Guppy on his own - is it ok?

[JCW_1]

As a new person to hobby I am still building up my tank and currently have 6 purple emperor tetra + 1 male guppy. I have read online it's best to keep guppy in numbers, but can they be kept alone in the right environment?

My guppy was rehoused in my tank due to an emergency - originally he was kept in another persons tank which had 3 female guppy, but he was extremely aggressive towards them and kept attacking with intent - he was most likely responsible for killing one of the females, which is why he was rehoused to my tank.

When he was rehoused in my tank with the 6 tetra his behaviour changed - he has not been aggressive at all, and he plays with the tetra all day. If it wasn't for his colours you would think he is part of the tetra shoal.

My concern is that adding more guppy might make him revert back to his aggressive behaviour. For some reason in his previous tank he went for the other guppy.

Has anyone kept guppy on their own?

 

[biofish]

Hello!

I personally think that guppy will be fine by himself as long as the tetra’s have similar water params. I would be vigilant for tail nipping though- either the guppy nipping the tetra’s or vice versa. I’ve had more experience with aggressive tetra’s nipping at male guppy fins, but if your tetras are playing nice then it shouldn’t be an issue.

If you do want to get more guppies, I would recommend 4 more similarly sized male guppies if you have the space. If you keep more than one male and only males then you need a minimum of 5 to help with aggression. And even then, there will probably be a lot of bullying the first couple weeks as the guppies establish a hierarchy.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to TFF

What size is the tank with the guppy & emperors?

More importantly, what is the gh (hardness) of your source water?

Tetras are soft water fish, guppies prefer hard water

 

[JCW_1]

60 ltr tank rectangle shape.

The water from tap is soft and I am actually seeing someone next week about how to change hardiness of water with rocks and other items - and how to get the best balance for fish I add in future., which will be based on water conditions locally

 

[Slaphppy7]

About 16 USG

How long has the tank been set up? Is it cycled? For how long, if so? Do you have a water test kit?

Is your tap water softened? I was under the impression that much of the UK had hard water, but could be completely mistaken

There are online water quality reports that you can find for your town, see if you can find one, @Essjay would be able to help with that

Do not try to change the hardness or any other water parameters, stick what you have available, and stock the tank with fish that are compatible

 

[JCW_1]

My tank is 2 months old and so far no problems. I'm doing 25% weekly water changes at present, which the fish don't mind and they don't hide or get stressed when i do changes.

I think it's mostly London and the south that has harder water. The water map describes my area as soft to moderately soft and my supplier lists it as soft.

My local pet store and aquarium centre keep all species of fish in this water but my intention is to build the tank with fish suited to my source water. I'm ready to add more fish but i'm not sure what beginner fish are best for soft water, which is why I was seeing someone this week. I was told not to worry about hardiness as it can be modified, but my view is less meddling with the source is best.

 

[biofish]

Finding fish in your water params is perfect! If you aren’t sure, you can take a water sample to most local fish stores and they’ll test it for you and you can go from there. But I’ve found that guppies are a bit more hardy, so even if the water is a bit softer than what they like, if you accumulate them properly then they’ll still do pretty well. The best method I’ve tried is putting the new fish with their original tank water in a bowl and then connecting a dropper from my main tank that drops 1 drop per second of my water into their bowl and leave it for a couple hours. So then they have a chance to get used to your water before they’re dropped in it, ya know?

For soft water fish I really love Cory Catfish. They come in different sizes, so you should be able to find ones that stay relatively small for your tank. I’ve had success keeping them in smaller than suggested numbers but it is recommended you get a minimum of 6. They are absolutely precious and very easy to care for.

 

[JCW_1]

Finding fish in your water params is perfect! If you aren’t sure, you can take a water sample to most local fish stores and they’ll test it for you and you can go from there. But I’ve found that guppies are a bit more hardy, so even if the water is a bit softer than what they like, if you accumulate them properly then they’ll still do pretty well. The best method I’ve tried is putting the new fish with their original tank water in a bowl and then connecting a dropper from my main tank that drops 1 drop per second of my water into their bowl and leave it for a couple hours. So then they have a chance to get used to your water before they’re dropped in it, ya know?

For soft water fish I really love Cory Catfish. They come in different sizes, so you should be able to find ones that stay relatively small for your tank. I’ve had success keeping them in smaller than suggested numbers but it is recommended you get a minimum of 6. They are absolutely precious and very easy to care for.

Good tip for adding fish!

I did consider adding cory because there are small species but i'm not convinced they are tank cleaners because they produce waste. If i get them it will be because they are cool but I'll definitely get a snail for glass/algae.

The fish i really liked was dwarf gourami but i understand they are prone to disease/parasite/TB so i'm going to avoid.

The more i think about it i might just get more tetra and just have a tetra tank. They get better in numbers and are great fish. This also helps me to get to know my fish well and gain fishkeeping experience.

Overall i'll look at fish that are suited to my water and make a decision.

 

[Essjay]

Always be wary of the words a water company used as they usually make it sound harder than it really is. But if yours says soft it will be soft or very soft. This is good for fish that come from south America, most of Asia and some fish from rivers in Africa. I would keep your current guppy alone, it may not be ideal but your water is a bit too soft for them.
You'll find fish stores sell fish not suited to the local water because there's a demand for them, and the shop doesn't care if they don't live long once they've been sold.
Cories are not tank cleaners, they just eat food off the bottom of the tank. They still need to be fed with sinking food as they can't rely on left overs. And despite what you'll read on other websites, they are not algae eaters. They need meat in their diet.

Tetras are well suited to your water as are fish such as harlequin rasboras. Honey gouramis are an alternative to dwarf gouramis and they don't seem to have the same health issues. But I would be wary of keeping them with emperor tetras which can be a bit nippy and gouramis have those long dangly 'feelers' which can be very tempting.

 

[JCW_1]

Are South American Cichlids aggressive or is that just the African Cichlids?

Do neon tetra get on with purple emperor tetra - i'd be happy to keep just tetra until i gain more experience.

I know angelfish do well in soft water but they can be aggressive and they do seem the perfect fish to get nipped by tetra.

Rasbora and Zebra Danios were on my list for soft water and they don't seem aggressive

All the youtube videos say get Cory for tank cleaners but they seem cool fish to get regardless of tank cleaning. I considered Albanian Pleco but they get too big for my 60 ltr tank - Cory can be smaller but if i add more plants there won't be hardly any ground space

 

[Essjay]

Emperor tetras are quite big fish so I would be inclined to get bigger tetras - and more emperors. Shoaling fish do better with 10 or more.
South Amercian dwarf cichlids such as apistogrammas only get a bit touchy if they have eggs or fry to defend, and when I kept them it was more swimming at the 'intruder' then veering off at the last moment. The common species in shops are A. cacatuoides (cockatoo cichlid) and A. agassizzii.

Cories of all species used to be recommended as clean up crew, one per tank. We now know these are shoaling fish which need a group of at least 6 and that they need to be fed their own food. If the right amount of food is fed for the upper level feeders, nothing should reach the bottom. And they are not algae eaters though many people still believe this. YouTube, like many websites, contains a lot of false information. You need to know the source. Many people think they know and post a lot of rubbish.
Just about the best source of information is Seriously Fish, which is written by experts not just people who happen to keep that fish.

Knowledge Base — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[JCW_1]

Emperor tetras are quite big fish so I would be inclined to get bigger tetras - and more emperors. Shoaling fish do better with 10 or more.
South Amercian dwarf cichlids such as apistogrammas only get a bit touchy if they have eggs or fry to defend, and when I kept them it was more swimming at the 'intruder' then veering off at the last moment. The common species in shops are A. cacatuoides (cockatoo cichlid) and A. agassizzii.

Cories of all species used to be recommended as clean up crew, one per tank. We now know these are shoaling fish which need a group of at least 6 and that they need to be fed their own food. If the right amount of food is fed for the upper level feeders, nothing should reach the bottom. And they are not algae eaters though many people still believe this. YouTube, like many websites, contains a lot of false information. You need to know the source. Many people think they know and post a lot of rubbish.
Just about the best source of information is Seriously Fish, which is written by experts not just people who happen to keep that fish.

Knowledge Base — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

I don't think my tank is suited to 6 Cory - 60 ltr with little open space on the ground due to wood/plants.

Either i'm going to just have a purple emperor tank or mix with Danio, depending on which Danio species can live with purple tetra.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I don't think my tank is suited to 6 Cory - 60 ltr with little open space on the ground due to wood/plants.

Either i'm going to just have a purple emperor tank or mix with Danio, depending on which Danio species can live with purple tetra.

Since your water seems to be on the softer side, that guppy has shown to be aggressive to other guppies before, especially if he was like that with females, and he seems to be doing fine alone, I'd recommend just keeping him as a single guppy. Sounds as though he's doing fine in your tank, but didn't do well even with females, and if he was that aggressive with females, he's not likely to do well with male guppies either. So best to enjoy him and let him live his life out with you, but not get any more. He'll be okay, and then you'll pick fish more suited to your water.


I have some 60L tanks too, and cories. I agree with you that a 60L is too small for a proper sized school of the typical cories too - I use one for my pygmy cories, and there are three dwarf corydora species that can do well in that size tank - but they are shy, not good at competing with other fish for resources, so I wouldn't recommend them for living with purple tetra or danios. It's great that you're doing so much research! That's the key to success in this hobby.

 

[JCW_1]

Since your water seems to be on the softer side, that guppy has shown to be aggressive to other guppies before, especially if he was like that with females, and he seems to be doing fine alone, I'd recommend just keeping him as a single guppy. Sounds as though he's doing fine in your tank, but didn't do well even with females, and if he was that aggressive with females, he's not likely to do well with male guppies either. So best to enjoy him and let him live his life out with you, but not get any more. He'll be okay, and then you'll pick fish more suited to your water.


I have some 60L tanks too, and cories. I agree with you that a 60L is too small for a proper sized school of the typical cories too - I use one for my pygmy cories, and there are three dwarf corydora species that can do well in that size tank - but they are shy, not good at competing with other fish for resources, so I wouldn't recommend them for living with purple tetra or danios. It's great that you're doing so much research! That's the key to success in this hobby.

I don't know for sure, but not rushing to fill my tank with lots of different fish may have helped him settle and gel with my tetra, particularly being the odd one out. As i've not had multiple fish spices there seems less fear and stress - and i'm hoping patience goes a long way to building a successful tank. Of course water is vital to healthy fish, but i'm trying to factor psychological environment to avoid stress.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I don't know for sure, but not rushing to fill my tank with lots of different fish may have helped him settle and gel with my tetra, particularly being the odd one out. As i've not had multiple fish spices there seems less fear and stress - and i'm hoping patience goes a long way to building a successful tank. Of course water is vital to healthy fish, but i'm trying to factor psychological environment to avoid stress.

Yep, that's the way to do it!
Having a group of male guppies together can work, and usually does. I've had tanks of 30-40 young males growing out in a tank together without issues. They're a fish known for reproducing like mad, and when breeding it's usually recommended to have 2 females per male just so one female isn't targeted for chasing too much. But they're not known as a particularly aggressive fish either, and usually get along fine in groups once they've sorted out a pecking order.

But it is unusual to have a guppy really hurt another, especially a male attacking females. When I was raising them I only had a couple that were super driven, constantly chasing others and being a holy terror, stressing the other fish out. For a male like that, usually being the only male with a female or two might make them happy, but since yours was a terror even with females, it sounds as though it would be best for him, and any future fish, if he's the only guppy. If he can't even get along with females, then solitary/with different species sounds like the only real option for him, so personally, I wouldn't get more guppies.


You don't have to have a bottom dwelling fish, and it's definitely tougher finding bottom dwellers that can work in a smaller tank and with bolder fish. The idea often promoted in those videos is to have "clean up crew", but that's definitely a bit of a myth! Nothing really cleans up the tank faster or better than the human wiping the glass down with a clean sponge and giving the substrate a good gravel vac! Plus cories really do much better on a sand substrate, the big schools etc.


Maybe consider a couple of snails? They can be helpful as clean up crew, can be in with most fish (not all) and especially now that mystery/apple snails are legal again here (they were banned and not available in the UK for a long while) there are some really nicely coloured ones out there now too!