If you happened to already own swordtails in your fish tank and planning to get guppies, you may wonder if it is possible that they can cross-breed and give birth to a hybrid fish. The answer is a BIG no. Guppies cannot breed with Swordtails. This is because guppies and swordtails belong to a different genus of fish. The guppy fish belong to the Poecilia genus while swordtails belong to the Xiphophorus genus. Read on, if you are still keen to find out how you can mate guppies with other breeds of fishes.
Table of Contents
Will Guppies And Swordtails Mate?
As mentioned above, it is not possible for guppies and swordtails to mate because they do not belong to the same genus.
However, members of the Poecilia genus can crossbreed with each other and members of the Xiphophorus family can crossbreed with each other.
For example, a guppy can crossbreed with a molly of the Poecilia genus while a swordtail can crossbreed with platy of the Xiphophorus family This is because they belong to the same family of fishes.
What Fish Can Breed With Guppies?
To further illustrate, the following fish can crossbreed with guppies:
- Guppies are Poecilia reticulata
- Endlers are Poecilia wingei
- Mollies are Poecilia sphenops
And, the following fish can crossbreed with swordtails:
- Platies are Xiphophorus maculatus
- Swordtails are Xiphophorus helleri
Can Guppies Crossbreed?
Guppies can crossbreed within their genus: Poecilia. Several fish species make up the Poecilia genus. However, the most common are guppies, endlers, and mollies.
Will Swordtails Breed With Mollies?
Swordtails cannot breed with mollies as they are from the Poecilia sphenops genus. However, it is possible to breed swordtails with platies as they are both from the Xiphophorus maculatus genus.
References
- What Will Happen If My Male Swordtail Is Breeding With My Female Guppy – My Aquarium Club – https://www.myaquariumclub.com/what-will-happen-if-my-male-swordtail-is-breeding-with-my-female-guppy-368782.html
- Molly Fish Cross Breed with Guppy Fish? – Molly Fish – https://www.molly-fish.com/cross-breed-guppy
- Breeding Sword-Molly hybrid – Fish Lore – https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/breeding-sword-molly-hybrid.228030/
- Guppy/Swordtail Hybrids – The Planted Tank – https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/21-fish/904777-guppy-swordtail-hybrids.html
- Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). “Family-group names of Recent fishes”. Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 001–230.
- Types of Guppies – A Guide
