Melanzona Guppy
Poecilia parae
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 75–82°F (24–28°C)
- pH
- 6.5–7.5
- Adult size
- 2 in (5 cm)
- Minimum tank
- 15 gal (55 L)
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Social behavior
- Social
- Swim level
- Middle
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Breeding
- Easy
- Rarity
- Very rare
- Origin
- Brazil, The Guianas
- Family
- Poeciliidae
Overview
The melanzona guppy, or parae, is a small, peaceful livebearer that likes a group with several females for each male, since rival males display constantly. It stays in the middle of the tank and mixes well with other small, calm fish. It is an easy eater, grazing algae and taking a good flake with vegetable content plus small frozen foods such as daphnia and cyclops. It likes warm, neutral to slightly hard water and tolerates a little salt, matching the brackish creeks and estuaries it comes from. A tank of 55 liters or larger suits a small breeding group.
In the wild
Poecilia parae lives along the coastal lowlands of the Guianas and northern Brazil, in swamps, slow creeks and brackish estuaries near the sea. These warm, weakly flowing waters call for a temperature between 24 and 28 C and a pH from about 6.5 to 7.5, with neutral to slightly hard water. A planted tank with gentle flow, open swimming space and a little salt if you wish recreates its home. Steady warmth and clean water keep it in condition.
Good to know
The melanzona guppy is a livebearer in the family Poeciliidae, closely related to the common guppy. Females reach about 5 cm and males are much smaller, near 3 cm. Males fertilize females internally with a gonopodium, and females give birth to live, free-swimming fry, which makes this an easy species to breed. What sets it apart is that males come in five fixed colour types, inherited down the male line and unchanged through life.
Did you know
Male melanzona guppies occur as five set forms: red, yellow and blue striped melanzona males, a bar-tailed parae male, and a plain immaculata male that mimics a female, with each pattern passed from father to son.
Appears in
Freshwater fish · Brackish fish · Livebearers · Community fish
Keeping Melanzona Guppy?
Track water tests, reminders and stocking fit.
Related species
Cauca molly
Poecilia caucana2.4 in (6 cm)16 gal (60 L)77–86°F (25–30°C)
Guppy
Poecilia reticulata2.4 in (6 cm)13 gal (50 L)64–82°F (18–28°C)
Endler's livebearer
Poecilia wingei1.6 in (4 cm)5 gal (20 L)72–86°F (22–30°C)Amazon molly
Poecilia formosa3.5 in (9 cm)20 gal (75 L)68–82°F (20–28°C)
Gill's molly
Poecilia gillii3.9 in (10 cm)26 gal (100 L)72–86°F (22–30°C)
Shortfin molly
Poecilia mexicana4.3 in (11 cm)32 gal (120 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)