Evil Guppy/needs a buddy?

D

dewilde2

Illinifish
Aug 8, 2006
253
0
0
42
St Louis
Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum, and anxious to catch up on all the wonderful advice posted here. I do have a question that I haven't yet found an answer to...
While setting up my first 29 gallon tank, I had a 3 gallon tank with a fancy guppy, a zebro danio and a very small platy. The guppy terrorized the platy into almost total hiding, but I assumed it was because they were overcrowded, and once I put them in the big tank it would be ok. It was a little better with the platy but not much, and when I added a balloon belly molly he went crazy attacking it despite it being three times as large as him. Well, needless to say he (I think it is a he but not sure) has been exiled and is now alone in the small tank. I really don't want to keep the small tank running, and am wondering if now that the other tank is a little more established (he's been out for two weeks and I have added other fish) that maybe I could put him back in there and he would behave himself. Or if I get another guppy maybe he'll be ok? Please advise. I don't want to get rid of him, but he's really quite the nuisance and mean to my other fish. Thanks for any advice!
-C

1 dwarf platy
1 zebro danio
1 plecostomus
1 cory catfish
3 balloon belly mollies
 
Hm. Well, some fish just have agressive personalities. I don't know what to tell you.

Also, your pleco will get too big for your tank.
 
You can tell if your guppy is male or female by looking at its anal fin. Longish and pointy is male, stouter and rounded is female. The fancy males are also much more showy than females, flowier fins, a bit smaller in the body. Your stocking list looks a bit bare (apart from the pleco, he will get about a foot long and needs a tank of 75 gallons AT LEAST). The fish you ahve would do better with more of their own species to mingle with. More plants/hiding spots might help the aggression...When you say he was attacking the other fish, what exactly did he do? If you added some female guppies (2 or 3 per 1 male), he may chill out, but you WILL have lots (and I mean LOTS!!!) of guppy fry to deal with. So, if you dont want that to happen, or dont have a fish that will eat the fry consistantly, youd be best to keep him in his own tank or trade him in at your LFS. :(
 
Great- thanks for the advice on sexing. I'm not sure that I want to deal with the fry yet, and based on your description I think I have a male, so I guess he'll just stay in the tank he's in for a while. A friend told me that guppies can live in a regular bowl like goldfish- is this true?
A friend with a 75 has agreed to take my pleco when he gets too big- the person at Petsmart said I had to have one in a starting tank so I guess I should have done more research first. The kind I bought is allegedly only supposed to get six inches long, but we'll see :-).
I am hoping to add some more platies and zebra danios to make them more of a school. Any other suggestions on other fish to add?
Thanks!
 
WOW! I thought I was the only one with an "Evil" Guppy! I'm glad I'm not alone! LOL He picked on 2 other guppies (He is male and so where they) until they died. Then I got 3 more, and none of them are still with us... :( Good luck! Now that there are no more guppies I think he has calmed down, but everynow and then goes after the female molly. :(

Are your zebra danios regular or longfined? If they are regular, I recommend the long finned. I also highly recomend Lyretail Mollies, and the danios (which you already have).
 
dewilde2 said:
Great- thanks for the advice on sexing. I'm not sure that I want to deal with the fry yet, and based on your description I think I have a male, so I guess he'll just stay in the tank he's in for a while. A friend told me that guppies can live in a regular bowl like goldfish- is this true?
A friend with a 75 has agreed to take my pleco when he gets too big- the person at Petsmart said I had to have one in a starting tank so I guess I should have done more research first. The kind I bought is allegedly only supposed to get six inches long, but we'll see :-).
I am hoping to add some more platies and zebra danios to make them more of a school. Any other suggestions on other fish to add?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

I guess its possible you have a variety of pleco that doesnt get huge, but, even 6 inches is a bit big for your tank. Can you post a pic or description?

Guppies, nor any other fish, are suited for bowl-life. ESPECIALLY goldfish, which get about a foot long and are very messy. They need 15 gallons per fish, more if possible. This is true for all goldfish, fancies and feeder types.

You could add some more cories, what kind is the one you have?
 
about the feeder they arent dat messy in my tank
 
Goldfish produce alot of waste and waste nutrients into the water. In your case, 1luvbetta, I guess its not much of a concern since they are going to be eaten anyway. But if it were me, Id want them to be as healthy as possible for the sake of whatever is eating them...what are they feeding, out of curiosity? For pet purposes, goldies get far too big and are far too messy to have even one in a 10 gallon tank.
 
goldfish aren't just messy as in they produce lots of poop, but ammonia. test your water and i'm willing to bet ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels will be sky-high.
 
I had had no idea that feeder fish could get so big! In February, I was going to do an experiement using feeder fish, but 1 died before the experiment even started, so I gave up on that and plopped the remaining 11 in this HUGE tank that houses a Diamondback Terripin. They were probably about the size of my longfin zebra danios. Well, until recently 2 were still alive. The have grown soooooo much & so fast. They were both Bigger than my full-grown mollies! 1 is still around, the other got cornered by Leaf (the turtle) and, well... you know how that story ends. All that was left was the swim bladder (&that was pretty cool).

Anyway, Point: Feeder fish can get HUGE given time & space.
 
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