Previously, in this column, I introduced Thailand's Chang guppy. After that, it arrived in Japan through commercial routes and seems to have gained popularity under the commercial name of Dumbo Guppy. Although this is a personal preference, I would like to call it by its commercial name in Thailand, Chang Guppy.

At the request of a guppy enthusiast I know, I brought this Churn Guppy back to Japan at the end of May last year. He gave birth to several litters before giving them to a friend of his, so he raised one litter with a friend who is a guppy enthusiast, and the other at his own house.
Around summer last year, this attractive guppy became known to Japanese people, and commercial imports began to take place. Around autumn, it was introduced in various aquarium fish magazines and seems to have become known to many people.

The fish I bought in Thailand and brought back was already an adult and had some problems with the shape of its tail, so it was not a satisfactory model for photos. However, when the offspring from these parents grew and became adults, they became beautiful individuals with more distinct characteristics than their parents. That's why I thought I'd share some of the things I noticed while training them in this column.

It's been a while since we raised guppies at home. This is because even if they are brought in for photo shoots, they are returned after the photo shoot and are not seriously kept in captivity. This time, the baby was born before I could give the broodstock to an acquaintance. Because I was interested in how these fry would grow, I decided to leave a litter of fry at home and raise them.

At our house, we only feed our guppies Tetramine, and no other food. Because they are not fed live food, they do not grow quickly, but after two months, the male's fins have become larger and more colorful. At this point, the characteristic pectoral fins are still in normal condition. After that, the pectoral fins started to turn a little blackish. Day by day, the black color of the pectoral fins becomes darker and the size gradually increases.

This time, we had about 20 fish that we were raising, and all of them, except for one male, had large, black pectoral fins, just like their parents. Not one of them has any color on its pectoral fins, but they do have some dark coloring. From this point of view, it appears that the female broodstock was a female Churn guppy and not a guessing female.

The rate of growth varies greatly among individuals, with the earliest individuals reaching the point where their pectoral fins had fully developed, and then the caudal fins were finally colored and the pectoral fins were turning black in some individuals.
This guppy seems to have a gene called Hydorosaru that causes its dorsal fin to grow larger, and both male and female guppies have elongated dorsal fins. This feature is more noticeable in females. However, there also seems to be large individual differences.

It seems that the other fry that I gave to a friend grew up in almost the same way as ours. Well, it's only natural since they are children from the same parents. Apparently, many F3s have already been born there because they are feeding them plenty of live food.

Looking online, it appears that this guppy has already been handed over to avid guppy enthusiasts, and various attempts are being made to cross it with other breeds.
Thailand, which is the origin of this fish, is likely to have a commercial farming system in place, and even more fish will be sent to Japan this year.
With domestic fish and farmed fish from Thailand now available, it will be interesting to see what direction this will take.

As a side note, there was an aquarium fair in Bangkok last October, and a guppy contest was also held at the venue. There, Churn guppies with quite impressive pectoral fins were also on display, including a Churn guppy with a mosaic pectoral fin that was not only black but also a mixture of yellow and white. There are also several other specimens on display that may be of interest to Japanese guppy enthusiasts, making Thailand a must-see country not only for bettas but also for guppies.