Perhaps every aquarist is well aware of such a fish as guppies. Beautiful, bright and unpretentious, it was she who opened the door for many lovers to the exciting world of aquariums. That is why many people who decide to become famous by breeding new breeds of fish decide to start experimenting with it. Fortunately, guppy selection is a relatively simple affair that does not require in-depth knowledge of genetics and sophisticated equipment. But first, let's talk a little about this fish.
Where did the fish come from in our country?
Experienced aquarists are well aware that South America is the birthplace of guppy fish. Here it inhabits not only fresh, but also brackish water bodies - rivers and lakes of Brazil, Trinidad, Barbados, Guiana and Venezuela.
However, pretty quickly it spread around the world - Europeans quickly noticed that guppies were happy to eat the larvae of malaria mosquitoes. As a result, the fish appeared in warm reservoirs and even large fountains in many countries of Asia and Africa.
Not everyone knows that in our country guppies also live in the wild. For example, in Lyubertsy, where a large treatment plant is located, which discharges warm water into the Moscow River, a fairly large guppy colony lives. In recent years, there have been reports of the discovery of the same populations in Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Tver and Rybinsk. Most likely, they got into rivers from aquariums, but did not die, as might be expected, but managed to survive and adapt.
And of course, guppies live in aquariums of amateurs and professionals around the world.
Appearance description
Guppies have pronounced sexual dimorphism. That is, females are significantly different from males: they are larger, but at the same time they have a more dull and nondescript color. Most of them are gray, only some breeds have black or not too bright green spots on the tail. But under good conditions, females may well reach a decent size - 6-7 centimeters.
Males, thanks to many years of selection, delight the eye with a huge selection of colors, among which there are black, yellow, red, green, orange, blue and all conceivable color combinations. True, they cannot boast of impressive size - most often they are limited to 3-4 centimeters. The shape of the caudal fin and size can vary significantly. There are breeds with a sword (upper and lower), two and even three! In nature, tails are rather small, transparent, and the body has a very meager color scheme.
Why breed new breeds?
Before learning the basics of guppy breeding, every aquarist should figure out - why is he going to do this? After all, goals can be very different.
For some, this is a great way to demonstrate high skill - indeed, to breed a new breed, and even a beautiful one, is very difficult today. Indeed, for many decades, hundreds and thousands of people around the world have been doing this.
Others believe that this is a great way to earn money. Indeed, several years ago, Japanese breeders managed to bring out guppies, on the sides of which there is a spot repeating the Nike logo. A pair of such guppies costs about $ 200 - a pretty good help!
The basics of genetics
First you need to understand: successful examples of guppy selection are the result of many years of work. It will not be possible to quickly achieve at least some result - at best, small successes will appear in a few years.
And here it is very important to have an idea of the basics of genetics - first of all, about dominant and recessive traits.
To begin with, gray is a dominant feature. It is most easily fixed and sometimes manifests itself in the offspring of even purebred guppies of beautiful colors. There is nothing to be done here - this color is natural for guppies. Therefore, such individuals (unless the goal is to remove gray rock) should be discarded. This is worth remembering when selecting guppy colors.
The same can be said about the size of the fins. In nature, there are no fish with beautiful veil tails - they would simply not survive due to slowness and slowness. Relatives with small, light and maneuverable tails win the competition with them. Therefore, such representatives will not be the best choice for breeding new, beautiful and elegant breeds.
In general, the more unusual the color, the lower the likelihood that it will gain a foothold in the birth line itself. But, accordingly, its value increases dramatically - such individuals may well be the beginning for a new breed.
Preparation for selection
First of all, you need to decide how exactly the breed that you would like to get should look like. Very often, a clear vision of the goal is a major success factor. Still, starting guppy breeding by breeding and hoping that success will come on its own is not a good strategy.
For example, if you want to breed a completely green guppy, then try to find a breed in which males have a large number of green spots. And in order to get a guppy with a huge tail, look for producers (fish that will give offspring) with a large tail of the desired shape.
Another important fact that should be remembered when selecting guppies at home: the female must be virgin. That is, it should never be fertilized.
The fact is that viviparous guppies need only one fertilization for the female to give 4-6 offspring without the presence of a male. As a result, when mixing a mature female, previously fertilized, with a male having the parameters you need, it is highly likely that she will again give birth to fry that are children of her previous male. So the virginity of the female is a prerequisite for successful selection.
In addition, she should be quite old and strong. It is necessary to choose healthy and large females at the age of several weeks and plant one or several individuals in a separate aquarium. When they reach the age of about 6 months - you can begin to work. In general, females can bring offspring from 4 months old. But in half a year it will be larger and healthier. This means that it will be able to give birth to a greater number of healthy fry without harm to themselves.
Creation of suitable conditions
It is very important to create ideal conditions for manufacturers. Still, the fate of the whole breed that you plan to breed depends on them.
It is not necessary to look for a large aquarium - 30-40 liters are quite enough for a couple of fish.
It is advisable to fill the bottom with coarse sand - of course, boiled and thoroughly washed. Also in the aquarium should be a large amount of algae. A good choice will be the Elodea, Wallisneria and hornwort. The fact is that guppies are not the best parents. They may well enjoy the newborn fry, nullifying the many years of labor of the aquarist.
The optimal water temperature in the spawning aquarium is from 24 to 26 degrees. Do not forget that the birthplace of guppy fish is tropical South America. They are not too whimsical about the hardness and pH level of the water - tap water is suitable, which must be allowed to stand so that the chlorine evaporates.
Thorough care
For some time, manufacturers need to be kept separate. It is important to provide them with the best care. Each week, change about one fifth of the water in the aquarium. Aeration should be round-the-clock (but not too powerful) so that oxygen starvation is not guaranteed to occur.
And the diet must be provided excellent - it is advisable to feed them only with live food. Small brine shrimp and cyclops, tubule, bloodworm - all this will achieve a better result. With this feeding, fish grow large and healthy.
But in extreme cases, a simply varied diet is also suitable: boiled egg yolk dissolved in water, chopped beef heart.
Breeding
A very crucial moment is the "acquaintance" of future manufacturers. They are planted in one aquarium at a time. In this case, the temperature should be exactly the same as in the aquariums where they lived before. And the composition of the water should not be different. It is advisable to equip a new habitat a week before the information, so that the water settles, the algae saturate it with oxygen and simply make it “alive”.
Mating itself does not require the intervention of an aquarist. Usually, after a few hours, the male begins to dance around the female, getting in her way, bending with her whole body. But to guarantee it is necessary to leave them alone for several days or even weeks - until the female has a dark spot near the anal fin, indicating that the fertilization was successful.
After this, the male can be put off, and the female can provide a good diet (without overfeeding!) And maximum peace.
Youth Care
It is very important not to miss the moment of birth of the fry. They sink to the bottom, and after a few minutes they hide in dense algae, so as not to become a dinner for a loving mother. As soon as she gives birth to all fry (this number can seriously vary - from 50 to 200 individuals), she needs to be deposited. Of course, not in a common aquarium, but in a separate one.
The usual care for the fry is good aeration, regular cleaning of the aquarium and nutritious food. For a start, small brine shrimp are suitable, but gradually you can switch to a chopped tubifex and bloodworm.
As soon as it becomes possible to distinguish males from females, they need to be divided by gender - otherwise the guppy will not be able to be crossed cleanly.
Watch the females closely and especially the males. Detect positive mutations. For example, the prevalence of the desired color or the appearance of the desired shape of the fins. The most successful individuals need to be planted - they will become the foundation for a new breed. The rest can be transplanted into a common aquarium, given to friends or even used as live food for predatory fish.
Fixing the desired effect
Usually, in order to bring out a fish that fully meets the set conditions, it is necessary to change 3-6 generations. The more complex the initial task, the more time and effort will have to be spent to achieve it.
And finally, the long-awaited day has come! You got the perfect male - exactly the kind you had long dreamed of. But a positive mutation will not be fixed by itself. This must be done artificially. Standard guppy breeding schemes provide for one of the most common options - mating a male with his daughter. Of course, it should be virgin, as mentioned above. In a good situation, most of the offspring will meet the required properties. But in some cases it is necessary to repeat the fixing procedure in several generations, each time selecting the most suitable individuals.
Laying parallel birth lines
Even novice aquarists know how destructive inbreeding is - the lack of fresh blood in one generic branch. If only closely related fish are crossed for ten generations, this will lead not to the appearance of the desired result, but to degradation and loss of the desired traits.
To prevent this from happening, it is advisable to lay several generic branches at the same time. That is, you need several aquariums in which several pairs of manufacturers will cross. Yes, this complicates the process and often lengthens it. But as a result, you will get not only beautiful, but also healthy, strong, viable fish. But this is the most important parameter for the breeder.
Most common mistakes
Talking about guppy selection for beginners, it is worth mentioning some of the most common mistakes.
The first of these is the use of non-virgin females - the consequences of this have already been described above.
It is also very important not to mix several breeds - this rarely allows you to achieve the desired result. Most often, the positive signs of both breeds are lost.
Fish should not live in crowded conditions. This leads to a reduction in their size and a decrease in color contrast. But often it’s a bright, rich and unusual color that is the breeder’s main goal.
Conclusion
This concludes the article. As you can see, guppy selection is very difficult, but at the same time interesting, addictive work. Of course, it will not be possible to immediately achieve a better result. But over time, mastery and understanding of the general principles of breeding new breeds will come. It is after this that most aquarists achieve the best results.