Guppy

The guppy, alternatively guppie (Poecilia reticulata) is one ofthe most popular freshwater aquarium fish species in the world. It is a small member of the Poecilidae family (females 3 centimetres long, males 2 centimetres long) and istherefore live-bearing . It prefers a hard water aquarium and can withstand asurprising degree of salinity . Its most famous characteristic is its propensity forbreeding.

The female guppy is a drab brown in colour. The much smaller male naturally has a colourful caudal fin (tailfin), which has been considerably enhanced in shape and colour by selective breeding .

Dr. R. Guppy discovered this tiny fish in Trinidad in 1866 , but has escaped from captivity and lives in a feral condition in much of the warmer regions of the world.It has been introduced to some areas to keep down the mosquito population and fight malaria .

This fish has been introduced to the Netherlands were it lives in thecooling water of the Corus Steelmill near IJmuiden . The result has been extraodinary; the fish thrive and have increased in size. Fishes of 12 cm are thenorm.

Over time, many species are assigned a different taxonomic name. The guppy is noexception:

• Lebistes reticulatus
• Acanthocephalus guppii
• A. reticulatus
• Girardinus guppii
• G. petersi
• G. poeciloides
• G. reticulatus
• Haridichthys reticulatus
• Heterandria guppyi
• Lebistes poecilioides
• Poecilia poeciloides
• Poecilioides reticulatus.
• For now: Poecilia reticulata

References

• "Poecilia reticulata." FishBase. ed. Froese, R. and D. Pauly (04/2004), URL: Poeciliareticulata
• "Poecilia reticulata." ITIS Standard Report. ( Integrated Taxonomic InformationSystem : National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., 2004-06-08). URL: ITIS 165903

The Guppy aircraft are a series of extremely large wide-bodied aeroplanes that are used to transport oversize cargo, most notably parts for other aeroplanes and smaller rocketstages (ie the third stage of the Saturn V ). See Pregnant Guppy , Mini Guppy , and Super Guppy .

The acronym GUPPY in reference to U.S. conventionaldiesel/electric submarines stands for the Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program . This series of conversionsinstalled more powerful smaller batteries and involved changes to the hull streamlining and diving control surfaces to effectgreater speed underwater.

"Guppy" is also a contemporary slang term referring to "gay yuppy ", implying someone who is overly ambitious intheir professional pursuits and highly conscious of maintaining an impeccable image as a slick, modern, urban man.