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GUPPIES;  *Size: females 1.5 -2.25 inches (4-6 cm.) males 1- 1.5 inches (2½–3½ cm.)*Description: Many Variations, with males generally displaying more color and longer fins (but this is not a positive identification of male vs. female) *Scientific Name: Poecilia reticulata *Natural Habitat: Wild Guppies originate from Venezuela, Barbados, Brazil, Guyana, Netherlands Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Virgin Islands *Recommended Tank Size and Temperament: 2.5 gallon or larger (per pair, although not a male/female pair otherwise this would be much too small due to the offspring, this recommendation is for a pair from one sex). Generally a peaceful fish (although they can occasionally nip), they can be kept with many small fish such as Platties, White Clouds, etc. *Typical food: Guppies are omnivores and will eat most foods offered, however Guppies need high quality vegetable matter such as Spirulina in their diet to thrive, for this reason a food such as Spirulina 20 Fish Food Flake or similar would be a good basic diet. A varied diet is always best as with most fish, this would include frozen or live foods such as Brine Shrimp or FD Foods such as FD Brine Shrimp or Blood Worms. *Water Parameters: Guppies can tolerate salt levels exceeding even the ocean, although this is not necessary for their long term health. Some salt can be helpful in their aquarium, especially during times of stress (please see this article: Sodium Chloride; Salt in freshwater Aquariums) What is very important is the maintenance of minerals (electrolytes) such as Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, and Sodium by means of a GH of at least 200 ppm (Wonder Shells are one way to do this. A KH of at least 100-150 to buffer and keep a stable pH is also important. Despite claims as to pH, I have found that stability (via KH) is more important than the actual pH number, although the pH is best between 7.4- 8.4. Please see this article for more: “CALCIUM, ELECTROLYTES, AND MAGNESIUM IN AQUARIUMS” *Contributor Notes: From Renee Wise: Very sensitive to changes in temperature, especially drops in temperature. They seem to prefer a higher GH, KH and PH for breeding. Males mature earlier than females. How easily they breed depends on a lot of factors and throwing a female in with a male in a tank does not guarantee that the female will get pregnant. In fact, such handling can be very stressful and lead to disease quite easily in my experience. At least for me, guppies tend to be very friendly and very trusting fish who will readily accept food for your hand. Guppies are very messy so if you buy any, consider cleaning a regular rountine even if you have a good filter. Picture of Renee interacting with her Guppies  PLATTIES;  *Size: Approximately 2 inches (5-6 cm.) for adults*Description: A member of Live bearing Tooth carp family, Platties are now found in many hybrids and a wide variety of colors and fin forms. *Scientific name: Xiphophorus maculates *Natural Habitat: The natural habitat for the Play is found in Southern Mexico , Guatemala and Honduras . *Recommended Tank Size and Temperament: 2.5 gallon or larger (per pair, although not a male/female pair otherwise this would be much too small due to the offspring, this recommendation is for a pair from one sex). Generally a peaceful fish (although they can occasionally nip), they can be kept with many small fish such as Guppies, Tetras, even Female Bettas, etc. *Typical food: Like Guppies, Platties are omnivores and will eat most foods offered, however Platties are more vegetarian than guppies and even more so need high quality vegetable matter such as Spirulina in their diet to thrive, for this reason a food such as Spirulina 20 Fish Food Flake or similar would be a good basic diet. *Water Parameters: Similar to Guppies, Platties except that they cannot tolerate ocean salt levels (or even brackish). However some salt can be helpful in their aquarium, especially during times of stress. As with Guppies and all other Livebearers, what is very important is the maintenance of minerals (electrolytes) such as Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, and Sodium by means of a GH of at least 200 ppm (10 to 20 dGH). (Wonder Shells are one way to do this. Maintain a KH of at least 100-150 to buffer and keep a stable pH over 7.0 as well. Temperature is best between 76-80 F. *Breeding The sexes should be kept apart (if possible in separate aquaria) and fed with lots of good conditioning food either live, frozen, or freeze-dried to supplement the vegetable based diet. The pregnancy will be shorter at the higher temp and the resulting fry will also be more vigorous. Once the pair appear to be in peak condition place the fish together, they will begin mating almost immediately, although it isn't strictly necessary to do all this, by doing so you will be ensuring that the brood will have a far better chance of being large and healthy. The gestation will last from 4 to 6 weeks depending on the temperature and the brood size will be up to as many as 80. Unlike many other live bearers Platties are unlikely to eat their own fry especially with a lot of plant cover available. But to minimize the risk the male should be removed after a couple of weeks and the female once she has given birth. The fry are very easy to raise and will accept crushed flake right away, but better initial growth rates will be achieved if small live or frozen foods such as Micro worms, vinegar eels, baby brine shrimp, etc. is for their first food (although the vegetable based flakes are still important). As the fry grow they will need regular water changes in order to maintain good growth and eventually they will need moving into larger quarters. Between 8 to 12 weeks the fry should be big enough to sell. *Contributor Notes:  A consideration for aquarists breeding Platties or any other livebearer is this Penn Plax “Aqua Nursery” which automatically and gently separates mother fish from fry using an attached air pump.SWORDTAILS;  *Description: A livebearer that is closely related to the Platy. The males have a sword and gonopdium, which is a modified anal fin. *Size: Males will grow to 4 inches Plus (10 cm. plus) *Scientific Name: Xiphohorus helleri *Natural Habitat: Central America *Recommended Tank Size and Temperament: 2.5 gallons per fish, if a male and female is to be considered, a 10 gallon is the minimum (keep in mind that you will need a tank to grow out the fry). Swordtails, especially the males are a more aggressive livebearer and will often harass other fish, although they are still generally a community fish, this should be considered when stocking an aquarium. *Typical food: Very similar to Platties, Swordtails are omnivores and will eat most foods offered with a leaning towards high quality vegetable matter such as Spirulina in their diet to thrive, for this reason a food such as Spirulina 20 Fish Food Flake or similar would be a good basic diet. Increasing aquatic based meat proteins during breeding/gestation such as Frozen or FD Brine Shrimp or Blood Worms is always recommended. *Water Parameters: Very similar to the water requirements of Platties. As with other Livebearers, what is very important is the maintenance of minerals (electrolytes) such as Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, and Sodium by means of a GH of at least 200 ppm (10 to 20 dGH). (Wonder Shells are one way to do this. Maintain a KH of at least 100-150 to buffer and keep a stable pH over 7.0 as well. Temperature is best between 76-80 F. Salt (sodium chloride) is well tolerated by Swordtails and can be useful for stress and disease prevention at a level of 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons to 1 teaspoons per 1 gallon (even higher during certain disease treatments such as Ich) Contributors Notes: MOLLIES;  *Size: Mollies vary greatly in size depending from small black or ballon Mollies to large Sailfin Mollies. This translates to 1.5 inches to 4 inches (4- 10 cm.) *Description: Many shape, fin and color varieties are available. Including these color varieties; Silver, Gold Dust, mottled and speckled or "Dalmation" varieties, and the popular black molly. Shapes (fins) include Sailfin, Lyretail, and “Balloon” Mollies. *Scientific Name: Poecilia latipinna *Natural Habitat: Fresh, brackish, and coastal waters from the Carolinas to Texas and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico *Recommended Tank Size and Temperament: Mollies are from the same scientific Genus as Guppies and Endlers Livebearers ( Poecilia), with generally similar temperaments (although I have seen some more Aggressive Sailfin Mollies that I would compare more to s swordtail in temperament). The recommended minimum tank size ranges from 2.5 gallons per same sex pair (more for a mated pair) all the way up to a 20 gallon aquarium for some of the larger Sailfin Mollies. *Typical food: Mollies are omnivores and will eat most foods offered, however again with most livebearers, Mollies need high quality vegetable matter such as Spirulina in their diet to thrive. This should be supplemented with live, frozen or Freeze Dried worms, Brine Shrimp or similar foods Contributors Notes: ENDLERS LIVEBEARERS;  *Size: females 1 -1.5 inches (3-4 cm.) males ¾ to 1 inch (about 2 cm.) *Description: Many Variations, with males generally displaying more color and longer fins (but this is not a positive identification of male vs. female) *Scientific Name: Poecilia endlers (Not yet confirmed) *Natural Habitat: The Endlers Livebearer were first discovered in Laguna de los Patos (Lagoon of the Ducks) in northeastern Venezuela by Franklin Bond in 1937, although they remained in anonymity until Professor John Endler “re-discovered” the Endlers Livebearer in 1975 and returned with specimens where they became popular in Germany. The Endlers livebearer is found in its natural habitat with wild guppies and although they can interbreed, the offspring are often sterile due to being of a different species. *Recommended Tank Size and Temperament: Endlers Live Bearers due well in small aquariums, even desk top aquariums, although filtration and heat is strongly recommended (required IMO) *Typical food: Endlers Liverbearers are omnivores and will eat most foods offered, however similar to guppies they need high quality vegetable matter such as Spirulina in their diet to thrive, for this reason a food such as Spirulina 20 Fish Food Flake or similar would be a good basic diet. A varied diet is always best as with most fish, this would include frozen or live foods such as Grindal Worms, Brine Shrimp or FD Foods such as FD Brine Shrimp or Blood Worms. *Water Parameters: *Contributor Notes: 
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