How to Crossbreed Common Guppies With Fancy Guppies

Common guppies and fancy guppies are the same kind of fish, with the only difference being that fancy guppies have been selectively bred to emphasize certain traits, such as color or body shape. If you have a common guppy with a particular feature you want to recreate, you may choose to breed a fancy guppy with a common guppy. Breeding guppies, whether common or fancy, is a straightforward procedure.

Things You'll Need

  • 10-gallon tank
  • Tank heater
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Instructions

    • 1

      Leave a selected female guppy in a tank with a chosen male guppy for 20 days. During this time, the female will drop any fry that were not sired by the male guppy, and afterward you can be confident that all the fry born have the parents you decided upon.

    • 2

      Fill a 10-gallon tank to the halfway point with water from your original guppy tank. You can do this during a routine tank cleaning. Fill the rest of the tank with dechlorinated water. This reduces the shock once you place the female guppy in the water.

    • 3

      Place a tank heater on the side of your breeding tank and heat the water to between 74 and 78 F. Although this is a little warmer than the typical temperature for guppies, it is ideal for a breeding tank.

    • 4

      Place several plastic plants at the bottom of the tank. Female guppies are cannibals and will eat their young. The plastic plants give the fry a place to hide.

    • 5

      Place the female guppy in the new tank and watch over the next few days for her to drop fry.

    • 6

      Remove the female guppy once she drops fry.