I recently bought this fish from Petsmart. The employee said it was a platy and ended up picking a random sku because she didn't know which breed it was. I was thinking it was a very large female guppy but she's a lit bigger than guppies I've raised. (2in. in length) The black spot seems to be coloring and not a gravid spot, but not sure. Could it be a platy-guppy hybrid or is it just a big lady that super pregnant already?
What is this fish?
Just a normal guppy 
They can vary in size a fair amount, and hybrids are super rare. Does look as though she's gravid, still in fairly early stages
ETA: I was wrong, see below!
They can vary in size a fair amount, and hybrids are super rare. Does look as though she's gravid, still in fairly early stagesETA: I was wrong, see below!
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Looks like a female guppy, and it will be pregnant all female guppies are pregnant.
Hi and welcome to the forum
It could be a female guppy or a female Gambusia, they look similar when grey in colour.
@emeraldking is our resident livebearer specialist who might be able to tell if it's a guppy vs Gambusia.
It could be a female guppy or a female Gambusia, they look similar when grey in colour.
@emeraldking is our resident livebearer specialist who might be able to tell if it's a guppy vs Gambusia.
Grizleyguy
New Member
Looks like mosquito fish to me. A had a tank of wild caught and they looked just like ur pic
That's a female mosquito fish. So yes, a Gambusia. No doubts!
Just be careful if you keep her with other fish. They like to nip fins of other fish unless those other fish are sturdy fish.
Just be careful if you keep her with other fish. They like to nip fins of other fish unless those other fish are sturdy fish.
I feel guilty now for getting it wrong! Can you please teach me how to tell the difference?
What's weird is that Petsmart are selling them, That's not typical, is it?
Ah, thank you! Feeder fish are illegal here, so I never even thought of that. They are very similar to female guppies! Makes sense since guppies are a mosquito fish I know, but you know what I mean.
I have some research to do now, to learn the difference!
If you would just look at the females, there's a difference. Mosquito fish females have a more pointy head shape in comparison to female guppies. The dorsal is also more to the back than in female guppies. The mosquito fish shows a comma like mark close to the gravid spot (which you won't be able to see when she's pregnant). The mosquito fish have also small stripes in the finnage. There are mosquito fish that have a vertical stripe on the eyes and specimens that are lacking that vertical stripe. And female mosquito fish are also more slender (torpedo like) than a female guppy.
Thank you @emeraldking !
The differences might be obvious to you just by looking, but you're very experienced. When I'm looking, the differences aren't so obvious, and some things I'm not sure are a differences aren't as obvious, and some I'm not sure if it's a difference between the species, or the fish itself in the photos I'm looking at, or what, you know? Two female guppies can look quite different if the quality is a lot different, you know? That's the only reason I asked you for how to tell, I'm sorry.
The differences might be obvious to you just by looking, but you're very experienced. When I'm looking, the differences aren't so obvious, and some things I'm not sure are a differences aren't as obvious, and some I'm not sure if it's a difference between the species, or the fish itself in the photos I'm looking at, or what, you know? Two female guppies can look quite different if the quality is a lot different, you know? That's the only reason I asked you for how to tell, I'm sorry.
I do have to say that I'm only referring to the mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis and the Gambusia holbrooki) within the Gambusia genus. For instance, the Gambusia hurtadoi has got much rounder head and less slender.
Do all of them wind up being sold as feeders? Or is more likely to see the first two, but not the third, for instance?
Very cool though, never heard if a mosquito fish!Similar threads
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