Guppies Aggressive With Platys Or Just Playing?

[Ale_xis]

I bought 2 male guppies for my 20 gallon tank along with 2 more corys. Now i have 2 platys (male and female), 2 guppies, 4 corys and 6 tetras. As soon as i put the guppies.in, one of them kept.following the platys but wasn't biting. Just a few minutes ago, I saw the guppy chase my the platy and like, bolt at it and the other guppy would sometimes join in. I was afraid they'd hurt my platys so I took them out and have them im a small container until i figure out what to do. Should.I put them back and see how they are by tomorrow, or should I keep them seperated and bring them back to the store tomorrow?

I don't want any of my fish getting hurt which is why i may bring them back. the weird thing is it's just with my platys is who they're being aggressive with. They don't fight with each other or the other fish.

 

[Chad]

They aren't playing.
 
Aggression can be taken care of in several ways. One way, of course, is to remove the aggressive fish from the tank. The other is to add more of that kind of fish so they are aggressive to their own kind and have plenty of their kind to spread the aggression to. The other is to add more of the picked on fish as they can use each other for protection etc.
 
Are the guppy males? If so, adding some females in would also help reduce the aggression.

 

[Ale_xis]

Yeah, what I did was remove both of them, then put them back after 2 hours or so and that same one went at the platys again, even more so than last time so I put him back in the container of shame. He keeps racing back and forth towards the side where he sees the other fish trying to get to them, so he's gotta go. The other one is fine though with the others, so far he stays near my platys but isn't attacking or doing anything. He's kind of stalking them, but then will swim off and do his own thing so I'll keep him.
Tomorrow, I'll bring back the one aggressive male, but how many more and of what gender should I buy? I don't want to have the good guppy being alone, so maybe would getting just one female be okay? Or another male and 2 females? I hope adding more fish won't stress out my tank's cycle too much.
 
Oh and just curious... What do the stores do to returned fish that are aggressive? They don't kill them do they? Because I would keep the guppy and try to fix his aggression if that were the case... 

 

[Chad]

I also forgot to mention that you can put in some plants or wood etc. that breaks up the tank a bit to give them a territory.
 
Stores will resell the fish.

 

[Ale_xis]

Okay tonight I went to the store and planned on getting 2 females, but they were out so I went ahead and tried adding 2 more males to see if they'd form a group and leave the platys alone. Well, now the former aggressive fish is better and hasn't chased the platy but now one of the new ones is chasing her... I can't tell if he's biting or, chasing, playing, i dont know. I've seen him kind of nibble on her side but she didn't act like it hurt... Is he just trying to mate with her or attacking? and will they get over this?

what do I do? why are they acting like this.... I really don't want to return them because I don't want females and frys, but I'm so worried my poor platy is going to get hurt.

 

[Chad]

Is there any place in the tank for her to hide? Such as tall plants (fake or real)?
 
Aggression is actually pretty common among live bearers. Generally speaking tank conditions will determine who long it lasts and how bad it is. The tank must be large enough and provide hiding places. Because these fish tend to spend their time higher up in the tank their hiding places need to be up there. For example they aren't going to spend their time hiding in something on the bottom of the tank. A piece of wood that swoops up or some tall plants can certainly help out in a situation like this.
 
Again, tank size is also important. They need room to get away from each other.
 
Some fish will pick for a while then give up but I've found that guppies keep at it unless provided a territory.
 
Can you post a photo of the tank?

 

[Ale_xis]

https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYqQyTP3RGY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

here is my tank and what the 2 guppies are doing. The yellow one stopped i thought but now today, those 2 gang up on her. I separated them both just now after what looked like they were nipping her. The other 2 are not bothering her and they seem to school to just themselves so maybe I'll take back the 2 problem makers?

 

[Chad]

Great video! It shows a great example of territorial behavior. Not only are they unhappy with another live bearer but he's orange. Many fish will fight with other fish that are too similar to them. I see that all the time with Blenny, Wrasse, and Tangs. Totally different species but a similar color or body shape spells trouble, same with betta of course, they don't do well with other big finned fish.
 
Try getting some more plants and a few that go all the way up to the surface that should help some.

 

[Ale_xis]

I just put in the grassy plants last night so I should have them growing in a matter of time. I'm planning on adding bamboo too! Is there any other plants you recommend that grow tall and grass-like?

I decided that I'll bring them back to the store tonight and purchase 2 females, just in case the 2 that I'm keeping start acting up. It's like, as soon as I removed the 2 problem guppies, my platy went back to normal, where as before she was constantly hiding, darting, and couldn't even get near the male platy. Mean suckers these guppies are.

 

[Chad]

Oh yes...they can be very temperamental. As soon as I saw they were all orange I knew the guppy would have none of it.
 
Bamboo isn't really an aquatic plant by the way. It will grow for a while but will eventually rot and decay from being too long in the water.
 
We have some really good plant people on here, maybe start a new thread asking what are some good tall plants that are easy to grow.
 
Sounds like you have the fish issue taken care of just by returning the offending beasts!

 

[DyArianna]

Very interesting video!  To me it doesn't look territorial though.  If you notice the guppy/ies tend to flex their gonopodium as they get coser to the female.  I think it's just a matter of a breeding chase.  Just my opinion though!  Pretty fish btw! 

 

[elaineylane]

https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYqQyTP3RGY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

here is my tank and what the 2 guppies are doing. The yellow one stopped i thought but now today, those 2 gang up on her. I separated them both just now after what looked like they were nipping her. The other 2 are not bothering her and they seem to school to just themselves so maybe I'll take back the 2 problem makers?

Personally I'd never have guppies near Platys or Mollies. In my last tank they killed my fish, they are clear cut bullies if you ask me. Yes they are pretty but they think they own the tank and do just what I saw yours do & worse. I'd take them back and get something else. Wish someone had told me that b4 I bought my fish the first time but everyone said, " oh they will do just fine" humbug on that I say. 

 

 

[munib]

I added male guppy today ; had two platies and two female guppies previously.as soon as I added the male guppy to the tank ; the guppy has started nipping and chasing one of the Platy . What can I do ; everything is there ; water conditions are perfect . It’s just that the male guppy causing issues ; ornaments and hiding places also in the tank