Guppy - poecilia reticulata - is both easiest and hardest fish. Easiest, because everyone can maintan and breed them. Hardest, because produce of a specific variation might take years, even decades.

Feeding guppies:

Generally they are herbivores, but fry grow faster when we feed them with cyclopes. Faster not always means better - such fishes sometimes do not have full colours and fins. General rule is the same as for every other fish - it's better if the fishes do starve than if they eat too much. The overfeeded male guppy have a big, round belly few hours after feeding (right after they eat such symptoms are normal). It's sign to do not feed them for next 2 days. Trust me, it will not hurt them. Remember - fish eat even when it do not need food, it's their instinct.

If you do not have time to catch cyclopes or to buy freezed artemia (it's their favourite food), just use commercial flakes. It's very important to feed guppies with frozen plants time to time, such as spinach or a peas. Without plants young guppies might never get full colours and tails.

For fries use the high-protein food, for mature ones (especially males) - with low protein.

Easy way to breed them: Put some guppies in a tank, size does not really matter, everything above 10 litres will work. The water should be rather hard, between 18 'C and 28 'C. Put some plants inside so fry can hide from parents. Wait few weeks. Congratulations, you breeded guppies.

Now the hard way: For every trio (two females and one male) we need one tank, 15-20 litr. No decoration is needed, but there should be some kind of filtration and the water heating. For fries we need 2 tanks around 20 litres each. When fry is 4-5 weeks old it should be separated by sex, so another 2 tanks 20 litres each are needed. When fishes grow up, they should be moved to the bigger tank (not before they are big enoug, because the large tank for small fishes cause them to waste much energy when they are seeking food). When they are 2 months old they should be moved to tanks at least 40-50 litres each, for males even bigger (some variations require tanks above 100 litres to grow up). In tanks for fry and growing up fishes we need the good filtration.

Time to buy some guppies. Try to find the experienced aquarist who can sell you first trio (2 females and one male). Why trio? First, male might be somehow agressive toward female - two females might reduce consequences of such agression. Second reason, from two females we can get two genetic lines.

If we cannot get trio from the professional breeder, our task is harder. Time to visit shops and try to buy "wild ones" at least close to our favourite variation. Some general rules:

- if our goal is to get specific color, buy male and two females who got it already

- same goes for size

Tail shape is not that easy to get from the "wild" females

- for swordtail, female must be completely colourless, males must have the specific tail shape

- triangle tail - both females and male must have tails with the shape close to the triangle

- if female got the big, differently shaped tail, she will most likey give birth to the welon-like form males

Do NOT buy males yet. Only females.

Most likely the female was already pregnant when we bought her, and we cannot guess which male did it. So, buy as many females as you can put in separate 15-20 litres tanks. As soon as they give birth, we do not need them anymore - they are useless for the professional breeding. Now feed fry with the best food you can get, as soon as they are 4 weeks old separate them by the sex. You can sell males, give them to someone, feed bigger fishes with them - generally, you do not need males. Only females counts now.

As soon as females are 3 months old, you can look for partners for them. Use "trio" rule - two females, one male. Tanks we need are described in previous part of this text. Just remember one general rule - never, NEVER mix fries from two different females, unless they are "junky" fishes and goes for sale.

Now time for the selection. As soon as our young guppies are 3 months old, choose best male and his two sisters from one genetic line (from one mother), and the best male with his two sisters from second female. Its kinda wicked, breed brother with his sister, but it's required to get the default genetic combination. You can sell or give away other fishes from spawn. Repeat this over and over again.

Soon (sometimes after years...) we have almost "clean" genetic lines from both spawns. Now time for last part of selection. Choose best female from one line, best female from another, best male from two of them. Put them in the single tank, just like we did before. Repeat over and over, always using one best male from both lines and two best females (one from each). Soon 99% of young guppies will look just like our ideal variation. Congratulations, you selected specific form of a guppy :)