Do guppies discriminate by color?

[ronin]

My mother had one large female guppy with a red/yellow tail and I got her a similarly colored male a few weeks back. But then we noticed that the male would keep following the female around in hopes of mating so I decided to get another female so that the male would have to divide his attention. Added a new female yesterday except this one was black/blue-purple in color. But the male keeps chasing this new female off whenever he sees her. Would it have been better if I got a female of the same red/yellow coloration instead?

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Platties are like that, too. I had mickey mouse and red wags and the males wouldn't chase females from the other color variation.

Also, livebearers seem to prefer one mate over others, though they are not monogamous.

 

[kitty falol]

I don't know if it's a discrimination thing, but I do think that some females are more attractive than others to the males - a bit like humans I suppose

I've probably got a ratio of 6:1 female to males, but there's one orange female that's definitely the favorite. She's the slimmest of all my females (when she's not heavily pregnant) and she's always been flirted with and chased far more than any of my other females.

Are you sure he's not chasing the new female in the hopes of mating with her?

 

[NickT]

Studies on sexual selection and mate choice have focused on visual traits but recent work on humans and other animals has shown that smell can play a significant role in mate selection. This project will focus on the role of olfactory cues in mate choice in the guppy, a poeciliid fish. The guppy is an excellent model species for studies on sexual selection because it is highly sexually dimorphic and females mate preferentially with males with conspicuous visible traits. Furthermore, we have recently found that olfactory cues appear to be important in mate choice in this species. Using specific lines of fish and a combination of behavioural experiments, in the laboratory and in the field, and DNA typing, this project will determine whether female guppies can assess the quality of a male by his smell and whether there is a genetic basis to this choice. Experience will be gained in behavioural experimentation, video analysis, DNA typing and tropical field work.

Ive seen this all around lately. a study shows guppies can and do sniff out mates along with the visible cues...... this helps prevent inbreeding in the wild.

 

[ruffmeister]

its like us humans in a way huh

 

[ferrikins]

I read somewhere that Females are realy atracted to Red males, maybe it the same but the over way round, for you fish.