Guppy

Guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

Photo courtesy of DAR

Description:

  • Small freshwater fish (USFWS, 2018)
  • Males have varying colors and patterns, females and juveniles are uniformly silver (USFWS, 2018)

Habitat:

  • Occurs in wide variety of habitats, usually in small springs and vegetated lakes (Froese, 2021)
  • Requires warm temperature and densely vegetated water (Froese, 2021)

Impacts & Concern:

  • Implicated in the decline of the native damselflies in Oʻahu, probably due to predation (USFWS, 2018)
  • Eats the eggs of native fish resulting in population decline (USFWS, 2018)
  • Acts as a host for certain parasites (USFWS, 2018)

Introduction:

  • Introduced to Hawaiʻi through fish farms or aquarium release (Nico et al., 2021)
  • First observed and considered established in Hawaiʻi in 1922 (Nico et al., 2021)

Distribution in Hawaii (Nico et al., 2021):

Reported distribution of Poecilia reticulata in the Main Hawaiian Islands

  • Kauai: Present
  • Oʻahu: Present
  • Molokai: Present
  • Maui: Present
  • Big Island: Present

References:

  • Nico, L., Neilson, M., Loftus, B. (2021) Poecilia reticulata Peters, 1859: U.S. Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL. https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=863
  • USFWS. (2018). Guppy Ecological Risk Screening Summary. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. https://www.fws.gov/fisheries/ans/erss/highrisk/ERSS-Poecilia-reticulata-final-April2018.pdf
  • Froese, R. (2021). Poecilia reticulata summary page. FishBase. https://www.fishbase.de/summary/XIPHOPHORUS-HELLERII.htm