guppy, swordtail compatibilty

[jonny p]

i have 4 swordtails and a pleco in my cycled tank (25g), last night i bought 4 male guppies on the spur of the moment at the lfs, when i got them home and put them in the swordtails thought they were food and tried to eat their tails but after they realised they left them alone, then the guppies started chasing the swordtails around (this bit is kinda hard to explain) trying to get under them and kinda nip at there belly but not really, and now they wont leave them alone, the swordtails just look annoyed but dont seem to be doing anything in retaliation. the swortails dont seem to be acting themselfs either the guppies leave pleco alone, all the guppies are males and 1 of my swordtails is a female, but there doing it to them all. any ideas on whats going on and should i get rid of the guppies?

im a bit baffled

 

[blueturq]

Hmmm......

You would think that swordtails would have kept the harassment going (they are much bigger, and slightly more aggressive). Very odd that it's nice versa

Well, I think that since there are no female guppies, the guppy males are very desperate and h....... you know what I mean

Guppies and Swordtails are not related so the guppies are trying impregnate and/or rough up any swordtail they see and just sort of take a longshot guess and figure "hey, one of them has to be female", because they don't know the sexes of the swordtails, because they aren't related.

 

[tricksterpup]

Actually Guppies and Swordtails are related. I do not see any problems with keeping both in your tank. I would just have plenty of plant life for each other to hide in. The only reason I can see the Swords getting grumpy is that of the tank size. I normally do no keep them in less than a 29 but you should be fine as time goes on. The only fish I am worried about that will out grow this tank is the pleco. They get big and bigger than that tank can hold. And they also get really messy as time goes on. So you may want to start finding that pleco a new home.
I wouldnt add to many more fish to this tank now.. Cause the guppies and Swordtails will start to breed and you will have plenty of fish for this tank.