colorful thereby adding plenty of color to your tank. Guppies are known for their peaceful behavior. They are relatively cheap and very easy to maintain fish
They are also known as ‘The
Millions Fish,’ because of their amazing breeding rate and ‘The Rainbow Fish,’
because of the range of colors they come in.
Varieties
Guppies come in more than 300 varieties, in all
different types of colors, sizes and tail shapes. They got their names after
the name of Robert John Lechmere Guppy, who found them in Trinidad back in
1866. Newer varieties of these livebearer fishes include Ginga Rubra
guppies which can be viewed on
Aquarzon’s website at Aquarzon.com.
Behavior
Guppies are very friendly fish and can be easily kept in groups. Also, they’re active swimmers. Often male guppies chase the female guppies trying to impress them by wiggling their fins.
Natural Habitat
Guppies’ natural habitat is in the warm freshwaters of South America. Every aquarist need to maintain similar conditions in their tanks to provide guppies with the most natural environment possible.
A 5 gallon or a 10 gallon tank can
perfectly do for guppies. Water should be in between 75 to 82 Fareheit. And,
the most ideal pH for them is between 7.0 and 7.2.
In an aquarium, they should be provided some aquarium plants such as stem plants and mosses.
Guppies Breeding
Guppies are prolific breeders which breed very easily. There are a lot of different ways that guppy fish can breed. Guppies are ovoviviparous, it means that the females grow the fish inside their bodies, inside an egg. However, the baby fish use the egg sac for their nourishment, and upon absorbing that, they hatch inside the female and the female gives birth to live young.
Guppies are tend to eat their own young ones if they are given the opportunity and especially if they are hungry. To avoid this from happening, they should be fed sufficiently and the tank should be planted with floating plants, stem plants and mosses.
Guppies Feeding
Guppies are omnivores and hence they can eat both plant and animal matter. The best part is they eat almost anything. They are not choosy.
Endler’s Livebearer
Endler’s Livebearer, also known as Poecilia wingei, is a small fish native to the Paria Peninsula in Venezuela. They are closely related to the common Guppy. They are proficient breeders like their guppy relatives and often hybridize with guppies. Also, Endler’s come in varieties of color and thereby keeping your tank colorful.
Behavior
Endler’s livebearers are undemanding and easy to care for. They are very friendly fish with other tank mates. They are very responsive to light and movement. The moment aquarist come for feeding they will understand and start moving frantically. From darkness they will know it is time to sleep.
Natural Habitat
Endler’s livebearers prefer hard, warm water. However, they can be kept at 18–29 °C (64–84 °F), but the optimum temperature for them is 24–27 °C (75-81 °F), a bit higher than their guppy cousins. They do best if kept in planted tanks with live aquarium plants, though fake plants also do to give them hiding places.
Endler’s Feeding
Endler’s can be fed on a variety of dried, frozen, or freeze-dried foods. However, they are fond of frozen bloodworms.
Endler’s Breeding
They are prolific breeders like their guppy cousins. They can give birth to live young approximately every 23 days. Fry babies can range in size from one to 30 babies. Fry babies spend first few hours of their life at the bottom of the tank, where they consume their yolk sacs.
