Ribbon Tail Guppy

Special requirements

I have had three pairs of ribbon tail guppies in an aquarium for about 4 months. They are adult size but I have never seen a single fry in that time. I always have lots of plants floating about incase there are some fry born. Do you think they could be infertile? I thought they would be as easy to breed as regular guppies but it does not seem to be the case.

These fish are sometimes also known as dragon tail guppies. Ribbon tail guppies have several extended fins including the male's gonopodium. When attempting to mate, the fish's extended sexual organ will not function correctly. This can be a problem in lyre tail swordtails also.

To breed using a pure male the gonopodium needs to be surgically shortened to a manageable length.

Alternately you could breed normal males with the ribbon tail females then cross the offspring with each other. That way the next generation should show about a quarter ribbon tail fins.

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