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13 Different Types Of Guppies: Colors, Shapes & Patterns (With Pictures)

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By Lindsey Stanton

different types and colors of guppy rainbow fish

Guppies are some of the most popular aquarium fish to have in the home. However, if you have seen different guppies, you know that they come in multiple shapes, colors, and patterns too.

You may not know how many guppies there are, and you might not be familiar with all of the different types, which is why we are here today. Let’s get to it and talk about the different kinds of guppy fish.

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About The Guppy

The guppy is also known as the “millionfish” or “rainbow fish” thanks to their fantastic color schemes. It is one of the world’s most popular and widely distributed guppy fish. Guppies are tropical warm water and freshwater fish. Their natural habitat is in northeast South America. However, they have been spread around the world since then.

They are very adaptive and versatile in terms of being able to live in varying and fairly harsh conditions, they generally live between 1–3 years (more on lifespan and increasing it in this article). Male guppies are usually always smaller than female guppies. Males also tend to be much duller in color than their female counterparts. Some of the most popular foods for guppies include benthic algae, insect larvae, and other insects.

We have also covered our top 10 plant suggestions for Guppies in this article.

fancy guppy
Image Credit: sufeca, Pixabay

The 13 Types Of Guppies

There are many different kinds of guppy fish out there, each of which has their own specific traits. Now, they are not different species per se because they are all guppies, but there are some pretty big variations within the guppy family.

They all have more or less the same body shape, but where they really differ is in terms of their coloring. Let’s talk about all of the different kinds of guppy fish out there.

1. Albino Guppy Fish

blue albino guppy
Image Credit: neohch, Shutterstock

The albino guppy is actually one of the most common and popular ones out there. The albino aspect does not really apply to the body as albino guppies can come in pretty much any and every color and color combination out there. They are called albinos because the lack of melanin causes their eyes to be red in color instead of black.


2. Black Guppy Fish

full black male guppy
Image Credit: Tichaporn, Shutterstock

The black guppy is, as you might imagine, black. It is the darkest and least colorful of all guppies. Black guppies tend to be a little smaller than other guppies. They are usually totally black except for a bit of blue and green coloring on the face and front of the body. People often try breeding them with larger guppies in order to increase the size of the offspring, but the dark black color usually gets lost.


3. Blue Guppy Fish

male blue moscow guppy
Image Credit: Rose Garden Guppyroom, Shutterstock

Blue guppies, just like the name describes, are blue in color. They can be anywhere from a very light baby blue to very bright blue and all the way to a very dark blue as well. Females usually have light blue highlights on the fins.


4. Blue & Green Bicolor Guppies

Blue Moscow Guppy
Image Credit: Mircea Costina, Shutterstock

These guys are blue, green, or blue and green at the same time. In order to qualify as a blue-green bicolor guppy, the blue or green in the tail must be the dominant color. The tail color can consist of no more than 25% of the secondary color in order to qualify as a blue-green bicolor guppy.

There can be no third color present that comprises more than 15% of the body, or else it is no longer considered a bicolor guppy.


5. Bronze Guppies

bronze guppy inside the aquarium
Image Credit: Arunee Rodloy, Shutterstock

The bronze guppy does have multiple colors present on it. However, the distinguishing feature is that most of the body and head are bronze. In order to qualify as a bronze guppy, it must have no more than 75% of other colors on its body. It must be at least 25% bronze or gold in color. The back edge of black scales should also be bronze here.


6. Green Guppy Fish

male green guppy inside the tank
Image Credit: Ian Grainger, Shutterstock

The green guppy is another really popular one. Developing a truly green guppy is fairly difficult. Most green guppies also have iridescent blue spots mixed into the equation. In bright light, some green guppies may exhibit a purplish color. Females often have bright green highlights on their fins.


7. Half Black AOC

AOC stands for any other color. These are guppies that have a lot of black on them, but not enough to qualify as a black guppy. They will have a body that is around 50% black with other colors thrown into the mix.

Half Black & Blue

Half Black Blue Guppy
Image Credit: yoyow, Shutterstock

Simply put, this is a guppy that is roughly half black and half blue, thus it cannot qualify as a black or blue guppy.


Half Black & Green

half black and green guppy inside the tank
Image Credit: Libre, Shuutterstock

These guys are roughly 50% black and 50% green, so they don’t qualify as either a black or green guppy. These guys usually have a black body and head with green fins.


Half Black & Pastel Guppy Fish

half black and pastel guppy fish
Image Credit: Nantawat Chotsuwan, Shutterstock

These guppies usually have a black body and head with pastel-colored fins. The fins are of a solid pastel color, any color excluding yellow. They usually always have white pastel-colored tails. The type of food you feed these guys can affect the whiteness of the tail.


Half Black & Purple

half black and purple guppy inside the tank
Image Credit: Mircea Costina, Shutterstock

This is more or less a black guppy, but without enough black to qualify as a pure black guppy. These guys usually have a black body with fins that are various shades of purple.


Half Black & Red

half black half red guppy
Image Credit: Atip Lekhaphan, Shutterstock

These guppies are also black, but not black enough to qualify as a pure black guppy. They tend to have black bodies with red or orange tails. In many half-black and red guppies the tail is partially transparent.


Half Black & Yellow

two half black and yellow German Tuxedo Yellow guppies
Image Credit: Nantawat Chotsuwan, Shutterstock

This is one of the neatest looking guppies in our opinion. They have black body with a yellow tail. The dorsal fin is usually whitish yellow, with the tail being yellow at the base and getting wider towards the edge of the fins.


8. Multicolored Guppy Fish

Multicolor guppy
Image Credit: pollawat phongchankhiao, Shutterstock

Multicolored guppies need to have at least 3 different colors in the tail to qualify as multicolored. Each color must comprise at least 15% of the tail for the guppy to be a multicolored guppy. The dorsal fin needs to match the color and the pattern of the tail.


9. Purple Guppies

The purple guppy is mostly purple. It has a multicolored body, usually lighter in color such as silver, light blue, and light green. They have dark purple fins highlighted by some light green stripes.


10. Red Guppy Fish

Red guppy
Image Credit: panpilai paipa, Shutterstock

The red guppy can be gray, gold, red, or black, with gold and albino being the most popular body types. Albino guppies usually have way less melanin in their bodies, thus creating a vibrant red tail. The red color in the tail and dorsal fin can range anywhere from a light orange to a really deep maroon red.


11. Red Bicolor

silverado red tail guppy
Image Credit: Atip Lekhaphan, Shutterstock

These guys have a red base color with one secondary color in the tail. The secondary color must comprise at least 25% of the tail in order to qualify as a red bicolor guppy.

There can be no other third color that comprises more than 15% of the tail to qualify as a red bicolor guppy. Also, the dorsal fin needs to match the color and pattern of the tail.


12. AOC

guppy
Image Credit: Pixabay

AOC stands for any other color. These guppies can be any combination of colors that do not match any other color classes.


13. AOC Bicolor

AOC bi-color yellow king cobra ribbon guppy
Image Credit: Arunee Rodloy, Shutterstock

This type of guppy is any guppy that is a bicolor guppy but does not fit into the blue or green bicolor classification. There has to be a primary color and a secondary color that comprises no more than 25% of the tail, with no third color being allowed to be more than 15% of the tail.

Different Guppy Shapes & Patterns

Besides color differences, there are also some differences between guppies in relation to their body shape. Body shape and color are not exclusive, so they can be a combination of shape and color.

Round Tail Guppy

Male round tail guppy
Image Credit: Pavaphon Supanantananont, Shutterstock

This is one of the first types of guppy around. The difference here is that they tend to have short and round tails instead of a long flowing fan-like tail.


Snakeskin Guppy

Snakeskin Guppy
Image Credit: Fishhunter, Shutterstock

The snakeskin guppy has a special genetic trait that causes a rosette or zebra-like pattern. Snakeskin guppies need to have at least a 60% rosette pattern to qualify as a snakeskin. These guys usually tend to have the classic guppy shape.


Swordtail Guppy

swordtail guppy
Image By: neohch, Shutterstock

The distinguishing feature of the swordtail guppy is that it has a tail that can be either single or double sword style. In other words, their tails extend out at the bottom and/or top edges, protruding out and looking like a sword or lance.

Single swordtails have a long edge on the bottom, while double swordtail has the tail extended at both the top and bottom.

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Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are tons of different kinds of guppy fish, each with their own specific traits. Take some time and choose wisely! they make for a great addition to any tank or good tank mates for your existing tank.


Featured Image Credit: panpilai paipa, Shutterstock

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