Endler Guppy Cross

Preliminary results from crossing my Rainbow guppies with Endlers (Santa Maria strain) turned out much better than I expected, especially for the male Rainbow X Endler female matings. See photos of hybrid males at 3.5 months. LOTs of color! Females are also nice in that they have plenty of pigment in their caudal and dorsal fins, which the Endler females did not have. [Progeny from reverse cross (male Endlers X Rainbow females) were not nearly as attractive.]

I did this outcross, because my Rainbow guppies have had fitness problems last 2 years, probably due to accumulated inbreeding. Hopefully, infusing genes from these hybrids into my Rainbow stock will help prevent fluke outbreaks and increase longevity. Long-term project…

Potted Plants for Fish Tanks

**Fish Breeding without Pumps and Filters**

My new article ‘Potted Plants for Fish Breeding Tanks’ describes maximizing plant growth so that I can keep 10 fish breeding tanks without any filters. Keeping plants “mobile” (i.e., in pots) makes it doable. I measured no NH3, no NO2- and almost no nitrates in the 10 tanks over the course of several months.

Potted Plants 2023 Download

Guppy Genetics

Revision of 2020 Guppy Genetics Article

I revised my 2020 article ‘Breeding Guppies: Genetic Pitfalls and Successes‘. Revision contains april-18_2018-1 same basic material, but I simplified article. I spent more time discussing popular mutations that can perplex beginners. And I down-sized a complicated discussion on the genetics of swordtail guppies. It was not that relevant in successfully outcrossing my beautiful delta-tail females (Photo) with male swordtail guppies. These outcrosses were wildly successful and I had no trouble breeding out the swordtail trait.

Guppy Longevity

My article Guppy Longevity (10 pages) answers the question of why fancy guppies don’t live that long. It puts much of the blame for guppy fragility onto the common practice of using only young fish as breeders. The long-term result is detrimental genetic changes. Since I started using only older fish as breeders, I’ve increased the longevity of my fish from ~6 months to over 12 months. Photo shows a 15-month old male and female. Still room for improvement, but this is progress.

Small-Scale Guppy Breeding

How to breed nice guppies in just 8 planted tanks

Holding Tank — **Male guppies that I have bred and raised in my small-scale breeding operation**

My article Small Scale Guppy Breeding describes how I breed fancy guppies in just nine tanks. Articles covers the basics, but it contains new, vital information on guppy reproduction. Learn why I keep “chase” females with my juvenile males, why one female accepted and quickly mated with a new male but her full-sister rejected him… Learn the pros and cons of separating the sexes, how I breed for fitness… Overall, the article celebrates the guppy’s genetic trait of color polymorphism. Unlike breeding methods that emphasize strain uniformity, I work with the guppy’s natural tendency to produce different color patterns (Photo). This not only makes guppy breeding more fun but avoids inbreeding problems and genetic weaknesses.