tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15536980640985793152024-02-08T11:08:36.276-08:00Ikan GuppyMegawatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09824010946486127757noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1553698064098579315.post-44863478178664525102012-02-04T02:26:00.000-08:002012-02-04T02:32:11.719-08:00Guppy<br />
The <b>guppy</b> (<span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><i><b>Poecilia reticulata</b></i></span>), also known as the <b>millionfish</b>, is one of the most popular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_freshwater_aquarium_fish_species" title="List of freshwater aquarium fish species">freshwater aquarium fish species</a> in the world. It is a small member of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poeciliidae" title="Poeciliidae">Poeciliidae</a>
family [females 4–6 centimetres (1.6–2.4 in) long, males 2.5–3.5
centimetres (1.0–1.4 in) long] and like all other members of the
family, is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live-bearing_aquarium_fish" title="Live-bearing aquarium fish">live-bearing</a>.<br />
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<h2>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Taxonomy">Taxonomy</span></h2>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_John_Lechmere_Guppy" title="Robert John Lechmere Guppy">Robert John Lechmere Guppy</a> discovered this tiny fish in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad" title="Trinidad">Trinidad</a> in 1866, and the fish was named <i>Girardinus guppii</i> in his honour by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_G%C3%BCnther" title="Albert Günther">Albert Günther</a> later that year. However, the fish had previously been described in America. Although <i>Girardinus guppii</i> is now considered a <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_synonym" title="Junior synonym">junior synonym</a> of <i>Poecilia reticulata</i>, the common name "guppy" still remains.<br />
Over time, guppies have been given a variety of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_taxonomy" title="Alpha taxonomy">taxonomic</a> names, although <i>Poecilia reticulata</i> is the name currently considered to be valid.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guppy#cite_note-1"></a></sup><br />
<h2>
<span class="editsection"></span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Distribution">Distribution</span></h2>
Guppies are native to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigua_and_Barbuda" title="Antigua and Barbuda">Antigua and Barbuda</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados" title="Barbados">Barbados</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil" title="Brazil">Brazil</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guyana" title="Guyana">Guyana</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_Antilles" title="Netherlands Antilles">Netherlands Antilles</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad_and_Tobago" title="Trinidad and Tobago">Trinidad and Tobago</a>, the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Virgin_Islands" title="U.S. Virgin Islands">U.S. Virgin Islands</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuela" title="Venezuela">Venezuela</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guppy#cite_note-2"></a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guppy#cite_note-3"></a></sup><br />
However, guppies have been introduced to many different countries on
all continents, except Antarctica. Sometimes this has occurred
accidentally, but most often as a means of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito" title="Mosquito">mosquito</a> control, the hope being that the guppies would eat the mosquito <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larva" title="Larva">larvae</a>, slowing the spread of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria" title="Malaria">malaria</a>. In many cases, these guppies have had a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_species" title="Invasive species">negative impact</a> on native fish faunas.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guppy#cite_note-4"></a></sup><br />
<h2>
<span class="editsection"></span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Ecology_and_behavior">Ecology and behavior</span></h2>
Guppies exhibit <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_dimorphism" title="Sexual dimorphism">sexual dimorphism</a>.
While wild-type females are grey in body colour, males have splashes,
spots, or stripes that can be any of a wide variety of colors.<br />
<h2>
<span class="editsection"></span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Reproduction">Reproduction</span></h2>
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A pregnant guppy at about 26 days</div>
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A guppy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spawn_%28biology%29#Fry" title="Spawn (biology)">fry</a> in an aquarium at one week old</div>
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<a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Guppy-standards-grafik.svg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Guppy-standards-grafik.svg/220px-Guppy-standards-grafik.svg.png" /></a><br />
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Guppy standards</div>
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Guppies are highly prolific <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live-bearing_aquarium_fish" title="Live-bearing aquarium fish">livebearers</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guppy#cite_note-5"></a></sup> The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestation_period" title="Gestation period">gestation period</a>
of a guppy is 21–30 days, with an average of 28 days, varying according
to water temperature. Males possess a modified tubular anal fin, the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonopodium" title="Gonopodium">gonopodium</a>, located directly behind the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventral_fin" title="Ventral fin">ventral fin</a>, which is flexed forward and used as a delivery mechanism for one or more balls of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spermatozoa" title="Spermatozoa">spermatozoa</a>.
The male will approach a female and will flex his gonopodium forward
before thrusting it into her and ejecting these balls. After the female
guppy is inseminated, a dark area near the anus, known as the <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gravid_spot&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Gravid spot (page does not exist)">gravid spot</a>,
will enlarge and darken. Just before birth, the eyes of fry may be seen
through the translucent skin in this area of the female's body. When
birth occurs, individual offspring are dropped in sequence over the
course of an hour or so.<br />
Guppies prefer water temperatures of about <span style="white-space: nowrap;">26 °C</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap;">(79 °F)</span> for reproduction. The female guppy has drops of between 2 and 50 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spawn_%28biology%29#Fry" title="Spawn (biology)">fry</a>
at a time, typically ranging between 5 and 30. After giving birth, the
female is ready for conception again within only a few hours. Guppies
have the ability to store sperm up to a year, so the females can give
birth many times without depending on the presence of a male. From the
moment of birth, each fry is fully capable of swimming, eating, and
avoiding danger. If not kept separate, the older, mature guppies will
eat the fry, so the use of a breeder box, net breeder, or a separate
20–40 litres (4–9 imp gal; 5–11 US gal) tank is recommended. Live
plants may be used as hiding places for the fry.<br />
Young fry take roughly three or four months to reach maturity. In
the aquarium, they are usually fed finely ground flake foods, baby
brine shrimp or, unless they are put in a separate tank, uneaten food
from the adults. In addition, they nibble on algae.<br />
Guppies have been selectively bred to produce a variety of colors
and patterns. In the wild, male guppies are dull black or brown in
colour, with some coloured spots, while females are fully dull grey.
The wild guppies that showed the most colours in each generation were
bred to produce the "fancy guppies" seen in pet stores and guppy shows
today.<br />
The guppy has been successfully hybridised with various species of molly (<i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poecilia_latipinna" title="Poecilia latipinna">Poecilia latipinna</a></i> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poecilia_velifera" title="Poecilia velifera"><i>velifera</i></a>), e.g., male guppy and female molly. However, the hybrids are always males and appear to be infertile.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guppy#cite_note-6"></a></sup> The guppy has also been hybridised with the Endler's livebearer (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poecilia_wingei" title="Poecilia wingei">Poecilia wingei</a>) to produce fertile offspring.<br />
<h2>
<span class="editsection"></span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Genetics">Genetics</span></h2>
Guppies have 23 pairs of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromosome" title="Chromosome">chromosomes</a>, including one pair of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_chromosomes" title="Sex chromosomes">sex chromosomes</a>, the same amount as humans.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guppy#cite_note-7"></a></sup><br />
Selective breeding has produced many different strains, such as the
snakeskin and grass varieties. A strain is defined as a population of
guppies that show the same characteristics.<br />
<h2>
<span class="editsection"></span> <span class="mw-headline" id="In_the_aquarium">In the aquarium</span></h2>
The guppy prefers a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_water" title="Hard water">hard water</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquarium" title="Aquarium">aquarium</a>
with a temperature between 25.5 and 27.8 °C (78 and 82 °F) and salt
levels equivalent to one tablespoon per 5 US gallons (19 l; 4.2 imp
gal).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guppy#cite_note-8"></a></sup> They can withstand levels of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salinity" title="Salinity">salinity</a> up to 150% that of normal <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seawater" title="Seawater">seawater</a>,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guppy#cite_note-9"></a></sup>
which has led to them being occasionally included in marine tropical
community tanks, as well as in freshwater tropical tanks. Guppies are
generally peaceful, though nipping behaviour is sometimes exhibited
between male guppies or towards other top swimmers like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiphophorus" title="Xiphophorus">platys</a> and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swordtail" title="Swordtail">swordtails</a>, and occasionally other fish with prominent fins, such as <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freshwater_angelfish" title="Freshwater angelfish">angelfish</a>. Its most famous characteristic is its propensity for breeding, and it can breed in both fresh water and marine aquariums.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guppy#cite_note-10"></a></sup><br />
Guppies bred by aquarists produced variations in appearance ranging from colour consistency to various tail forms.<br />
Well-fed adults do not often eat their own young, although sometimes
safe zones are required for the fry. Specially designed livebearer
birthing tanks, which can be suspended inside the aquarium, are
available from aquatic retailers. These also serve to shield the
pregnant female from further attention from the males, which is
important, because the males will sometimes attack the females while
they are giving birth. It also provides a separate area for the newborn
young as protection from being eaten by their mother. However, if a
female is put in the breeder box too early, it may cause her to have a
miscarriage. Well-planted tanks that offer a lot of barriers to adult
guppies will shelter the young quite well. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_moss" title="Java moss">Java moss</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duckweed" title="Duckweed">duckweed</a> (<i>Lemna minor</i> and other <i>Lemna</i> species), and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_wisteria" title="Water wisteria">water wisteria</a> are all excellent choices. A continuous supply of live food, such as <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daphnia" title="Daphnia">Daphnia</a></i>, will keep adult fish full and may spare the fry when they are born.Megawatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09824010946486127757noreply@blogger.com0