Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm feeling so sad and don't know what to do. I have a 10 gallon tank with 3 cory cats and 3 guppies (1 male and 2 females). The male guppy bullied another male guppy to death. He was chasing him all over the tank and nipping his fins - he eventually died. I thought it was because they were both males. So, after it died, I got him 2 females. In the beginning he was very happy with the new addition but now he is doing the same thing with one of the females (the other one seems fine and is in fact pregnant) . The bullied female guppy is now showing the same behavior as the guppy that died - hiding in the rocks, not eating, etc. I am really worried.
Maybe you should take him back to the pet store. They might not give you any $$ for him, but he sounds like he's rather aggressive. How long has the tank been set up?
I've had my tank for about 6 months and the "aggressive" guppy has been with me from the start so I feel kind of attached to him :-) I was watching the fish this morning and the poor bullied guppy was in really bad shape - he was literally eating her alive. I couldn't stand it anymore and I took her out and put her in a flower vase filled with tank water. I know it's not the solution but don't know what else to do. Should I put her back in and take the problem guppy out?
Usually you want to keep more females than males...a group of 3 females and 2 males will do much better than a group of 2 males and a female. I don't keep livebearers anymore because we kept ending up with grossly deformed baby fish...maybe from the hard water here, I don't know, but it's better to keep a large group than just a few.
Also, expect them to eat the babies if you don't have a lot of plants for the babies to hide in.
adding more femalesmight work, giving him more to divide his attention between...but once in a while you just get a real bully that doesnt give you much of a choice but to keep him alone or rehome him...
i generally suggest 1 male to a MINIMUM of 3 females to avoid "over attention" but 1 to 5 is even better.
adding more femalesmight work, giving him more to divide his attention between...but once in a while you just get a real bully that doesnt give you much of a choice but to keep him alone or rehome him...
i generally suggest 1 male to a MINIMUM of 3 females to avoid "over attention" but 1 to 5 is even better.
Thanks! I was thinking of adding more females, hopefully it will do the trick. Will he survive in my flower vase until the weekend? I don't think I can get to the fish store before than. And I don't want to put him back in the tank before I add more females.
If that doesn't work, then maybe I can take him to the store and exchange him for another male. Oh boy :-)
He will probably be fine in a flower vase until the weekend, as long as it's not a tiny vase, and your house isn't real cold. In the summer I put a big plastic tub on my deck and keep guppies in it with no problem. If he starts slurping at the surface do a partial water change. Just keep in mind that your 10 gallon tank is pretty small, and you don't want to overcrowd it by adding too many fish. And with guppies you will likely get many more fish in no time.
Thanks, everyone! He seems to be doing fine in the vase, my house is warm so temp is not a problem. I've decided to take him back to the store and see if they would exchange him for another guppy. The guppy that was bullied came alive and is very happy since the bully moved to the flower vase :-)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
