# Where Do Guppys Live?

> Where guppys live: Warm fresh and brackish waters, native range cues, and human overlap. Status Least Concern.

- **Species:** Guppy (*Poecilia reticulata*)
- **Conservation status:** Least Concern
- **Diet:** Omnivore
- **Habitat:** Warm fresh and brackish waters
- **Lifespan:** 2–3 years
- **Top speed:** Quick, darting swimmer
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/guppy/where-do-guppy-live/
- **Parent profile:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/guppy/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Quick answer

The guppy is a small, brightly coloured freshwater fish native to north-eastern South America and now one of the most popular aquarium fish in the world. Females grow to about 6 cm while males stay around 3 cm and flaunt vivid, patterned tails. Guppies are hardy livebearers that give birth to free-swimming young rather than laying eggs, and they typically live two to three years in a home tank.

## Who should skip this page

Skip this if you need a sighting hotline. This page is native range and habitat.

## Origins and domestication

Wild guppies come from the warm fresh and brackish waters of north-eastern South America, including Venezuela, Guyana, Trinidad and the Amazon basin. Since the 19th century they have been kept and selectively bred by aquarists, and they are now found in home tanks across the globe. Because they tolerate a wide range of conditions and breed readily, they became the classic beginner's fish. Deliberate and accidental releases have also established feral guppy populations in warm regions far beyond their native range.

## Help protect the Guppy

Ocean wildlife is under mounting pressure from overfishing, bycatch and plastic pollution.

[Donate to wildlife protection](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/donate/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/guppy/where-do-guppy-live/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.