By Alan S. Bias

Starting with guppies at age 8, I am still amazed by the diversity of these little fish over 35 years later. Like many serious guppy breeders I have dabbled with a wide variety of species over the years ranging from killifish to numerous livebearers. While these can be very interesting to maintain, they just do not hold the appeal of genetic manipulation found in guppy aquaculture. The potential of Genetic manipulation and understanding of the species is what I believe separates the serious guppy breeder from the hobbyists who migrate to and from other species of fish.

A breeders decision to show or not can have long-term impact on direction and goals. Many individuals choose not to show simply for economic reasons. Plain and simple, it's expensive to ship to and from multiple shows and enter in multiple classes. Normally the entire breeding cycle of a fishroom is geared towards producing mature individuals ready for show at a set date. Unfortunately this can interfere with the genetic goals of your program. What is best for a show strain is not always best for genetic variation. It is not uncommon for breeders to only show only certain strains and work others for the genetics. The show circuit does create a fraternity among breeders who engage in friendly competition, yet swap stock readily among themselves.

The large number of fixed strains found within worldwide guppy populations is in large part due to the differences in show standards. In North America the primary governing body has been the International Fancy Guppy Association (IFGA) & its predecessor for the better part of 50 years.  Since the mid 1950's shows in Europe have been governed by clubs from each respective country with Austria and Germany in the forefront of guppy breeding.  In the Asian theater Japan has been a strong influence in the realm of hobbyist bred strains for several decades.  In the mid 1990's an attempt to create uniformity in European standards was implemented by the Internationales Kuratorium f|r Guppy-Hochzucht (IKGH).

The type of guppy prevalent in North America changed markedly in the mid to late 1960's.  The IFGA's main focus has always been large bodied Delta or Veil Tail Guppies in solid, snakeskin, and 1/2 black body color. Matching caudal/dorsal color in a 1:1 Body to caudal ratio.   Multiple clubs within the association has allowed for a continual cycle of 10 or more shows in a season.  In the early years many, if not most, guppy breeders participated in the show scene to some degree.  As a result many of the diverse tail shapes and color patterns became rare in hobbyist tanks or disappeared completely.  However, the results are undeniably visible worldwide.  Well conformed & large bodied fish with intense coloration. On the downside propagation of new strains stagnated for many years. Corresponding with a visible reduction in breeder numbers.

In Europe primary emphasis was based on diverse tail shapes with color secondary.  Size was also of lessor importance.  In the end a greater variety of caudals, patterns and colors has evolved and been incorporated within the hobby.  With fewer annual shows more attention has been given to genetic variation on a broader scale. The efforts of individual breeders have played a large role in the multitude of strains.

Perhaps nowhere has this been more evident than in Japan and other Asian countries.  Without rigid standards multiple caudal & dorsal shapes are the norm.  Varied body patterns and non-matching fin color are not frowned upon.  In lieu of solid colors more has been created in multi's of various description.

While the show circuit has been and will continue to be a driving force in the continual evolution of guppies, it's influence has waned.  With the concept of a World Guppy Association (WGA) and increasing support, an even greater swapping of genetics is occurring.  New patterns in finnage and color are being promoted every month. A new kind of breeder is evolving with the fish.  Much more emphasis is again  being placed on the understanding of genetics and creation of new strains. Until recently there has been very limited contact between the various continents.  Most coming from occasional swaps between breeders and foreign entries auctioned at shows.  In the early mid 1990's the pace and rate of exchange increased dramatically with the advent of the World Wide Web.  Correspondence was at the click of a key, instead of an international phone call or written mail. Language barriers also seemed less of a factor.

Not only have the fish been changing, but the way we raise and medicate. Starting in the late 70's breeders began to experiment with various automated water exchange & single point filtration (recirculating) systems. The concepts had a serious flaw in relation to disease with water coming in contact from each tank.  Early water exchange systems relied on siphon tubes and later drilled tanks with riser tubes.  In both cases the water flowed out of a continual drain system allowing various parasites & infections to migrate into multiple tanks.  Much in the way recirculating systems still do.  Today several "trough" configurations allow for water to drain out of risers and into a "gutter" type drainage tube.  Expelled water never touches more than the tank of origin.

Several diseases, including Wasting Disease (internal parasites), and Fin Clamping, shut down many fishrooms of fellow breeders during the 80's & 90's. After 15 years of battling wasting disease in my own two fishrooms I gave in one day by siphoning fish and water in effort.  It was hard enough to just keep a strain going, much less improve upon them.  Most treatments involved dosing an entire tank or recirculating system to prevent or cure disease. Even when limited success was achieved it usually left survivors stunted and of little use for show stock. After several generations of selecting surviving inferior specimens for breeders size reduction could be permanent and necessitate outcrossing.

Today several treatments are available for most persistent ailments making automated systems more feasible. A new approach in medicating guppies is preventative based such as periodic worming before clinical symptoms appear.  In the not to distant past preventative measures such as this were not common practice in the guppy world.  Without continued introduction of new generation drugs breeders could face the same resistance issues faced by the livestock industry created by overuse. Preventative based schemes normally target certain vulnerable age groups. While pathogens evolve according to their own reproductive cycles, overuse of medications, combined with multiple generations in a year could speed up the process.  Be selective in your use of wormers and antibiotics.

Identification of genetic markers for disease resistance and breeder selection for resistance will solve many current problems.  While breeding guppies it became noticeable years ago that each time one malady is cured another takes it's place.  Much the same has happened with human disease control over the past century, only at an accelerated rate in captive guppy populations.  Artificial selection for resistance can result in loss of diversity if taken to the extreme.  It has already done so with commercial breeds livestock, such as cattle and sheep, using the same approach.  Several mutations in pathogens have surfaced after years of genetic selection for resistance to them.  

If a strain cannot survive outside of its sterile production environment we are defeating the desired result.  In my mind this is a fish that has longevity, sound reproductive ability, natural hardiness (disease resistance), growth potential, and genetic predictability in "fixed strains" to name but a few.  Confirmation issues are too broad in definition among various organizations to address at this stage. A breeder should rely on clean water, moderate stocking densities, quality feed, and breeder selection to create a fish of value to present & future hobbyists.

Most aquarists are only familiar with guppies in pet shops originating from commercial sources.  It is true that the commercial fish farms around the world have produced countless millions of guppies for the petshop trade.  The hobbyist breeders will never be able to compete on this scale.  On the other hand it is doubtful the commercial farms will ever be able to compete with combined  hobbyists in genetic manipulation and number of strains. Most new genetics results from the outcrossing of pure strains and not random matings.  A fair portion of commercial strains are not fixed, but 2 way crosses, resulting in little  genetic predictability in offspring.  Traditionally they work with very few individual strains, and instead concentrate on shear numbers of individuals of lessor standard. Much as any commercial producer, regardless of product.  Yes, the incidental "sport" does occur with such a large volume of output.  The chance of it being noticed, much less identified & selected for by farm employees is far less than in a dedicated hobbyists tank.

This has been and always will be our strength as hobbyist breeders...