Evening star., 1933-09-30

The more one knows about keeping
tropical fishes In the home the greater
his respect will be for the guppy.
It Is the newcomer to the fish gam,
who scorns this little creature.
Almost every one has seen this fish
and not every one likes its appearance
he thinks.
If you suggest it to the person am
bilious to set up an aquarium at home
he is as likely as not to say, with an ali
of great finahty. "Oh. don't like gup'
pies"
AS a matter of fact. he does not know
whether he likes them or not. becaus,
he has never kept them.
The guppy is a fish which grows upor
one-that Is why the older hand is surf
to like it.
And then, too, the slightly interested
person in all probability has never seer
the Cup at its best.
Few of the persons who stand arount
the tanks in the stores and call tn
guppy by varying names, such q!
sgumpy, and "gooby," and "goopy"-
three Of the favorites- anyadss
of the size or coloration attained b!
choice specimens
LebiSteS reticulatuS, which Is the sci
entific name for our fish. Is never a
its best without direct sunshine.
Even ordinary specimens will put OF
| added color in well-placed tank II
which there Is a good growth Of greer
algae on the side walls.
X X X X
The colors Of this variety are re
served for the males, as most persons
know.
It has been said that no two mall
guppies are exactly alike, either II
coloration or pattern of marking. but tt
the ordinary observer they will seen
similar enough to deserve their otheI
popular name Of rainbow fish" II
their native waters. in Trinidad anc
vicinity. they are known by a native
word which means millions"
The female guppy. at about yea
old, becomes very much larger thar
the male. She is at all times devoie
of his coloring. She is plain silver.
olive. Her form is somewhat ungainly
and her face no beauty. but in time th'
fish fancier comes to have a real af
lection for her, she is such an honest
hard-working creature.
If she eats few of her numerou!
offspring, from time to time. no ont
guppies are not consumed by the1
parents one-half or even one-fourth a.
much as popular imagination has 1t.
x X x X
II the tank in which they are KEEP
has plenty of plants, and the fishes art
! we'll fed, there Is every chance in th'
world that the fishlets (Which. as ever!
one knows nowadays, are born aliv'
and in full possession of the ability II
take care of themselves) will be able t.
elude the parents during the very few
days in which there is any particula
danger.
Many persons have the mistakel
idea that the guppy is the only vlvip
arous or live-bearing fish.
There are many such fishes, espe
cially for the home aquarium. Amont
the better known ones are the Varlou
Plates, or moons, in the various colorS
the Helleri; the different types o
Mollienisias, popularly called mollies
the Heterandra formosa. smallest o
ive-bearers: various members of tn
Lima family, and members OF the tru
Girardinus family.
The name "guppy" is one Of the in
teresting things about this fish.
In the days when the goldfish firml!
held first place in the attentions OF 81
keepers of fish in home aquariums al
English gentleman by the name o
Lechmere Guppy sent to the British
Museum a few specimens OF a small
fish he had collected in South America
This was placed in the family Gil