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i have a bunch of guppy fry that were born about 3 weeks ago, and i was just curious as to when they typically get their colouration. is there a typical time?

depends feed them a variety of foods and they color up also when they are mature.

ok, when fry are kept in clean enviroments and fed good food often, and the heat is a little past 80, they get great color in their tails by 2 weeks (a little black and yellow) although i have had one male blue get a bright blue tail in 1 week but it depends on the frys housing, kept in a 29 the blue male colored up nicely for the firts 2 weeks, then he was moved nto a 10 gallon, and now at a few months he is bright blue and is starting t oshow developement of his gonopodem (sp?) and soon i can breed him with his larger mother to get a pure blue strain

It also depends on the type of guppy you have. If they have black or blue little dark bodies in about a week the dark color will start to show. If you have a "cobra" or "snakeskin" kind of guppy that has mostly a silver type body then it will take several weeks before you start seeing some true color develop in their tails. (after two weeks you could start seeing a little yellow or black but it is not until later the colors really start to come out)

Like said above, it does also depend on the conditions they are kept in. (i.e. water parameters, temperature, and size of tank).

IME

IME the guppies tend to truly get their colors and tails at about 2-3 months. Though you might start seeing bits of color here and there, it has always seemed to happen almost overnight...Heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle