Supercolor Mix Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) — Female

A colourful female guppy for a planned livebearer tank

The Supercolor Mix Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) offered here is a female guppy from a mixed-colour line, sold one fish at a time. Guppies are livebearers in the family Poeciliidae, and FishBase records the species' native range as Venezuela, Barbados, Trinidad, northern Brazil and the Guianas, with introduced populations far beyond it. Plan for an adult body length of about 6 cm standard length, the maximum Seriously Fish records for the species; FishBase gives a smaller 5 cm standard length for females. Standard length is measured without the tail fin, so a long tail adds to the length you see. FishBase also describes the guppy as one of the most popular aquarium fishes, with many standardised varieties, which is why so many colour lines like this one exist.

The trade label Poecilia ret. female supercolor mix is shorthand: "ret." abbreviates reticulata, "female" is the sex sold, and "supercolor mix" describes an assortment of colour forms rather than one fixed pattern. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes gives the accepted name as Poecilia reticulata (Peters, 1859), and the everyday name guppy comes from Girardinus guppii, a later name now treated as a synonym. Colour-line names like this one describe appearance only: they are not separate species and fix nothing about pedigree, health or temperament.

A female guppy suits a keeper who wants colour and movement in a peaceful, hard-water community and is ready to plan the whole group rather than buy on impulse. OATA describes guppies as small, colourful and peaceful, and most as undemanding and easy to keep. Our guppy care guide adds the other half of that picture: they suit a prepared beginner, not an uncycled bowl.

Who it suits

What arrives: one female in a mix of colours

Each purchase supplies one live female guppy, supplied at 3–4 cm. That is her length when she is packed, not her adult size, so plan the aquarium and her companions around the fully grown fish.

Sex is guaranteed only when the exact product or selected option explicitly states male or female. This Poecilia ret. female supercolor mix listing is sold as female. Once she is mature you can confirm it yourself from the anal fin: a female's is broad and triangular, while a male carries a narrow, stick-like gonopodium.

Because this is a colour mix, the colour and pattern of the female you receive are not chosen in advance. Seriously Fish notes that guppy females are generally duller than males, although aquarium-bred varieties can show quite intense colour in the tail fin.

About the photograph

Gallery images have been digitally enhanced to improve image quality. Natural colour, pattern, size and maturity can vary between live animals. The photograph shows one female with a silvery body and an orange, black and white spotted tail, swimming in front of plants and driftwood. Take it as an example of the look this mix can produce rather than a preview of your own fish.

One decision to make now

A female-only purchase can still lead to fry, because female guppies can store sperm from an earlier mating for several months. The fry-planning section in the care tab explains what to prepare before she arrives, and it is worth reading before you decide whether to add males.

Key numbers at a glance

Give her a 60 cm aquarium and a group of five or more

Plan a mature, filtered aquarium at least 60 cm long for one small group of guppies, and keep five or more fish where the tank and your sex plan allow. That is the conservative house policy set out in our guppy care guide, and it sits above the minimums given elsewhere:

Length tells you more than the litre figure on a box. A tall tank can hold plenty of water yet still be too short for a swimming group, so measure the internal length, then check filtration, water tests and existing livestock before deciding how many guppies the aquarium can hold. More water adds stability, but it does not create a fixed number of fish you are entitled to add.

Female-only or mixed?

If you add males, keep several females to each one, because Seriously Fish notes that males pursue females constantly and vigorously. Peer-reviewed work summarised in our care guide shows that male harassment can change where females spend their time, so watch feeding and body condition and keep a cycled separation tank ready.

Build the rest of the group from our guppy collection as part of that plan, adding fish in steps your filter can keep up with and checking each new arrival against the same tank and water targets.

Keep hard, stable water at 22–28°C and pH 7.0–8.0

Keep this guppy at 22–28°C, pH 7.0–8.0 and 8–18°dH general hardness, with ammonia and nitrite at zero and nitrate no more than 20 mg per litre above your tap water. The temperature is the routine range in our guppy care guide; the pH, hardness and nitrate figures come from OATA's guppy and molly care sheet, which offers broad guidance for both fish rather than a species-specific optimum.

Why hard water matters

Seriously Fish describes the guppy as a hard-water fish: it may manage in soft or acidic conditions, but long-term care belongs in moderately hard or harder water. FishBase's recorded environment of 18–28°C, pH 7.0–8.0 and 9–19 dH describes the wild conditions where the species has been found, which is useful background rather than a set of aquarium targets.

Test the supply you actually use

UK tap water is not one chemistry: supplies differ between regions and can change. Test the source you use for the aquarium, then compare the readings with these targets in our water parameter matcher. Our guide to aquarium water parameters explains what each test measures and what a reading outside the range means for the fish.

Guppies can occur in brackish water in the wild, but that is no reason to add aquarium salt as routine. Add salt or minerals only for a measured purpose, and check first that every animal and plant in the tank will tolerate the change.

Heating in a UK home

Fit a thermostatically controlled aquarium heater wherever the room cannot hold the water inside 22–28°C, and confirm the reading with a separate aquarium thermometer rather than the heater dial or the room temperature. Change water conditions gradually, and dechlorinate every batch of tap water before it goes in.

Set out plants, gentle flow and open swimming room

Guppies are unfussy about décor, but Seriously Fish notes that they appreciate a planted tank with floating vegetation and that strong currents should be avoided. OATA recommends aquarium gravel or sand with live plants for cover, or plastic plants and ornaments such as plant pots or model caves where live plants are not used, and the guidance summarised in our care guide pairs plants with open swimming space and gentler flow for long-finned fish.

Layout checklist

• Open water across the front and middle, where the group can swim together
• Plants or ornaments at the sides and back, so any fish can move out of another's sight
• Floating plants to soften the surface and add cover
• Décor chosen so it cannot tear long fins
• A secure cover over the aquarium
• A filter intake that cannot draw in small fish or fry

More structure is not automatically better. A 2025 guppy study summarised in our care guide found improvements in several behaviour and stress-hormone measures with physical enrichment, but also more biting under high enrichment. Add cover, watch what happens, and change the layout if one fish is still being cornered or kept away from food.

Filtration and flow

A filter is essential in every guppy aquarium, whatever its size. Seriously Fish sizes filters on a turnover of four to five times the tank volume an hour; choose a model whose output you can reduce, so the flow never pins the fish, tires them or stops normal swimming. Check that the intake is guarded well enough for the smallest fish in the tank, including any fry that appear.

Mature the filter before she arrives

A guppy's reputation for toughness does not extend to an uncycled aquarium. The RSPCA's guidance on the fish environment sets out why a mature filter comes first: fish release toxic ammonia, and bacteria in a working biological filter convert it to nitrite, which is also toxic, and then to the safer nitrate.

Before adding any fish, OATA advises checking that ammonia and nitrite both read zero, then increasing the number of fish slowly, because the bacteria have to grow each time more fish are added and feeding increases. Stocking too many fish or stocking too fast causes new tank syndrome, in which ammonia and nitrite climb to levels that may make fish ill or kill them.

Prove the cycle with tests, not dates

Judge the filter by repeated test results rather than the number of weeks since set-up. Our first tropical tank set-up guide walks through maturing the filter step by step. When ammonia and nitrite stay at zero across several tests, add the first guppies and keep testing in the days that follow before adding more.

Adding her to an established tank

If the aquarium already holds fish, a new female still adds waste. Test ammonia and nitrite in the days after she goes in, and hold back further additions until both stay at zero. The same applies each time the group grows, and again if fry arrive, because every extra mouth increases the load on the filter.

Weekly routine once she is settled

• Change 25% of the water at least once every week, siphoning solid waste from the gravel
• Test at least once a week so ammonia and nitrite cannot build up
• Treat all replacement water with tap water conditioner to remove chlorine and chloramine
• Check the filter for blockages, and if it needs cleaning, rinse the media lightly in tank water removed during the water change, never under the tap

OATA sets out that routine because guppies can be stressed by even the smallest amounts of ammonia, and because chlorine or chloramine from the tap may kill the bacteria that have established in the filter media.

Arrival day: film first, then float for 20–30 minutes

Guppies travel hand-bagged in pure oxygen inside an insulated poly box, with a heat pack when the weather calls for it, carried by a licensed live-animal courier on a tracked service. We email the tracking number and your confirmed delivery date, and live fish cannot be left unattended, so plan for someone to be in.

1. Receive the parcel at the delivery address in person.
2. Start filming before anything is opened, in one continuous take: the sealed outer box, the opening, and the fish still in her sealed bag.
3. Open and inspect the parcel on the day it arrives.
4. Float the bag in the aquarium for 20–30 minutes so she acclimatises slowly.
5. Release her into the tank without pouring the bag water in.
6. If anything has gone wrong, contact us the same day with your order number and the video; WhatsApp is fastest, and we will arrange a replacement or refund.

Our delivery and Live Arrival Guarantee page has these steps in full, with short clips from our fishroom on unpacking and acclimatising. The guarantee relies on someone receiving the parcel, same-day opening and inspection, and a continuous video that starts with the parcel still sealed.

Before and after release

These checks come from OATA and our guppy care guide rather than the delivery steps. Before she is due, test the aquarium for zero ammonia and nitrite and confirm the temperature and hardness targets. After release, watch her quietly for steady swimming, regular breathing, open fins and normal balance.

OATA's picture of a healthy fish is clear, bright eyes, undamaged fins, intact scales and no ulcers or bumps. If her condition or behaviour worries you, test the water straight away and follow the reporting steps promptly rather than assuming the journey explains it.

Feed a complete flake or granule, little and once a day

Guppies are omnivores that take most foods. OATA's guidance is a good-quality flake or granule with a high algae content as the everyday food, plus small live or frozen foods such as daphnia, small bloodworm or tubifex, fed only in the amount the fish can eat within a few minutes once a day.

Seriously Fish notes that wild guppies are primarily insectivorous, while today's tank-bred fish accept most foods, and FishBase records wild guppies feeding on zooplankton, small insects and detritus. That is background on how the species lives rather than a menu to copy: stick to biosecure aquarium foods.

Portion check

• Offer a small pinch and watch until it has gone
• Stop as soon as food starts to drift past uneaten
• Remove leftovers before they break down
• Make sure the smallest or shyest female gets her share, not only the boldest fish

Variety without overdoing it

Use the small frozen foods OATA names as occasional variety alongside the staple, and store dry and frozen foods as their labels direct. OATA warns that overfeeding leads to uneaten food breaking down and releasing toxic waste into the water, so err on the side of less and let the weekly tests tell you whether the amount is right.

If fry appear

Fry need food sized for their tiny mouths and especially close water-quality monitoring. If you plan to raise a brood, get welfare-focused advice for the nursery tank, food and filtration before the young arrive rather than copying a fixed growth timetable.

Plan for fry, even with a female-only purchase

Guppies are livebearers: females give birth to live young rather than laying eggs. Female guppies can store sperm for several months, according to peer-reviewed research summarised in our guppy care guide, and Seriously Fish reports that females can go on producing young for six months or more with no male present. A female who met a male before sale may therefore give birth in your tank even if she is the only guppy you buy.

Decide before she arrives

• Where young fish would live: a separate, cycled nursery tank with its own filtration, suitable temperature and repeated testing
• How you would feed them and keep their water quality stable
• How you would rehome surplus fish responsibly
• Whether you will add males at all, knowing that a mixed group makes fry likely

Adult guppies will eat their young, and Seriously Fish notes that a densely planted tank with plenty of floating vegetation gives fry the best chance of survival. Our care guide is clear that predation by adults or tank mates is not a population-control or welfare plan, and that a small uncycled container or confining a female is not a safe shortcut.

Reading the signs

Seriously Fish describes a darkened gravid spot behind the anal fin as the way to recognise a pregnant female, while our guide notes that a rounded belly or dark area is not proof of pregnancy. Treat either as a prompt to get the nursery plan ready, not as a certainty, and avoid planning around one fixed brood size or date.

Never release guppies outdoors

Guppies have been introduced far beyond their native range, with rare to non-existent effects on mosquitoes and documented risks to native fish and wider biodiversity. Never release guppies, fry, plants, snails or aquarium water into a pond, drain or natural waterway, and dispose of old water and substrate so nothing can reach a watercourse.

Health checks, quarantine and when to get help

Seriously Fish warns that many commercially bred guppies are not very hardy because of inbreeding and over-production, which is a good reason to watch a new female closely and to quarantine new arrivals when you already keep fish. A settled guppy swims steadily, breathes regularly, holds her fins open, keeps a normal body profile and feeds consistently.

Warning signs

• Hiding, clamped fins or gasping at the surface
• Loss of balance, sitting on the bottom or erratic swimming
• White spots, fluffy growths, wounds or loss of fins or scales
• Colour turning darker or paler than normal
• Gill covers moving faster or slower than usual
• A sudden change in appetite, weight or body condition

These are warning signs, not a diagnosis. Test ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and temperature straight away; check the filter, heater, recent maintenance, food, new arrivals and how the other fish are behaving; and note the signs with dates or photographs. The RSPCA's fish health guidance covers normal and concerning signs and when to involve a vet, and OATA's find-a-fish-vet directory lists UK vets who treat fish.

Avoid choosing salt, heat or medication from a single symptom. In the UK, use lawfully labelled products with veterinary direction.

Quarantine new fish

Keep a separate quarantine tank with its own equipment, a biologically mature filter and regular testing. The MSD Veterinary Manual recommends isolating new fish for at least 30 days, and longer where indicated. It is a US professional veterinary reference, so follow UK veterinary advice on any treatment it mentions.

Choose peaceful tank mates that leave fins alone

Seriously Fish describes the guppy as a very peaceful fish that does well in a quiet community with other livebearers, rasboras, corydoras, small loricariids and tetras. Those are kinds of fish to consider rather than a promise: each species still has to pass the checks below in your own aquarium.

Keep out of her tank

• Fin-nipping species such as tiger barbs and serpae tetras, which Seriously Fish names
• Barbs or any other species that might nip fins, as OATA advises

Screen every species

Our guppy care guide uses six checks before any new animal goes in:

1. Temperature, pH and hardness that overlap comfortably rather than meeting at the edge of two ranges
2. Adult size, and whether either animal could swallow or injure the other
3. Fin-nipping, territorial, courtship and feeding-competition risk
4. The usable footprint of the aquarium once both groups are included
5. Every animal able to reach food and shelter
6. A ready separation plan if behaviour changes

Take care with

Some platies, mollies or corydoras may pass these checks in a suitably sized aquarium, but the exact species and its adult needs decide. Small shrimp and young fish may be eaten, so treat invertebrates as a case-by-case decision. A betta and guppy mix is not a sensible default either: display, territorial and long-fin interactions vary between individuals, and a larger planted tank still cannot make it safe.

If you are thinking about mollies, OATA notes that they are generally peaceful but that sailfin mollies, which can reach about 15 cm, should not be kept with timid species. Size the aquarium for the largest fish in the plan, not for the guppies alone.

Males, mixed groups and Endler's livebearers

Adding males brings courtship, chasing and fry. OATA suggests keeping at least three guppies with two females to each male to reduce stress on females, and Seriously Fish advises several females per male because males pursue females constantly. In the wild type, males are the more colourful sex with longer fins, and selectively bred varieties take that to extremes.

Signs a mixed group needs changing

• A female repeatedly cornered or chased away from food
• Females spending most of their time hiding
• Torn fins or weight loss in any fish

Respond with more space and sight breaks, more females per male, or a move for the male into the separation tank. Repeated pursuit, cornering, hiding or damage is not harmless just because guppies are sold as peaceful.

Endler's livebearers

Endler's livebearer, Poecilia wingei, is a separate species. It was formally described in a peer-reviewed description of Poecilia wingei and is listed as valid in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes. Laboratory research confirms that guppies and Endlers can hybridise through first and second generations. Keep the two species in separate tanks if you want either line to stay pure, and never pass on hybrid young as pure guppies or pure Endlers.

Guppy questions answered

How big does a Supercolor Mix Guppy get?

Plan for about 6 cm standard length, the maximum body length Seriously Fish records for the species. Standard length is measured without the tail fin, so a long tail makes the fish look bigger than that figure.

What size tank does a guppy need?

Choose a mature, filtered aquarium at least 60 cm long for one small group, which is our conservative house policy. OATA's minimum is 45 litres for a small group of the smaller livebearers and FishBase gives a 60 cm minimum length, so measure the internal length rather than relying on the litres printed on the box, and allow more room for larger groups or tank mates.

How many guppies should I keep together?

Keep a Supercolor Mix Guppy with other guppies rather than alone: OATA advises at least three, and FishBase and our care guide recommend five or more where the tank allows. A female-only group avoids new mating inside the tank; if you add males, OATA suggests two females to each male.

Is the Supercolor Mix Guppy good for beginners?

It suits a prepared beginner. OATA describes most guppies as undemanding and easy to keep, but they do not tolerate an uncycled aquarium, so start with a matured filter, zero ammonia and nitrite, stable hard water and a plan for the group and for any fry.

What do guppies eat?

Feed a good-quality flake or granule with a high algae content as the everyday food, plus small live or frozen foods such as daphnia, small bloodworm or tubifex for variety. OATA advises giving only what the fish eat within a few minutes, once a day, and removing anything left over.

What temperature and pH does Poecilia reticulata need?

Keep it at 22–28°C, the routine range in our guppy care guide, with pH 7.0–8.0 and 8–18°dH general hardness from OATA's guppy and molly guidance. Ammonia and nitrite should read zero and nitrate no more than 20 mg per litre above your tap water. It is a hard-water fish, so avoid long-term soft, acidic conditions.

Are guppies aggressive or fin nippers?

Seriously Fish describes the guppy as a very peaceful fish, and the risk usually runs the other way: guppies should not share a tank with species that might nip their fins, such as barbs. In mixed-sex groups males chase females persistently, which is why several females per male are advised.

Which fish can live with a Supercolor Mix Guppy?

Seriously Fish lists other livebearers, rasboras, corydoras, small loricariids and tetras as suitable kinds for a quiet community, provided each species passes checks on water, adult size, temperament and space. Avoid fin-nipping species such as tiger barbs and serpae tetras, and remember that small shrimp and fry may be eaten.

How does a guppy arrive alive in the UK?

Start filming before you open the parcel, in one continuous take showing the sealed outer box, you opening it and the fish still in her sealed bag. She travels hand-bagged in pure oxygen in an insulated poly box, with a heat pack when the weather calls for it, carried by a licensed live-animal courier on a tracked service. Someone must be at the address to receive her. Open and inspect the parcel the same day, float the bag for 20–30 minutes, then release her without pouring the bag water into your tank. If anything has gone wrong, contact us the same day with your order number and the video so we can arrange a replacement or refund under the Live Arrival Guarantee.

Further reading

• FishBase: Poecilia reticulata – species summary covering family, native range, recorded environment, wild diet and maximum length.
• Seriously Fish: Poecilia reticulata – species profile with aquarium size, water, diet, behaviour, sexing and breeding notes.
• OATA: How to look after guppies and mollies – UK trade-body care sheet on water, aquarium size, feeding, maintenance, health and compatibility.
• RSPCA: Fish environment – welfare guidance on filters and the nitrogen cycle.
• RSPCA: Fish health – normal and concerning signs and when to involve a vet.
• Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Poecilia reticulata – accepted name, authorship and type locality.
• Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Poecilia wingei – valid-species record for Endler's livebearer.
• Description of Poecilia (Acanthophacelus) wingei – formal description of Endler's livebearer as a species distinct from the guppy.
• MSD Veterinary Manual: Management of aquarium fish – veterinary guidance on water-quality-led diagnosis and quarantine.
• OATA: Find a fish vet – UK directory of vets who treat fish.