Female guppy with nipped tail by male guppy

[Guppyhelp]

Hi, I have 1 male and 3 female guppies in a 10 gallon tank, I've had them for about 3 weeks without problems until now.

The smallest female has always been shy, hiding between the plants but now her tail is nipped, it looks quite painful. I've been observing them for a few hours and noticed that the only male is the one chasing her. The male guppy likes chasing the
other females but the small one is being singled out by him.

Options:

1. I have an empty 1 gallon tank (in which I kept guppy fry until they got big enough to not get eaten by other guppies) but it seems quite cruel to keep the adult male there.

2. I have another 5 gallon tank with a male betta fish. If I try to put the male guppy and the male betta together will they kill each other?

3. Getting more female guppies..?? Will the male guppy keep picking on that one female or pick on a new one?

4. Giving the male guppy to a local pet store..? I'm mad at the male guppy for nipping the small female's tail but I also don't want him to be mistreated by a careless owner

5. Get another 5 gallon tank only for him? I think this sounds better in theory than in practice, for I already have a 10 gallon with turtles, the 10 gallon guppy tank, the 5 gallon betta tank and the (empty) 1 gallon tank. My patience is endless but my money and space are not


So, thanks in advance!

 

[Autumnsky]

Sorry to hear the situation is tense.

Are you familiar with the nitrification cycle?

Do you know what your water parameters are? Often when the water conditions are in an unsafe fish will act aggressive. Or more aggressive than usual.

If you have tests find out what you have for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, pH, GH/KH / TDS.

Try keeping the male fish in a different spot for a couple days and see if the female recovers some from the chasing.

If you don't have a test kit, also btw, the big box stores with price match with their own online stores and near competitors, check with each store for details. this can really help to get a reasonably priced test kit.

Do a couple of pwc's like 30% then another 30%. If you have changed your filter pad lately, or maybe not cycled your tank fully, there might be an unsafe water quality and getting back to the safe level, should help the Guppy female to recover.

Ideal water conditions are the #1 start to getting the fish better.

If after a few days the female Guppy looks better then you may try to add the male back in. If he singles her out again then you would be better to keep the weak female separate for awhile, until she gains her strength back.

It is not cruel to temporarily keep her in a smaller space.

Some Betta males do not care about other fish in the tank with them and the female Guppy may live alright with the Betta once she is healthy again.

If you introduce the F Guppy to the Betta tank make sure there are extra hiding places. Keep the lighting dim and watch how they behave. There would /could naturally be curiosity and even getting up close and some lunging and flaring at the Guppy. But after a brief period (5 minutes to an hour) as long as the Betta, isn't chomping at the fish then things would likely settle down.

BUT keep watch.

Doing this introduction should happen after the Betta has been fed, and done eating for maybe a half hour to an hour.

AND you have the day to be there to monitor progress or aggression.

If you are uncomfortable with the Guppy in the circumstances, remove the Betta or Guppy which ever you can catch first. Then remove the Guppy and put the Betta back. He may not play well with friends.


Make alternate plans.

You could try a few more females if that would be your stocking decision. Or trade in the male for a different male.

If your tank isn't fully cycled for the number of fish then hold off for awhile and get the additional fish when you have a stable tank.

The link in my signature is an Aquarium Advice article with the information for new /newer tanks and or tank keepers and explains the nitrification cycle, plus more helpful tips for a happy tank.

 

[Guppyhelp]

Hi, thanks for the quick reply!

Yes, the tank is cycled and the water parameters/conditions are okay. Even though I'm still relatively new to using aquarium test kits I think I'm managing quite alright in that aspect.

At first I thought this didn't matter but I also have a female peppered corydora that I've had for about 7 years. Every once and then she lays eggs but I think 2 days ago was the first (or second?) time she laid eggs in front of the new guppies. Could that trigger the guppy behavior?

Also the female guppy was really grey/transparent but some days ago she started to show a little black color on her tail. Could the female guppy maturing also trigger the male guppy?

I've re-read my original post and noticed that I only imply to move the male guppy form the main tank, if I move a guppy (to either the betta tank or the 1 gallon tank) will that guppy be the male or the female guppy?

I can understand that moving any guppy with the betta is going to be a little difficult but it's worth trying. And the 1 gallon tank will require more water changes but that's not too much of a problem.

But which one will it be? The female or the male?

Whatever happens I think I'm going to add more females but only after the female recovers

Thank you so much for your help and all of the useful links!

 

[Autumnsky]

It must be Cory egg laying season. Mine have just been doing the same.

I know my gazillion Guppy / Endlers females, go crazy for fresh foods, like Cory Eggs, and males like to eat them ifvthey can get between the large size and number of females. They DO get a little crazy acting. I just removed some eggs to try and save them, and was very actively being bumped and nibbled, by the Guppies. It was mahem and Chaos. So maybe the extra pheromones and live food were causing aggressive behavior.

I would probably remove the male first, time out for a few days. Give the girls a break.

Do the couple water changes, in this case to remove some pheromones.

But it's apparent the one female is really the biggest object of his affection/ attention. I had one particular female Endlerbeung chased to what ended, ultimately in death.

There were 50 fish and more females than males but this one female was endlessly chased by one particular male. She got Ich from being stressed out.

If the female looks well after 3 days, try him in the tank again. If she doesn't, leave him in time out a couple more days. After that if she doesn't look better she may need to be in the hospital tank and switch/ move the male into the main aquarium. But if she is significantly worse before the time out is up, you could switch them sooner.

You shouldn't move a possibly sick fish in with the Betta though. Wait till she is recovered.

 

[Autumnsky]

Female to the Betta tank after well. To try it out anyway.