Black Metal Lace Short Body Guppy

Description

This short bodied guppy carries a striking near black body with a teal green sheen washing across the shoulder, the kind of colour that looks almost solid dark from a distance but reveals a real depth of colour once light catches it directly. That compact short body shape gives the fish a stockier, more solid look in the water compared to a standard length guppy.

What sets this particular fish apart is the lace pattern running through the caudal and dorsal fins. Against the black fin background sits a network of cream and pale yellow lines forming an open, net like pattern, similar to how lace fabric leaves gaps between its threads. Every fish shows a slightly different arrangement of this netting, which is part of what makes lace patterned strains so interesting to keep and compare side by side.

The dorsal fin picks up the same black base and cream lace detailing as the tail, sitting tall and giving the fish a matched look from the side. Against the dark body, that pale netting really stands out and catches the eye even in a tank with several other guppies swimming around.

Males carry the full black body with teal shoulder sheen and the complete lace pattern across both caudal and dorsal fins. Females are rounder bodied and considerably plainer, showing only a muted hint of the dark body colour and very little of the lace patterning, with much smaller fins overall the way guppy females typically present.

Because this is a short bodied strain, feeding is worth a little extra attention. A more compact digestive tract means these fish can bloat more easily than standard bodied guppies if given one large meal, so smaller feedings spread across the day work better. A rotation of good quality flake, micro pellets and live or frozen foods like baby brine shrimp keeps both digestion and colour in good shape.

Tank setup benefits from a sponge filter running gentle flow, partly to protect the tall dorsal and lace patterned caudal fin from wear and partly because short bodied fish are not always the strongest swimmers against a stronger current. Fine sand or a bare bottom is safer than coarse gravel for avoiding fin snags, and calm tankmates such as other peaceful livebearers, small tetras or corydoras suit this fish well, while known fin nippers should be avoided given how much visual fin detail there is to protect.

As livebearers, a settled pair will produce broods of fully formed, free swimming fry roughly every four weeks, no egg laying involved. Stable temperature and water chemistry help keep this short bodied strain healthy and showing its best colour and lace detailing generation after generation.

Sold as a breeding pair.

This strain tends to reward a bit of patience, since the lace pattern on young fish is often faint and only fills in properly as the guppy matures over its first couple of months. Keeping water quality consistent during that growth period, with regular partial water changes of around twenty five percent weekly, helps the black body colour deepen and the cream lace netting come in cleanly rather than looking patchy. A well cycled tank with stable temperature also reduces stress, which shows up quickly as duller colour and slower fin growth in short bodied guppies if conditions swing around too much.

A varied diet plays a big part in how dark the body ends up and how sharp the lace netting looks against it. Alongside daily flake or micro pellets, working in live or frozen foods like baby brine shrimp, daphnia or bloodworm a few times a week supports both growth and pigment development, and many keepers notice the teal shoulder sheen becomes more pronounced once a fish is on a good rotation of foods rather than flake alone.