Guppy is perhaps the easiest to care for and is considered one of the hardiest fish for any freshwater aquarium. They are always active with the males courting the females all the time and they will breed in large numbers often overrun the whole aquarium. Guppy will tolerate different range of aquarium temperatures and generally they are not sensitive to changes in water quality with regards to buildup of nitrite and nitrate. And because of this, they are often used as starter fish for newly established community aquarium so that the aquarium waters are fully cycled before other types of fish are added in.Guppies can be easily distinguished from other fish species by their long trailing and well-spread colorful tails and they are often found with combination of red, green and blue color mix that covers the body and fins. However, these features only exist in the male species while for the females, they appear as dull grey color and the overall shape is not as attractive as the male fish. Another obvious difference is that the size of the male fish only reaches 2-3 inches in length excluding the tail while the female guppies can grow up to 5 inches long.
Guppies are not picky when it comes to food. However, in order to ensure healthy and lively fish, you should introduce a mix of live foods plus dried fish flakes as added nutrition. They are considered a peaceful fish which are not aggressive except towards their own species especially when you have males that outnumbered the females going against the 1:3 male to female ratio. In community aquarium, they are often mixed with other smaller fish such as mollies, platies and danios.
The ideal water chemistry needed to successfully raise the fish involves pH between 7.2-8.5 and the temperature range can be in the region of 18-25degC. It is always a good idea to source for large aquarium size to accommodate the fish and usually a 20-gallon tank is more than enough to house 4-5 guppies as a start. Having different types of live aquarium plants is also recommended for a guppy tank setup. Usually the plants will act not only as hiding spot for newborn fish fry but will also enhance the water quality for the growth of guppies.
