DUMBO EAR PACK OF -10 PCS

"Dumbo ear" refers to a finnage variety of the common guppy, a small livebearing freshwater fish (Poecilia reticulata), selectively bred for unusually large, wing-like pectoral fins that flare out from just behind the gills -- named for their resemblance to elephant ears. It is a cosmetic strain, not a different species, and shares the same South American livebearer origins and biology as every other guppy variety.

Guppies are livebearers, giving birth to free-swimming fry rather than laying eggs; a mated female can produce a new batch roughly every 4-6 weeks even without a male present. Because the oversized pectoral fins are purely decorative and slightly reduce manoeuvrability, dumbo ear guppies do a little better in a calm tank without fast, boisterous tankmates that might outcompete them at feeding time or nip at the extra fin.

This listing is a pack of 10 fish rather than a single individual -- a practical way to establish a proper shoal in one purchase rather than buying guppies one or two at a time, since these are genuinely social, shoaling fish that look and behave better in numbers. A batch this size typically arrives as a mix of ages and, unless specified otherwise, a mix of sexes, which is worth knowing if you have a specific male:female ratio in mind for controlling breeding rate.

Because the dumbo-ear trait is a fin-shape mutation that can appear across many different colour lines rather than being tied to one specific colour, a pack like this may show some natural variation in body colour and pattern between individuals while all sharing the same distinctive oversized pectoral fins -- part of the appeal of buying a group rather than a single colour-matched pair.

Care is standard guppy care, with slightly more attention to fin safety because of the enlarged pectorals.

Tankmates: avoid known fin-nippers (some barbs, some tetras) which are more tempted by the larger fin surface than with a standard-finned guppy.

Sex ratio: as with all guppies, keep more females than males (roughly 2-3:1) to avoid over-harassment of females by constant male courtship.

Tank size and cover: a 40-60cm tank with floating or dense planting works well, giving fry and stressed fish somewhere to retreat to.

Diet is easy -- a good flake or micro-pellet staple with occasional live/frozen foods for conditioning and colour.

Stocking a group of 10: for a mixed-sex batch this size, plan on at least a 15-20 gallon (55-75 litre) tank once the group is fully grown and any resulting fry are factored in -- guppies breed readily, and a batch of 10 unmanaged adults can turn into a much larger population within a few months. If you specifically want to control numbers, request or sort for a female-heavy or all-female group rather than leaving sex ratio to chance.

Settling in a group: introducing 10 fish at once is generally lower-stress for guppies than adding individuals one at a time into an already-established hierarchy, since a same-size group settles its social order together rather than newcomers having to integrate into an existing pecking order. Expect a short adjustment period of a day or two with some chasing as the group sorts itself out, which is normal.

Quarantine: as with any new batch of livestock, a short quarantine period (1-2 weeks) before adding to an established display tank is good practice to catch any early signs of illness or parasites before they can spread to existing stock.

Guppies are adaptable, but genuinely do best -- with the strongest colour, fullest fins, and best breeding success -- in water on the harder, more alkaline side, unlike many soft-water tetras:

• pH: 7.0–8.0
• Hardness: moderately hard to hard, roughly 8–25 dGH; a small pinch of aquarium salt is tolerated well and sometimes used to support fin health, though it isn't required
• Temperature: 22–28°C (72–82°F)
• Oxygenation: not demanding; comfortable in gentle to moderate flow

They tolerate a wider range than the ideal above, but colour, fin condition, and fry survival rates are noticeably better in clean, moderately hard, well-cycled water.

With a group of 10 fish, bioload builds up faster than with one or two -- a properly cycled filter sized for the eventual tank stocking (adults plus any fry) matters more here than for a single-fish purchase, and weekly 20-25% water changes become more important to keep ammonia and nitrite from creeping up between cleans. Test the water during the first few weeks after introducing a batch this size, since a newly-stocked tank is the point where water quality issues are most likely to surface.

Watch the group as a whole rather than just individuals: if several fish in the batch show clamped fins, lethargy, or reduced appetite around the same time, that's more likely a water-quality or new-tank-syndrome issue affecting everyone than a problem specific to one fish, and is worth checking parameters over immediately rather than waiting. An individual fish showing symptoms on its own, by contrast, is more likely a specific injury or a fish that simply arrived weaker than the rest of the batch, rather than a sign that anything is wrong with the tank itself. Isolating a single struggling fish into a small hospital container, rather than treating the whole display tank, is usually the better first step in that case.