Wild Guppy?

[madmoroccan]

A close friend of mine just spent 15Gbp... on three, yep that's right THREE guppies!

The breeder told him that they are pure wild guppies. The only difference I could see was that the males didn't have the fancy style tail... And that the tail was slightly smaller than usual, and clear.

Are they really worth this much?

Would they command good prices if sold (LFS)?

How much should I offer him before he kills them (LOL )?

I will try to get a picture...

Its good to be back (I had a tank 3 years ago)!


thanks in adv.

Bader

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

They are probably endlers if they have a clear tail, endlers are not guppys but look similar to them and are often sold as "wild guppys"- they are rare in the wild, but captive bred ones are becomming more and more common now days, because they can cross bred with regular guppys though it can be difficult to get hold of pure endlers.
Pure bred Endlers often look similar to this one;

 

[nmonks]

As Mrs. Thatcher was fond of saying, something is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for it.

There are a lot of people who prefer their guppies to be brightly coloured, and these are invariably artificial forms. Wild guppies appeal to those people who like their fish "as nature intended". Right now, the guppy de jour is the Endler guppy, a variety of guppy bred from specimens collected from the wild in Venezuela. Unlike "common" guppies, these fish have not beed bred into artificial forms, though particular strains are recognised. These strains are natural variations within the wild population (like blonde, brunette, and red-headed people).

Yes, they are relatively expensive.

No, you won't get rich by breeding them.

I am not aware of truly wild (i.e., captured from the wild) guppies on sale in the UK, but there's no reason they shouldn't be. Guppies are now established throughout the tropics as 'exotic' species, and the irony is that many wild guppies are actually descendants of individuals carried around the world and released by humans to eat mosquito larvae. In the wild, however fancy the parents, later generations eventually end up looking like the original wild guppies because evolution favours the "basic" model. Our "pretty" guppies are inferior to the greenish, speckled ones when it comes to surviving in the real world.

Your friend may well have obtained truly wild guppies from a dealer, or perhaps they are Endler guppies. Either way, 5 UKP a piece isn't at all out of line, if the stock is of good quality. It also depends on what the sex of the fish is; the females are in greater demand than the males since those are the ones useful for breeding more wild-type or Endler guppies.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[madmoroccan]

just searched ebay... seems like somone else is selling them... 29.99 for 3...
Although the ones my friend has are a bright green (in small areas).

ebay: 7743042026

Just to clarify, I am not new to aquariums. And they are definately not Endlers.

Thanks for the info guys.

P.s. I am not a get rich quick breeder (not a breeder at all in fact), but what would a lps give for this variety (for the sake of not having to euthanase them when the males get over zealous about sh***ing)?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

just searched ebay... seems like somone else is selling them... 29.99 for 3...
Although the ones my friend has are a bright green (in small areas).

ebay: 7743042026

Just to clarify, I am not new to aquariums. And they are definately not Endlers.

Thanks for the info guys.

P.s. I am not a get rich quick breeder (not a breeder at all in fact), but what would a lps give for this variety (for the sake of not having to euthanase them when the males get over zealous about sh***ing)?

What exactly do they look like? Can you get pics?
Its imposible to say how much a lps will roughly give for them without knowing what strain of guppy they are and what lps you have that could take them off you.
Why dont you just give them away for free if they breed out of control or put them up on here in the buy/sell section? Seems a bit harsh just to kill them if they breed out of control and you cant sell them for anything. Most lps/lfs will take fish off your hands for free if you cant handle your fish, although you should always check this out before hand as not all lfs/lps will take fish off customers due to various insurance reasons.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

By the way, the fish the ebay seller is selling are endlers as far as im aware;

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...y0%3D%26fvi%3D1

Endlers are not worth $29.99, then again i guess they are only worth what the customer will pay for them- i though, have seen those fish go for £2 though in the town next to mine.

 

[nmonks]

Up here in London, Endlers go for around 3 to 5 UKP, but these are almost always males. You rarely see the females being traded, and even when you do, I am not at all sure that they aren't just generic, greenish female guppies. There is a (fairly believable) rumour going around fishkeeping circles that a lot of the "Endlers" sold in pet stores are actually Endler-guppy hybrids.

The best quality stock seems to come from other hobbyists active within livebearer clubs.

To be honest, if I was serious about breeding these fish, I'd want to get them from someone I could trust rather than an eBay seller. How do you know they are true breeding? How do you know that they are what the guy says they are? Those may be "wild guppies" on his eBay page, but at least one person here thinks they look like Endlers, and even standard issue Endlers aren't "wild fish" in any meaningful sense. I'd at least spend some time with the UK livebearer groups online to learn where to get good quality stock; for example:

http/www.britishlivebearerassociation.co.uk/newsgroup.htm
http/endlers-r-us.co.uk/
http/livebearer.info/

Cheers,

Neale

PS. Read this thread at Endler's R US. It's on the same topic.

Cheers,

Neale

http/endlers-r-us.co.uk/modules.php?name...opic&t=251#1730

 

[Sp00ky]

i paid £2 each for my 3... your mates legs must be cold, cause they have had his pants down !!

 

[The-Wolf]

my endlers cost £1.95 each
I currently have 3 males and 2 females,
due to my dawn tetras killing of many tank mates.
I may breed in the future but for now they are in a small community set up.

As for the wild guppy, if you can truly find them, expect to pay shead loads of cash for them,due to restrictions on exporting them.

 

[madmoroccan]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Firstly I'd like to say that I have no intention of killing the offspring off (once/"if" I get my hands on the fish)...

Secondly with regards to the pedigree... I am sure that many of you guys know what you are talking about... the stuff on ebay is too expensive to even figure in my plans (better off "borrowing" his guppies/endlers)... 30 pounds could be spent on a couple of Magnum Plecos.

In not so many words my mate was probably robbed! But if it weren't for his eagerness to buy "exotic" fish a-la-uneducated-chav style connesseur I would never have got back into the game myself (good things do come out of other people's misfortunes )!

I am still going to take them off his hands (probably for free based on the knowledge that he can have as many fry as he likes)...

I would like to thank you guys again, you all seem very helpful, and I can see myself becoming a regular here... maybe teach you guys something one day.

Kind regards

Bader.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

let me preface this by saying i'm not really a "livebearer person" and have been informed by reliable sources that i'm a sick, twisted, conniving schemer but...

what's to stop someone from selling 10 cent feeder guppies as "rare wild guppies"? especially if the "wild guppies" in question aren't even endlers?

 

[madmoroccan]

let me preface this by saying i'm not really a "livebearer person" and have been informed by reliable sources that i'm a sick, twisted, conniving schemer but...

what's to stop someone from selling 10 cent feeder guppies as "rare wild guppies"? especially if the "wild guppies" in question aren't even endlers?

Well, I have been told that I am a murderous, back-stabbing, devious thief... But that doesn't mean I am going to come to your place and steal your tank and kill your fish!

I am not going to question the merits of advertising one type of fish as another... But I will say this:

FROM ONE PERSON'S MISFORTUNE COMES ANOTHER'S EDUCATION!

It doesn't pay to be a smart arse... I am new here. But I am not thick... I have had tanks in the past. And I am not the type to spend 30GBp on 3 livebearers no matter what they are!!! This was a chance for me to find some information on the topic. Who knows... I may even contact my friend's supplier and ask him to prove himself! Heck, he might even be telling the truth... I guess that would that cause a frenzy of new "friends" wanting free fry... no?

Kind regards

Bader.

 

[Annastasia]

let me preface this by saying i'm not really a "livebearer person" and have been informed by reliable sources that i'm a sick, twisted, conniving schemer but...

what's to stop someone from selling 10 cent feeder guppies as "rare wild guppies"? especially if the "wild guppies" in question aren't even endlers?

Wild Guppies tend to be a liiittle fancier, but basically you have to just hope people are honest enough. There is no true way to 'stop them'. You might be able to tell the difference between them, or you might not. If I'm not mistaken, though, Feeder Guppies are basically tank-bred versions of the Wild Guppy, no?

Right now, the guppy de jour is the Endler guppy, a variety of guppy bred from specimens collected from the wild in Venezuela. Unlike "common" guppies, these fish have not beed bred into artificial forms, though particular strains are recognised. These strains are natural variations within the wild population (like blonde, brunette, and red-headed people).

That's still under debate, and probably always will be. It's not certain whether the Endler actually is a form of Guppy, or a seperate closely related species.

 

[bogwood]

My lfs will only sell their Endlers in pairs (1M, 1F: £5.00)... they say this is so not only Males are bought (for their fancy colours) thus keeping the 'breed' alive and breeding... if they didn't have this rule, they say only Males will be purchased as the females are 'bland' in comparison...

 

[madmoroccan]

Again, thanks for all the replies. I have now had the fish 100% confirmed... AS: pure wild guppies (Venezuela). I can only say that I was gobsmacked...