Fish Profiles: Lyretail /Scissortail Guppy
The male Guppy is one of the world's most popular tropical fish. Lyretail, or scissor-tail guppies are unusual and vibrant, a great addition to your guppy community. The name "Lyretail" or "scissor-tail" refers to the pincer-like shape of the fins, which produce a very elegant display in aquaria.
Lyre Tail guppies are very similar in shape and patterning to the smaller Endler guppy, but they are larger, the same size as common guppy's. The most popular colouring in ornamental collections appears to be light blue.
Guppies are bright and colourful which really stands out in any aquarium. Originating from South America, Guppies can be found in mountain streams as well as brackish rivers. Wild Guppies can be found around the world in places like Barbados, Trinidad, Singapore, Venezuela and the USA.
Once established, Lyre Tail guppies can tolerate varying warm water conditions and hardness, the more they breed in your aquaria, the hardier to your fish tank conditions they become.
Do Guppies change gender?
No, guppies cannot change their gender. An easy way to tell male and female guppy live-bearers apart is to look at the anal fins. The males have a gonopodium which looks like a stick where the females have a fanned anal fin. Female guppies can hold sperm for many months, so "phantom offspring" appearing in aquariums do not suggest a change in gender among your existing group.
Can Guppy's breed without a male fish present?
No, but a unique feature among female guppies is their ability to give birth to several broods consecutively without male insemination occurring each time. This is possible because of special folds in the female's genital area that store sperm for up to 6 months until needed for fertilization. This explains 'phantom' births in female-only guppy setups.
Features
Average purchase size: 1-2" / 2-5cm
Maximum size: 2-3" / 6cm
Origin: South America
Family: Poeciliidae
Temperament: Peaceful
Lighting requirement: Low
Ideal number kept together: 3+ (2 females to 1 male)
Water conditions
Ideal pH: 6.5–7.5
Water flow: low to moderate
Hardness: 143-536 ppm
Ideal temperature: 18-28°C
Ease of care
Lyretail guppies are relatively easy to care for once successfully acclimatised. It is recommended that the sexes be kept 2 females to every 1 male if you intend to breed them for a constant restocking supply. Males will overly harass the females if the ratio differs otherwise.
Compatibility
Guppies are a peaceful community fish but are typically fantailed and long-finned, so avoid housing guppy with fin-nipping fish such as galaxy rasbora or tiger barbs, or anything larger fish that may see them as prey.
Diet
Feed guppies tropical fish flakes or small granules that are easy to swallow for a small fish. Take care not to overfeed.
Breeding
Guppies are live bearers so will spawn prolifically. Females can store sperm for up to 6 months, and can give birth to between 10 and 30 fry every 6 weeks. Guppy's can be sexed after around 5 weeks, males have a modified anal fin called the gonopodium.
Life Span
Lyretail guppy's can live 1-3 years in perfect aquarium conditions.
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Photo credit(s): M Chinnery
