Guppies: The Fish That Started a Million Indian Aquariums

In this guide

Overview

The guppy, Poecilia reticulata, is probably the first fish most Indians ever kept. Originally from streams in Trinidad, Venezuela and parts of Brazil, it has been bred in India for decades, so much so that older aquarists still call it the million fish, a nod to how quickly it multiplies in a tank.

Males are the showy ones, growing to about four centimetres with flowing tails in colours ranging from electric blue to fiery red. Females are plainer, larger at up to six centimetres, and built for carrying young rather than showing off.

Varieties available in India

• Fancy or delta tail guppies, the most common and affordable type in local markets
• Moscow guppies, prized for solid, dense body colour
• Dumbo ear guppies, named for their oversized pectoral fins
• Albino and full red varieties, sold at a premium
• Endler-guppy hybrids, sometimes mislabelled as pure Endler's

Tank and water requirements

A group of six guppies is comfortable in a 40 to 60 litre tank. They tolerate the moderately hard, slightly alkaline tap water common across much of India without much fuss, which is one reason they have thrived here for so long.

Room temperature suits them through most of the year in southern and coastal India. A small heater is worth adding during Delhi or hill station winters, since guppies slow down and become prone to illness below about twenty degrees Celsius.

Diet and breeding

Guppies eat almost anything: flake food, micro pellets, and the odd feed of mosquito larvae or daphnia, which also does the neighbourhood a favour by cutting down mosquito breeding.

They are livebearers, giving birth to free-swimming fry roughly every four weeks once mature. A tank with dense floating plants or a simple breeding box lets more fry survive, which is why breeding guppies at home is a genuinely popular small hobby business in Indian cities.

Buying tips

• Common fancy guppies cost as little as ten to fifty rupees each in most Indian pet shops
• Imported or premium varieties such as full red or black Moscow can run into several hundred rupees a pair
• Look for full, unfrayed tails and active swimming before buying, since torn fins often signal fin rot or aggressive tankmates at the shop

A public health footnote

Guppies eat mosquito larvae readily, and health departments across India have long released them into wells, overhead tanks, ponds and stagnant drains as a low-cost way to cut down on malaria and dengue-carrying mosquitoes. It is worth knowing this history, since it explains why guppies turn up in the most unexpected water bodies across the country, well outside any aquarium.

Article content © S Vejay Anand. All rights reserved.