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Mixing Guppy types?


mommygourami
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Is there a guppy rule of thumb to not allow different guppy types to fraternize in the same tank?  

I have a sole male OG petco guppy I've had for awhile but all of his buddies died and the pygmy cories and ottos have no interest in playing with him.  Eventually my plan is to add a bunch of shrimp to this tank.  

I also recently purchased a little baggie of guppies at an auction which turned out to have more baby fish in it than I expected.  They've been in QT for several weeks and I was thinking maybe they would be good to add to the tank with him because he looks lonely and they will all probably get along fine with shrimp.

Is it a bad idea if he ends up connecting with one of the ladies?  I'm not particularly interested in breeding for profit at this point in time, so I'm not personally concerned about whether or not my personal fish turn into mutts, but the note from the lady I got the bag-o-guppies from states they were created by a famed person named Meijin Li of Taiwan, so I worry that I will be engaging in some sort of guppy cardinal sin if I let them hang out with my Petco guppy from the wrong side of the tracks (cue footloose music).

Any guppy experts out there that could weigh in?  

The first pic with the green plants is the petco guppy.  The other pic are the Taiwan guppies.

 

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20210901_151552.jpg

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Some people are very against hybridization because it can dilute the blood lines in your community if you sell/trade them. I’ve only really seen people get up in arms against it in the Cichlid community and I think guppies have a pretty low expectation of pure blood line unless you are special ordering them. I’d say just do it and if you ever do sell/trade just make sure you express they are mutt gups. 

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I went out of my way by hours of driving etc to ensure each one of my original guppies was a different type color and source. I was hoping the strongest healthiest of the genes would replicate and eliminate the weaknesses bred into them. I don’t know if it worked but several generations later my guppies are all super healthy big and unique 😁

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On 9/2/2021 at 1:09 AM, Guppysnail said:

I went out of my way by hours of driving etc to ensure each one of my original guppies was a different type color and source. I was hoping the strongest healthiest of the genes would replicate and eliminate the weaknesses bred into them. I don’t know if it worked but several generations later my guppies are all super healthy big and unique 😁

Did the same recently with my black phantom tetra in the hope of breading them. 

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Some people frown on letting different species cross and reproduce (cichlids, as mentioned above, and rainbowfish come to mind), with some justification, but different strains of guppies are all the same species; just different colors, fin shapes, etc.  If anyone criticizes mixing those tell him or her to mind their own business.

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On 9/1/2021 at 4:45 PM, Patrick_G said:

That strain is amazing! I think I’d want to keep at least a few of the ladies away from the Petco male.

what is the strain called? 

My card from the seller says they are Taiwanese Green and Orange Swordtail Guppies.  And it says they are IKGH guppies...not sure what that means 

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On 9/2/2021 at 11:48 PM, mommygourami said:

Thanks.  Maybe I should keep a few of them separated, since someone probably did a lot of work to create them.

If you just want your OG Petco guppy to have friends, you can just put a few of the Taiwanese males in with him and the females won't be "contaminated". Your Taiwanese guppies are super flashy and you can probably make a pretty penny selling them in your area, if you want to. 

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On 9/3/2021 at 5:40 PM, PineSong said:

If you just want your OG Petco guppy to have friends, you can just put a few of the Taiwanese males in with him and the females won't be "contaminated". Your Taiwanese guppies are super flashy and you can probably make a pretty penny selling them in your area, if you want to. 

Thanks! Good advice.  Appreciate it.

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