All Male Guppy Shoal Or Solo?

[marnold00]

Hey guys, 
 
Have you guys experienced any issues with al male guppy shoals?
 
I think guppies could add nice colour to my tank (it's currently cycling - i'm deciding on what to stock it with), but I do not want to be overrun by babies. Unfortunately durex don't make a guppy model, so I think I'd have to go with males...
 
Would a gorup of 6 or so male guppies be harmonious or not?
 
And on the other end of a spectrum, how would a guppy fair if he was on his own/ up to three of them?
 
Thanks in advance
 

 

[cowgirluntamed]

How big is your tank? I think that's one of the most important for these guys other than the water. I had a ten US gallon tank and put 7 in there and tails were being nipped a lot. Then again one of them was really feisty too. With just males there is still aggression which I didn't realize.

I would think one would be ok. But like I said..it depends on how big the tank is and are you planning on putting other fish in there other than guppies?

 

[marnold00]

Argh knew I forgot to add something. 65l

(about 15/16 US gallons

)

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Oops! I just edited my other post if you want to read more. Lol

 

[marnold00]

Yes there will be other fish.. as to what, well I do not know. I'm blessed with hard tap water... I'm very undecided about the stocking though, so yeh Looking for inspiration/ideas. Guppies will definitely add the colour I'll looking for though could maybe have them and white clouds? and then find something for the bottom that wont mind my water... 

 

[Blubble37]

you can keep an all-male shoal, it's not impossible. Some have a bit more of a nippy temprament than others however so that's always something to bear in mind. You can stop the aggression by introducing females.. but it doesn't take a genius to work out what that entails

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Not sure about white clouds. They need a cooler temperature I think. Something to look up though if you're interested. Lol. As for hard water bottom dwellers...not a clue. One suggestion I can make though is horned nerite snails. I haven't had any regular nerites but the horned variety seem to be doing an amazing job for me and they are cool to watch. Now...they do lay little eggs on stuff and glass at times but they won't hatch unless in brackish water. So you won't be overrun.

 

[marnold00]

What sort of surface area per snail are we talking?

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Well I've got 2 in my 10 gallon that are full grown and around 1 1/2 years old. But I have 3 in my 5 gallon that are smaller. But they were smaller when I got them too. Seem to be doing ok though. These horned ones don't get real big. But as for how many per surface area and what not I really don't know. Lol.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Guppy - Poecilia reticulata
 
"This is a hard water fish and while it may manage in soft and/or acidic conditions, long-term maintenance should be in moderately hard or harder water."
 
"A very peaceful fish. Do not keep with fin-nipping species such as tiger barbs, serpae tetras etc. Does well in a quiet community tank with other livebearers, rasboras, corydoras, small loricariids and tetras."
 
From SF site.
 
Guppies ae a lovely colourful fish, with character, endlers are pretty much the same specie really, just without the fancy fins.
 
Personally they are a lively fish that do better in a group of at least 5, though you can get away with 3 in the right tank set up, would not suggest just keeping a guppy singly.
 
As with other shoaling specie, they always do better within a group, the more the better really.
 
Though must mention, guppies are VERY profilic breeders, so if you include females, expect a explosion of guppy numbers in a short space of time. Its fairly commonly said 'How do you breed guppies?....just add water!"

 
So a group of 5 male guppies will do just fine but if you can get more that would be good as that then adds colour to the tank.

 

[marnold00]

How does 8 male guppies (add 5, give the tank a couple of weeks, add the rest) and a couple of nerite snails to start sound?

I can then add either a small shoal of threadfin rainbows, or some cherry shrimp or something - both of which I believe have a nice low bioload so I think it'd be ok with the guppies

 

[marnold00]

Guys thanks for your help. I'm gonna go away and do more research - I now have ideas for what I want in my tank, and what will go and what will not. Please ignore my previous post

I will post numbers for stocking later in the week exciting times

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Just remember they can be nippy with each other if there are too many. Make sure to have lots of stuff in to break their line of sight. Helps somewhat.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Oh, one more tip on the nerite snails...they can't right themselves if they fall onto their backs! So be careful when putting then into the tank and if you see them on their back, help them! Lol. I just had one remind me of that...glad it wasn't dead!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Just remember they can be nippy with each other if there are too many. Make sure to have lots of stuff in to break their line of sight. Helps somewhat.

 
 
Male guppies will be far more busy 'demonstrating' and displaying than actually 'nipping'.  The key is to actually have MORE of them, not less.  The more there are, the more the aggression by any single male will be spread out amongst a larger group better.