Guppy strains, 16 honest profiles.
A guppy strain is a line bred to hold one look reliably - a body pattern (cobra, snakeskin, tuxedo), a tail pattern (leopard, mosaic, grass), a color block (full red, platinum, half black, Japan blue), or a fin shape (delta tail, dumbo ear). The wild-type Endler sits here too - a close relative of the guppy (Poecilia wingei) rather than a strain of it. Care is the same across the list: hard alkaline water, warmth, and roughly two or three females per male, since they breed constantly. This page suits anyone shopping and wanting to know what a strain name actually promises. The trade-off is inbreeding - the tighter a show line is fixed, the shorter and more fragile the fish tends to be. Endlers and old cobra lines are the durable end. For the species itself, see the guppy basics guide.
