Controlling guppy fry. Can i keep only male guppies?

[dest]

Hello

I want to keep guppies in my tank, but im a bit concerned about their ability to breed very fast! As a solution, would it be possible to keep only male guppies in one aquarium? Would it be ok with them? I'd keep about 6 of them

If in the future i'd like to breed them i'd be growing few female guppies in smaller aquarium, so when i need it i can let them together to breed.

But the main question remains the same - is it ok to keep only male guppies in tank?

Thanks for answers.

 

[dest]

Also, same applies for females. Can i keep females only in the tank?

And what is better (if possible) - only females or only males? thanks

 

[Coldfins]

Yes it perfectly ok to keep only males or females.
It doesn't matter which.
It's also recommended if you dont wish for fry.

If you want a colorful tank male fancy guppies spice a tank up, while female guppies can be little less colorful.

 

[Ulan]

With only males in the tank, they sometimes harrass the weakest male to death, then the next one, and so on. Only females is a valid option, but not very colorful and, more importantly, all available females are pregnant .

I've got a mixed group of 9 females and 1 male. They get fry all the time. I've got 6 ghost shrimp in the tank, too. Survival rate of fry: 0%

 

[amosf]

Once you have a few adults in the tank the fry survival rate is very low. Guppies seem very good at self population control, but if they have any trouble there are things you can add to the tank

But all males work fine.

 

[Ulan]

But all males work fine.

Not always. That wasn't a theoretical scenario I was talking about in my last post. It happened at my friends' place. They had to find a different solution than an all male tank.

 

[amosf]

Well, the males often seem to harrass each other to death even in a mixed tank.

As I say, Guppies seem to have good self population control

tim

 

[Ms.Bubbles]

I've got an all-male guppy tank and it works fine. I suggest you give them:

1. lots of space
2. plants to block their line of vision/hide in, and
3. a few companions so that any aggression can be spread out over the group (don't overcrowd the tank though, because this can lead to aggression).

IMO you're doing a great and responsible thing by controlling the guppy population BEFORE it arrives.

 

[Ulan]

IMO you're doing a great and responsible thing by controlling the guppy population BEFORE it arrives.

I'm not sure whether it's all that great. Keeping one gender groups is not exactly allowing the guppies to show natural behavior. I prefer the approach of controling the offspring.

 

[Coldfins]

What size tank are you getting?
I think we forgot to ask what size you were getting....that will help with the number of guppies you get.
Well if you want to have male and females...its a ratio of 2 females per male.
I keep a small school of Neons with my female and male guppies.
They are like little parana's when it comes to taking care of fish fry.
I actually had a fancy Black Lace female guppy about to have a batch of fry and I misjudged her estimated birthing day and my Neons snapped up her fry.
I saved only one....he swam out of hiding a day later. LUCKY ME!!