Fun Guppy Facts For Kids

Guppy (Scientific name: Poecilia reticulata) belongs to the family Poeciliidae and is one of the very brightly colored fish found on the freshwaters in the wild. Due to the docility and appearance of the fish, it is also kept as pets and is kept in aquariums for many people to see and enjoy. These fish have a wide range of colors and patterns. In addition to this, one of the other fun facts is that guppy is known as the rainbow fish and the million fish as well. Guppies have a very small size and undergo a lot of breeding. What sets them apart from other fishes is that they give birth to live young rather than lay eggs. Unlike most other fishes, Guppies are livebearers, hence instead of laying eggs, guppies give birth to live fry directly.

Guppies species originated in South America and from there have distributed all over the world. Guppies can live in the wild waters as well as in an aquarium. When it comes to colors black, orange, greed, white which leads to various color combinations. On an average, the guppy lifespan is around two years in the wild but if kept in an aquarium their lifespan can extend significantly. After you have read interesting guppy facts about this species, do make sure to read about our other articles on Bony fish and Half Black Angel fish.

What type of animal is a guppy?

A guppy is a type of colorful fish which is found in areas of South America and belongs to the Poeciliidae family. There are over 300 species of guppy fish present in the wild waters.

What class of animal does a guppy belong to?

Guppies are a type of tropical fish of a very small size that is native to areas of South America, belonging to the class Actinopterygii.

How many guppies are there in the world?

There is no specific count available for how many guppies are alive in the world. Still, they have about 300 species, of which some include Endler guppy, swamp guppy, cobra guppy, glass guppy, leopard guppy, among other such species.

Where does a guppy live?

Guppies have originated from South America and are fish native to that location. However, they are now also found in aquariums, houses, and other freshwater bodies like shallow freshwater bodies, pools, and streams.

What is a guppy habitat?

Guppies stay in aquariums or houses as pets. But they largely are found in freshwater water bodies. Their habitat largely includes shallow freshwaters, pools, and streams.

Who do guppies live with?

Guppies can generally roam in groups when left in the wild waters. However, when kept as pets, they live with their owners and can recognise owners. The owners have to focus a lot of energy on guppy care to ensure that they live well. Some also include guppy grass in their aquariums to feed them. The lifespan of a guppy fish depends on the region where they live.

How long does a guppy live?

A guppy Poecilia reticulata can live for about two years in which they can mate year-round. In even a year, females can give birth to about two to three litters.

How do they reproduce?

Guppies become sexually mature at about 10-20 weeks of age. One female can have multiple male partners and they reproduce by mating. The males follow the females to mate. Females have the ability to store the sperm of the males for up to a period of 8 months. Once pregnant, the female guppy is capable to produce about 20-60 fry at a time and these are are often known as fry. Females give birth to live young guppies. In merely a year, female guppies can give birth to about two to three generations. Guppies don’t have any breeding season and can breed year-round.

What is their conservation status?

With a good amount of guppies still alive in the world, guppies find themselves in the status of 'Least Concern'. Guppies can be great pets and are kept in homes that have helped keep them to be in good care.

What do guppies look like?

Guppy fish are best known for being very brightly colored and having a variety of patterns and shapes. They can be found in color pattern like orange, red, white, black, blue, and green. In addition to this, they have many patterns on their bodies. Some of them have scaly patterns. Some have a mixture of bright red and gold, others with a vertical black pattern and blue patterns. They also have different shapes of their tail fins as well. Tail shapes include the lyretail, fantail, flag tail, round tail, and other such shapes.

How cute are they?

Guppies can look very cute and colorful. Guppy fish are brightly colored and their fins are very big as compared to their small-sized bodies. This is one of the reasons why guppy fish are generally kept as pets in many homes. They are also kept in aquariums because they are very brightly colored and can be very visually appealing, thanks to their colorful fins.

How do they communicate?

Guppies can usually communicate with each other and do so by following each other. The male guppy follows the female guppies during the breeding season to mate. In the aquariums, you can also notice that the male guppies follow male guppies.

How big is a guppy?

A guppy Poecilia reticulata is usually of the length of about 0.6-2.4 in. Its size is about 1.7 times smaller than the goldfish which can further emphasise the small size of this tropical fish.

How fast can a guppy swim?

A guppy can swim at a speed of about 1.67 m/s in glides. Hoover, if it is in aquariums or pools, its speed significantly reduces to be about 0.01 m/s as a minimum speed value. This value is large because of the size of the guppy fish.

How much does a guppy weigh?

A guppy Poecilia reticulata weighs even less than 1 g. This is largely due to the tiny size of the tropical fish.

What are their male and female names of the species?

The male guppies and the female guppies are called males and females, respectively, while talking about guppies. There is no separate nomenclature to provide them with a different name.

What would you call a baby guppy?

There is no different nomenclature for a baby guppy, and it is called young guppy or baby guppy itself. Sometimes newly born guppies are also known as fry.

What do they eat?

Guppies are omnivorous fish. They don’t hunt their prey and usually just feed on mosquito larvae, algae, and other such plant particles. However, many animals like the kingfisher and blue acara feed on guppies.

Are they dangerous?

A guppy is a small tropical fish that is omnivorous. Therefore, they are of no danger to humans. They mostly feed only on plant-based material or animal larvae and don’t bite or emit poison of any kind. This is why guppies are not dangerous for humans at all. They make for a good pet as well.

Do humans eat them?

No, humans do not eat guppies. This is owing to their small size. Guppies are very small and therefore not deemed suitable to eat. This is also why many fishermen do not fish guppies out of water. They might only fish guppies when they need them for aquariums or other such purposes.

Did you know...

One of the guppy fish facts is that the guppies are also known as million fish and rainbowfish. They are called rainbow fish because the guppies have a variety of colors on their scales. Million fish is their nickname because of the reproduction habits of female guppies. One of the other fun facts is that the females can give birth to about 20 to 60 fry in one go.

What do guppy eat?

Guppies are small fish, so therefore they can only eat very small organisms, too! Keeping this in thought, guppies feed on animal larvae, algae, and several plant particles that can be found in the water.

How to tell if a guppy is pregnant?

It is easier to tell if the guppy is pregnant because it is largely visible. The female guppy acquires a bump in the underside of her body. Also, near her tailfin, you’ll be able to spot a dark spot known as the gravid spot. This shows that the female guppies are about to reproduce. Guppies give birth to live babies in about a month.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other fish including Chinese paddlefish, or blobfish.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Guppy coloring pages.