• Scientific name: Poecilia picta
• Synonyms: Micropoecilia picta
• Common name: Swamp Guppy
• Group: Livebearers
• Habitat: South America; Guyana, Trinidad, Brazil.
• Size: male: 3 cm, female: 5 cm
• Biotope: Inhabits mildly brackish water in canals and drainage ditches at the edges of swamps, but does venture far inland.
• Social behavior: Peaceful. The males are aggressive breeders and sometimes harass the females.
• Diet: Omnivorous; predominately small live foods, especially mosquito larvae and occasionally flake foods.
• Breeding: Quite easy
• Tank: Minimum 30 litres
• Population: 1 male and 3-4 females for 40 litres
• Decoration: Use dark substrate and gently lighting so the bright iridescent colors can be clearly appreciated. Add 5 gramm salt to 1 litre of water.
• Temperature: 26-28 °C
• pH: 7.5-8.2
• Hardness: 20-40 NK°
• Lifespan: 3-5 years

Description: This is one of the most beautiful livebearers, and it should receive more attention. Typically the fish is silvery-green with patches of yellow, blue, and black. At firsh glance, it looks like a wild guppy, but it is a bit more streamlined and its tail is not so large. The base colors yellow, blue and black are always present in the males. Swamp Guppy has a red color variant which body is orange-reddish with some black spots. Females have drab gray coloration. Older females can show golden/orange areas on the belly.

Males are more colorful, have a gonopodium and a smaller more slender body. Provide the breeders with small mosquito larvae and Drosophila. Embryos can make up 25% of the weight of the female. Usually 11 -25 offspring are produced. The fry are predated by the adults, therefore a separate birthing / raising tank is required.