Advice! Guppys Wont Stop Fighting!

[Howldaloom]

I have two types of guppys, the red coral and the pale blue kind and i have three of each.

they dont bother any other fish but fight amonkst themselves! one red fish has hardily any tail left.

how do i solve this problem? can i introduce some females?

i have a 20 gallon tank with 6 guppys a betta and a red tailed shark, will i have space for more? like i said beforee the only bother each other not the other fish

 

[lilfishie]

have you seen the guppies do it? my guess is that its the betta as they hate guppies so either get him/her a tank to themselves or sort out another option like rehoming or returning also red tailed black sharks are known to be aggresive. with you having 6 guppies makes it hard for me having kept them for many years to think on of them has done it, as for the one with no tail, issolate him and treat the tank with antibacterial mds to avoid him getting an infection. as for introducing females with 6 males you would need atleast 12 females which would mean a lot of fry each month and becoming overstocked.

 

[Howldaloom]

its deffo the guppys, my shark is as placid as anything, my betta splits the guppys fighting and i watch the guppys do it so i no its them.

i was wondering if i got 2 females too everymale, i wouldnt bother with the fry, free snack for the others lol, not to sound nasty

 

[Scotch_Egg]

what size is your tank? a betta only attacks a guppy of the same colour and the red tailed shark is very likly. are you also sure you have all male guppies?

 

[Howldaloom]

20 gallon tank!

im absolutly certain the guppys are attacking each other, my shark is VERY placid! i watch them most of the day n he spends most of the time playing with the bubble machine, hes a lil charecter, my betta is placid aswell, he chases my shark SOMETIMES if their pathes cross and when the guppys fight he stops them by getting between them both.

im very lucky judging from what i heard about bettas n red tailed sharks that i have got to VERY sweet natured and placid fish.

its just the guppys im having a problem with. how do you sex guppys? my red corals all look the same

 

[lilfishie]

you couldn't fit another 12 fish into you tank, how does the betta split these fights up exactly? how long have you had all the fish? how long has the tank been set up?

@ Scotch Egg - bettas will attack any fish that is colourful, not just there own colour

 

[Howldaloom]

He puffs himself up and swims between them.

and my tank has been up for 3 weeks.

how do i sex my guppys? i may already have females i dont no,

i have three with red tails and three whitish with slightly orange on them, its all of them fighting each other so im thinking i have three of each

 

[lilfishie]

use this.

 

[Howldaloom]

We have 6 males then. been to fish shop n got some more plants for cover, hopefully this will help them hide a lil more

 

[Scotch_Egg]

@ Scotch Egg - bettas will attack any fish that is colourful, not just there own colour

ahhhhh right sorry

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Male guppys aren't ideal tankmates for betta's, betta's are not the brightest of fish are times and will sometimes mistake small colourful guppys for male betta's and attack them, i've seen this happen many times when people have kept male guppys with betta's. I don't think you betta is deliberately trying to break up the fights, rather that the guppys presence in what he will view as his tank is distressing.

Male betta's are very much solitary fish and in the wild prefer to keep their territories free of fish which share the same space as them etc. A few people can get guppys and betta's to work, but in the vast majority of cases these sorts of fish stockings end up in tradgedy. I would also warn you that if you have not had your red tailed black shark for particularly long and it is not full grown (5-6inches+ long), its personality could change a great deal as it gets older and matures, so you should keep a close eye on it- what is the length and width of your current tank?


If all of your guppys are male, if the extra planting doesn't change much between them, i would advise also adding a few more male guppys (like 2-3 of them), the more males there are the more any agression between them will be spread out between them, instead of being concentrated on a single male all the time etc; it is more difficult to get all-male groups of guppys to work well, but can be done if gone about carefully, although you may need to swap or rehome certain males which are always the bullys or victums in the group to get it to work successfully etc.

 

[pandacichlid]

my girlfriend had a few male guppies at one time and they wouldn't stop fighting and nipping each other, so she eventually got rid of them.
good luck with yours!