Breeding Guppies

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chris87

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Apr 7, 2012
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I've had what I would consider success through breeding guppies with having successfully raised several generations, I am doing this partly for fun but mainly for some extra cash. Today I started look on the internet for tips and I found that apparently you should buy "breeding stock"? I simply bought colourful fish from the shop and the babies have also been just as colourful, if not more. I don't really understand what breeding stock is, or where you buy said stock. Do you really need to because I don't understand why. Thanks for any help.
 
The reason you pay the big bucks for quality championship stock is that they have been line bred for consistancy, breed true, and the offspring bring a better return than the fish generally found in the LFS. Any fish you breed, are breeding stock.
 
Essentially, you are purchasing a fish that has been line bred to produce a particular style of offspring over generations. My problem with this is inbreeding can occur, but what sells, sells. To explain further, say you breed a pair of fancy guppies, and one offspring happens to have a split tail or lyre tail. You would then separate this guppy and breed it, culling the fry without this trait, and then breeding them, culling these fry without this trait and until ultimately the fry produced all have this trait.
That being said, it is possible to take an average pair of guppies and discover a trait you like (say snakeskin) and the cycle begins. Personally just started breeding a guppy that had much stronger traits than the parents, hoping to make a leopard style lol. Good luck!
 
I've had what I would consider success through breeding guppies with having successfully raised several generations, I am doing this partly for fun but mainly for some extra cash. Today I started look on the internet for tips and I found that apparently you should buy "breeding stock"? I simply bought colourful fish from the shop and the babies have also been just as colourful, if not more. I don't really understand what breeding stock is, or where you buy said stock. Do you really need to because I don't understand why. Thanks for any help.

Hello Chris...

Unless you have awarding winning Fancy Guppies, I don't believe raising them would make you any money. The "high end" breeders show their fish all over the country and those award winners are the money makers.

I've raised Fancy Guppies for a few years and have some nice fish, but nothing to compare to the breeders who make a living at it. You may have a local pet shop that will take some of your fish, but I wouldn't go further than that.

You can definitely do some research on the internet for Fancy Guppy Breeders and get some of their fish. But to do this thing right you'll need a lot of tanks and money.

B
 
Breeding Fancy Guppies

Essentially, you are purchasing a fish that has been line bred to produce a particular style of offspring over generations. My problem with this is inbreeding can occur, but what sells, sells. To explain further, say you breed a pair of fancy guppies, and one offspring happens to have a split tail or lyre tail. You would then separate this guppy and breed it, culling the fry without this trait, and then breeding them, culling these fry without this trait and until ultimately the fry produced all have this trait.
That being said, it is possible to take an average pair of guppies and discover a trait you like (say snakeskin) and the cycle begins. Personally just started breeding a guppy that had much stronger traits than the parents, hoping to make a leopard style lol. Good luck!

Hello d...

I liked your post about the problem of inbreeding and read recently that it can be a serious problem that interferes with healthy reproduction, but "Livebearers" are the exception to the rule. In fact, for the purpose of selectively breeding these fish, inbreeding is necessary get a particular strain and it takes quite a number of generations to get the fish you want.

Are you a Fancy Guppy keeper?

Just curious.

B
 
BBradbury said:
Hello d...

I liked your post about the problem of inbreeding and read recently that it can be a serious problem that interferes with healthy reproduction, but "Livebearers" are the exception to the rule. In fact, for the purpose of selectively breeding these fish, inbreeding is necessary get a particular strain and it takes quite a number of generations to get the fish you want.

Are you a Fancy Guppy keeper?

Just curious.

B

Yes, I've kept them for a few years now, though only recently decided to start breeding them. I'm highly curious as to livebearers being the exception. I would enjoy a source you've read this from, as I consider myself a beginner still and always enjoy dissenting opinions. I've assumed inbreeding among guppies, swords, platys, and mollys was a bad thing because of genetic defects, and read articles that suggested the same.
 
Breeding Livebearers

Hello again d...

My reference is old, 1991, so it's possible there's new information available. The breeding information comes from a Barron's book titled "Guppies, Mollies, Platys", by Harro Hieronimus.

I've been keeping Fancy Guppies and Corydoras for a few years, but only concentrate on pure water conditions and heavily plant all my tanks. I'm as interested in the plants as the fish.

B
 
BBradbury said:
Hello again d...

My reference is old, 1991, so it's possible there's new information available. The breeding information comes from a Barron's book titled "Guppies, Mollies, Platys", by Harro Hieronimus.

I've been keeping Fancy Guppies and Corydoras for a few years, but only concentrate on pure water conditions and heavily plant all my tanks. I'm as interested in the plants as the fish.

B

Thanks, I'll keep an eye out for it when I hit up the bookstore, and amazon of course lol.

I've read up a bit more since your original post, and there definitely seem to be dissenting opinions on the matter. Obviously inbreeding has its pros, along with the expected cons. Lyretail strains are a result of line breeding after all. I'd say it ultimately depends on how the aquarist feels on the matter. After some reading, I'd say inbreeding can be beneficial to accelerate darwins law, but after a generation or two, new genes should be introduced for some diversity, as ultimately one can breed the negative genes as well.

Again, thanks for the response. Always happy to learn more!
 
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