Home Breed Vs Store Bought Guppies

[PrairieSunflower]

Has anyone else noticed a real size difference between home breed guppies and store bought guppies?

I haven't managed to get a picture of my home raised female next to a store bought one... but she is WELL on her way to showing she will be a viking of the guppy world.

Anyhow... here is a picture of my home raised guppies mother next to a store bought one. Will see if I can manage to get a picture of my home raised baby next to a store bought one later... they are hiding from me at the moment!

Right, I have returned with a couple more pictures...

Here is Firefly (orange tail) with Annabel (4 months old, raised from birth)... Annabel is about 1 inche farther behind Firefly... was the best I could manage to get them together since they have each buddied up with different fish and don't swim together often!

And, mom and baby together.

 

[Naiad]

I haven't had guppies since I was a kid but I've never seen guppies the size of yours, the ones at the stores here are always tiny though, not much more than an inch excluding their tail most of the time

 

[Baccus]

The size differance between store bought and home raised probably stems from the commercial breeders having/ keeping the fish in hugley overstocked breeding ponds. It could also be that its cheaper and likely to cause less deaths in transit if smaller fish are shipped out. I have had store bought guppies and after having them in a 1000L pond with only a few goldfish as competition the guppies grew into monsters, but then with limited nhumbers of fish in the pond not only was there plenty of room for growth but also all the fish had equal chances of getting the food I was supplying as well as plenty of live insect food that naturally will begin to appear around any body of water.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Interesting, so it might be that they don't have much competition.

 

[Baccus]

That and the fact that with less fish in a certian sized tank there is going to be less build up of growth represent hormones in the water.

 

[OldMan47]

I find that LFS guppies, which are often sold at around 3/4 of adult size, can in no way compare to my own guppies or swordtails. Good food and good water changes will always make your own fish better than any local fish shop can buy commercially. No commercial breeder can take the time and effort to make its offerings as good as yours.
At my local club auctions, I find that my generic "fancy" guppies demand a premium above many other guppies. There is nothing about my guppies, which really are more or less generic in characteristics, that makes them superior in any way but their great health makes them stand out for fellow hobbyists. My bet is that PSF has superior stock in much the same way that I do. She is caring for her fish properly.