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Guppy vision: the science and the numbers

Poecilia reticulata · order Cyprinodontiformes · Fish: all the numbers

The guppy has 6 colour channels, including ultraviolet.[1][2] Its sharpest vision resolves 6.7 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[7] The guppy stops seeing flicker at 67 Hz, against 60 Hz for people.[27]

See it on your photoBack to How does the guppy see?
  • 6colour receptor classesMeasured
  • 6.7cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured
  • 67hertz flicker fusion (motion)Measured

The guppy (Poecilia reticulata) is a fish in the order Cyprinodontiformes. Its eyes belong to the vision type Shallow-water fish tetrachromat: four cone types including ultraviolet and far red. Measured in this species: colour, sharpness and motion (flicker fusion). Measured core: measured values on at least 3 of the 6 dials.

This is a simulation built from published eye measurements, not what the animal experiences.

Method: How we know what animals see (the See Like Animals vision engine) · Sources · Last updated . Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.

What the guppy sees: colour receptors

Guppy colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmGuppy: 6 receptor peaks at 359, 409, 465, 529, 542, 573 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Guppy: 359, 409, 465, 529, 542, 573 nmPeople: 421.5, 532, 558.4 nmWavelength in nanometres

What stands out

  • It has 6 colour receptor classes, including ultraviolet; people have 3.
  • Its sharpest vision resolves 6.7 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
  • It stops seeing flicker at 67 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset, so fast motion looks about 1.1 times slower to it.[28][27]

The six dials

Evidence levels: how the tiers work. "Measured" means a value measured in this species; "Estimated" values come from a close relative or an eye-size formula. The last column gives the values for people from the same catalogue.

Vision values for the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
6 receptor classes: 359 nm (UVS), 409 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 465 nm (SWS (blue)), 529 nm (MWS (green)), 542 nm (LWS (long)), 573 nm (LWS (long))
measured in this species
Measured[1][2]Colour receptors: 3 receptor classes: 421.5 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 532 nm (MWS (green)), 558.4 nm (LWS (long)) Measured (not re-verified)[3][4][5][6]
Ultraviolet
yes: at least one receptor peaks in the ultraviolet		Measured
SharpnessAcuity
6.7 cycles per degree
median of 1 behavioural rows (method priority rule)
Measured[7]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[8][9]
Field of viewBinocular overlap
32.85°
group default: median of tier-A values in vision type the "Shallow-water fish tetrachromat" type within phylum Chordata (2 species: Danio rerio, Notemigonus crysoleucas)
Group default[10]Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[11][12]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[13]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[13]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[11][12]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
0
mode of species-v1 relatives in order Cyprinodontiformes: Anableps anableps
Group default[14]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[15]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[15]
Fovea type
split aerial/aquatic retina		Group default[14]
Night visionActivity pattern
diurnal
group default: mode of tier-A values in vision type the "Shallow-water fish tetrachromat" type within phylum Chordata (224 species: Amphiprion ocellaris, Acanthochromis polyacanthus, Acanthurus bahianus, Acanthurus…
Group default[16][17]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[18][19][20][3][21][22][23][17]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[24][25]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[26]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[18][19][20][3][21][22][23][17]
Rods vs cones
cone-dominated		Group default[16][17]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
67 Hz
median of 1 bright-light rows (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [67.0])
Measured[27]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[28][27]

All fish side by side: Fish: every measurement. Method: how we know what animals see.

Sources

  1. VPOD in-vivo (MSP / single-cell) lambda… 2025
  2. Schweikert et al. 2018
  3. Longcore 2023
  4. Kirwan
  5. Müller et al. 2009
  6. Thermal Activation and Photoactivation of Visual… 2004
  7. Caves et al. 2017
  8. Kirk et al. 2004
  9. Veilleux et al. 2014
  10. Pita et al. 2015
  11. Heesy 2004
  12. Heffner et al. 1992
  13. Campbell & Green 1965
  14. Schwab et al. 2001
  15. Kopania et al. 2025
  16. Froese et al.
  17. Moura et al. 2024
  18. Anderson et al. 2017
  19. Borges et al. 2018
  20. Wilman et al. 2014
  21. Maor et al. 2017
  22. Jones et al. 2009
  23. Schmitz et al. 2011
  24. Banks et al. 2015
  25. Cervino et al. 2021
  26. Guareschi et al. 2025
  27. Inger et al. 2014
  28. Healy et al. 2013

Every value cites its sources (all sources). Values were extracted from these works and converted (units, medians, derived values); changes are ours, and the listed sources do not endorse this site. Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this? Method: how we know.