# Breeding thoughts



## MrKrabs (Sep 28, 2012)

Will my guppies color/size quickly deteriorate if I let my 2 trios interbreed? Or will it take many generations? I would eventually add a new line from the same breeder to mix in. I'm just not sure I want to keep track of the genealogy. It would require so many more tanks. I would still keep the sexes separated, but not keep track of who is the brother, cousin, uncle and so forth. Obviously inbreeding too long is not good. That's why I'd mix in a new line periodically.what do you think.


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## arch aquatics (Feb 28, 2012)

it often takes 12-15 generations of in breeding until a problem occurs.

That being said guppies are already very in bred for color, tail, etc. 

Just make sure that you cull them carefully and be your own worst critic and i am sure you will do just fine


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You can have very nice guppies forever by periodically "outcrossing", that is, throwing in a fish from another line But you will likely lose the consistency of fish that "breed true" and fry that always look like their parents. To keep the same color, you'd have to get the new fish from the same strain & breeder as your starter. The other way to do it is to put all the fish in a big tank, tub, or pond with lots of plants and just let "nature take its course". With a big enough population, you can have healthy guppies for a long time, however, fry-eating parents will select for less colorful fry.


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