Guppy Lifespan?

[sadielmorris]

Just out of curiosity, how long do guppies live for?

On our second date, my boyfriend bought me a pair of guppies after one of my black skirt tetras systematically killed everyother fish in the tank, then finally died after living several months on his own.

We've been together about a year now and the male died a couple of weeks ago and the female died yesterday. They were our "love guppies" totally corny I know, fortunately two females survived from their coupling but I'm still a little sad about it.

 

[theotheragentm]

First, I hope you don't make babies as fast as the fish do.

It's hard to say. Guppies live about 3-5 years. That sounds like a huge gap of unknown, but it's difficult to get a very regular consensus. I would say closer to the three year mark is normal from what I've read about people's experiences. It will also depend on your aquarium. The fish are designed to live in certain conditions naturally. If your tank is not exactly what is natural, the fish may live a long time, but just not their maximum.

If any livebearer lives over two years, I would say it's normal. Any less and I would think something caused an early death.

 

[Neo8223]

I believe their lifespan has a direct corrilation with the water temperature too, however there is a trade-off. The hotter the temperature, the lower the life span, however they will breed more often. (live about 1.5 years) Apparently some woman has had guppies at 16 celcius and they have lasted for 4 years.

I generally kept my guppies at 27 celcius as i used to sell them and it meant that they bred more often.

I keep my endlers at 25 and i have about 400 babies in that tank with the adults!