The Fish That Got Away; How Primary Colors Impact a Male Guppies (Poecilia reticulata) Mating Preference

Abstract

The Center for the Study of Sexual Selection in Fishes (CS³F) is currently focused on stimuli for mate choice in guppies (French 2021). In this case, color is the stimulus. More specifically, the primary colors; red, yellow, and blue, as they have not been previously tested together. An overview of the experiment describes a live male guppy dropped into a tank holding a 3D female control model on one side and a 3D female experimental model on the other. Data was recorded based on the male’s time spent on either side of the tank. We determined results that concluded the male guppy spent the most time on the true red (105001) side of the tank and the least amount of time on the true blue (109001) side with true yellow (107001) being in the middle of the two. While our data supports our hypothesis, previous studies have found that true orange (106001) is found to be even more attractive to male guppies than true red.