Guppy Expert in the house?

[akkitten]

I just finished cycling a tank with two guppies (don't yell, I know better NOW.) Currently there are 2 F guppies and 4 ghost shrimp in a 10 gal tank. PH 7.6, Amm 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5.0. One guppy is at least double the size of the other one, and frankly she is a downright bully. She chases the smaller guppy into the corner. I read somewhere that this can happen if there are only 2 guppies in the tank and that if I increase the number (which I am getting ready to do since my paramaters have been stable for 6 days) of fish this behavior should stop.

Has anyone else had problems with an slightly aggressive guppy? What did you do about it?

 

[warthog76za]

Getting a male guppy will keep her in check. I have 2F 1M in my tank and he occupies both with this dance/flirt thing he does, really funny to watch.

 

[tyspot1000]

A male isn't really necessary, It will really only bring babies which over populate the tank. Adding more females guppies will spread out the aggression coming from the dominant one.

 

[BigJim]

Try adding plants to break up the sight lines in the tank. Fish work on the "out of sight, out of mind" principle most of the time.

 

[akkitten]

No boys allowed! I don't need babies in there. I have plants that break it up, but it's not enough, the little one hides behind the top of the ugf by the filter. I will add 2 more tonite and see how that goes.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Just an FYI, Guppies are capable of storing sperm from a previous encounter with a male. You may get fry anyway without a male.

Anyway, try to get another female if you can, best if it's the size of the other small one, otherwise Jim is right, breaking the line of sight can do wonders.

 

[akkitten]

How long can they store it? The larger one looks fat, but I don't see a pronounced gravid spot. These are my first guppies.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

I don't know actually. I've experienced this myself though. If you leave the fry in the tank (if you get some) most/all will be eaten, especially if your big female is an aggressive type.

 

[Vircomore]

The general theory behind stored sperm in livebearers is somewhere in the range of 5-9 months, so if your guppies were kept in a co-ed environment at any time in the past 5-9 (and they are mature) - you may end up with fry anyways.

The only way to be sure that your livebearers haven't been inseminated is to get them from a batch of fry before they reach maturity - but then you may end up with females that turn out to be males.

(Although it's easier to tell with guppies than mollies - I should know. ^_^)

 

[akkitten]

Ok this may explain a lot. The smaller one looked preggo and then the tank got ich and she lost weight during the treatment of the tank. It could be she gave birth the larger one ate them and became aggressive after that? She wasn't this aggressive when I first got her. Great, I am now tied up in a fish soap opera.