Guppies are not enjoying their new tank mates?

Hey guys, as you can see in my sig, my guppies tank mates in a 20g tank are plecos, tetras, danios, and snails. I just transferred them over from a 10g tank into the 20g today, and although they ate the remaining flakes immediately upon entering the tank, they are not swimming as much as they were in the the 10g. They are both hanging out near the filter intake. They are two females, one black and another the yellow. Of the two, the black seems more interested in the other fish then the the yellow, he occasionally follows some of the danios around.

In the 10g they were kept with 4 goldfish (yes, I know that is overstocked, but they were my first fishies and the survivors of extreme overcrowdness and my newbieness, so I've grown attach to them. Also, one of them got loss for a whole day and I couldn't find him anywhere in the tank. The next day during feeding he popped out of nowhere! I think he got himself stuck under the bubble strip thing and was finally able to escape when one side started floating up. He's a badass!) and 2 other guppies (males).

Do you think they are overwhelmed by the amount of new and different tank mates? Do they miss their male guppy companions? I'm thinking of just putting them back in the tank with the 2 male guppies and 4 goldfsh, but if they are just slowly getting acclimated to their new home then I'll hold off. What do you guys think?

P.S. The 10g tank with the 4 goldfish and guppies has no filter. It's just a air pump. I do large water changes every other day. Once my 20g is used to bioload of a fully stocked tank, I'll move the 10g filter into the 10g tank and the air pump into the 20g.

Here's some pic to see what I'm talking about:







Hard to see them in the last pic, but they are usually hanging out behind or near the filter.

Thanks.

I just fed the tank and they both ate like normal. Looks like they are just getting used to their new home. Having lights now probably has something to with it too.

Carla G said:

Your guppies are probably just getting used to their new surroundings.

There is a problem with overstocking in your 10g and also the temperature range. Goldfish are cold water fish. Guppies are tropical. They should not be kept together. I think that you should move the other two guppies to the 20g also.

Did you climatize the guppies when you moved them? There must be quite a temperature difference between the two tanks. It is important to adjust the temp slowly so you don't shock them when you put them in the new tank.

You will have a problem up the line with 3 bristlenose in a 20g. They are cute as a button and little bioload when they are and inch long. But they will soon outgrow that tank and put a very heavy bioload on your filter.

I am not sure if I understood what you said about the filters. Do you mean that you will move the filter off the 20g onto the 10g leaving the 20g with no filter? If so, that is not a good idea. Both tanks need filters. And your goldfish need a bigger tank ASAP or a garden pond or re-homing.

Click to expand...

You are right about the temperature difference between goldfish and guppies, I totally forgot that. I'm going to put in the 2 remaining guppies in the 20g although I think that officially brings me to overstocking status. I did acclimate the two female guppies to their new tank. The temp difference btw is 4 degrees. 80 in the 20g, and 76 in the 10g.

I will definitely be moving one of the BN plecos when they get a little bigger to a 10g tank. Just him and maybe a Betta. Need more research on Bettas.

What I mean about the filter is that right now I have a HOB filter for my 20g, and a smaller submersible filter rated for a 10g tank in the 20g. The 10g filter came from an established tank where I was holding the neons during QT/when the 20g was cycling. I will be removing the filter designed for 10g tanks in a week or so, when the tank has adjusted to a full bioload.

I'm probably going to try to give away the goldfish on craigslist or something, but I doubt people will be interested. I might have to give them to my friend to feed his fish. :eek3: