Platinum Koi Dumbo Ear Guppy

Description

This dumbo ear guppy pairs an unusual body pattern with an oversized pectoral fin structure, making it stand out even in a tank full of other colourful strains. The face and front of the body carry a bright orange red tone that fades back into a platinum white saddle across the shoulder, a striking transition that happens over a fairly short stretch of the body.

Breaking up that platinum shoulder is an irregular black patch sitting mid body, no two fish showing quite the same shape or size of this marking, which is part of what makes koi patterned guppies fun to collect and compare. Past that black patch the body opens into the broad orange caudal and dorsal fins that give this strain its name, both fins carrying a rich, warm orange that runs edge to edge without much additional patterning, letting the koi style body markings stay the visual focus.

The dumbo pectoral fins sit just behind the gill plate and are noticeably larger and rounder than a standard guppy carries, tinted in a soft grey blue that contrasts nicely against the warm orange and platinum tones found everywhere else on the fish. When the fish swims or flares those fins during a display, the size difference compared to a standard finned guppy becomes obvious even to someone who has not kept dumbo strains before.

Males carry the complete koi pattern, the orange red face, platinum shoulder saddle, irregular black patch and broad orange fins, along with the oversized grey blue dumbo pectoral fins. Females are rounder and plainer bodied as guppy females typically are, showing only muted hints of the koi colouring and considerably smaller fins throughout, including smaller pectoral fins without the dramatic dumbo size.

Dumbo strains need a little extra thought when setting up their tank, mainly because those oversized pectoral fins can snag on rough decor more easily than a standard guppy’s fins would. A bare bottom tank or one with fine sand substrate is a safer choice than coarse gravel, and a sponge filter running gentle flow protects the fins from a stronger power filter intake that could otherwise catch and damage them.

Tankmates should stay on the calmer side, other peaceful livebearers, small tetras and corydoras all make sensible choices, while fin nipping species are best avoided entirely given how much extra fin surface a dumbo guppy is carrying around. Feeding a varied diet of quality flake or micro pellets daily, along with live or frozen baby brine shrimp a few times a week, supports both growth and the vivid orange colouring this strain is known for.

As livebearers, guppies give birth to fully formed, free swimming fry roughly every four weeks once a pair settles into a stable tank, with no egg laying involved at any stage. Stable warm water and consistent feeding help this koi patterned dumbo strain develop its full colour and fin size as it matures from a young fish into a fully grown adult.

Sold as a breeding pair.

Because the koi style patterning on this strain develops gradually, younger fish often show a much smaller black patch or a less defined platinum saddle than they will carry once fully grown, so it is worth being patient through the first couple of months of growth. Stable water conditions and regular partial water changes of around twenty five percent weekly help this development along, and a calm, low stress environment tends to bring out both a cleaner koi pattern and better formed dumbo pectoral fins by the time the fish reaches full size.

Feeding a bit of colour enhancing food alongside the regular diet can help too, since the carotenoid pigments found in shrimp based foods support that vivid orange fin colour over the long run.