Guppy Behaviour

[sgstvoy]

I've seen my guppies (fancy ones with the fan-like tails) like to hang around the surface of the water, even though the water is clean, and there is air-water gaesous exchange... Do they always do that?

And I've noticed that my guppies like to disturb a female betta that I put in there, and the betta will scare them off. Must be poking fun at my female betta...

And I also noticed that one of the guppie's tail has been torn (much like betta's fins going missing), right down the middle so now it has a tail like a DT betta... Is that normal, or is it fin rot?

 

[WILDER]

What are your water stats in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph, shouldn't keep guppys with betta's they see them a competition with there flowing fins, he will nip at them or even eat them.

 

[sgstvoy]

Oh, can't keep them with female bettas as well?

I can only find pH testers, but not ammonia/nitrite/nitrate testers.

 

[Kiarra]

I have one female Betta that doesn't mind Guppies. I have another that tries to kill them on sight. It can really go either way with Bettas.

That includes males. One of my males would lay in the Guppy tank on the plastic plant with a female Guppy on top of him, and he didn't mind her a bit, and she didn't mind him a bit. He didn't even mind when the brightly colored male Guppy came swimming right by his nose.

 

[Kittycat]

I agree with Kiarra. It depends on the individual betta. In my experience, the male bettas are more likely to attack, and male guppies more likely to be attacked. I had female bettas that were OK with guppies in a 50 gal, then when I moved them to a 10 gal, the guppies were all brutalized, some killed, others died later. So I think tank size/swimming and territorial space and hiding places may also be an important factor. I moved back the girls (bettas) and the guppies to the 50 gal, and now they're ok together.