Guppy Question

[Realtree]

I rehomed 5 male guppies for a friend into my community set up
I then purchased 3 females to keep them company
The males are now showing fin damage (from nipping) and seem to be chasing each other at times
Could the fin nipping be due to the sexual tension ?? or maybe my platies and tetras have taken a liking to them ??
What do you think ??

 

[indir-emir]

Hi mate,
Im pretty sure the recommended male to female ratio is 1male to 3 females. Dont quote me but im sure it was 3
The female would be getting bugged by the males constantly, which i think would be the reason for nipping of the fins.
Not an expert though, just reserached a bit as my brother has his guppies in my tank while family is overseas.

Regards,
Indir

 

[helterskelter]

Either keep all male or more females to males.
Their be fighting over the females at a guess.

However what size is the tank, how long had it been running and what other fish do u keep?

 

[cowboy507]

I agree with the post above, you should never keep more males than females. you should have at least 10 females for your 5 males.

the reason is because the males are constantly trying to have sex with the females and the males constantly nip and chase the females, this is part of the mating process. but because there are so many males and so few females all the guys are trying to get with the girls. This constant nipping could cause permanent damage or the females could even die.

I would try to rehome the females, or males, or get more females... but be warned...if you do keep males and females there will be LOTS of babies, usually 40-50 fry each time the females give birth.

 

[Realtree]

Thankyou for your advice
It is the males that aer showing fin damage (4 out of 5 of them) - Why not the 5th ? - could he be the culprit ?
My tank is 75L and also contains 5 platies , 1 male fighter , 2 neon tetras and a black neon.

Also have a question regarding PH
PH levels keep rising in my tank - why would this occur ? (tested this mornig 8.6 now from 7.2 two days ago) and how can I reduce the levels ??
Thanx Mark

 

[helterskelter]

Do u have any rocks in the tank these can affecy the pH

Bog wood will drop it a little

It's not a problem as long as it's stable and only changes a little then settels

 

[Realtree]

Do u have any rocks in the tank these can affecy the pH

Bog wood will drop it a little

It's not a problem as long as it's stable and only changes a little then settels

Thinking along those lines I have halved the rocks in the tank as it was predominently rock
Do you think rehoming the tetras would stop the fin nipping ??

 

[helterskelter]

they can get nippy from time to time but you cant say for sure sorry

 

[cowboy507]

Thankyou for your advice
It is the males that aer showing fin damage (4 out of 5 of them) - Why not the 5th ? - could he be the culprit ?
My tank is 75L and also contains 5 platies , 1 male fighter , 2 neon tetras and a black neon.

Also have a question regarding PH
PH levels keep rising in my tank - why would this occur ? (tested this mornig 8.6 now from 7.2 two days ago) and how can I reduce the levels ??
Thanx Mark

It might be the fighter that is niping, they will tend to nip at fish that are bright colored like them and have long fins. And guppies and too slow to get away from this. I dont believe that you would need to rehome the neons. In fact if you could i would consider getting a few more, they do much better in slightly larger groups...maybe 6 total.

try bog wood to lower the pH, but Id also agree with helterskelter, as long as the pH is stable and not constantly changing then it should be fine. You done have to delicate of fish that wont tolerate the higher pH

 

[Realtree]

I am going to increase the tetra shoal and keep a good eye on the fighter as you suggest
My main concern is that the tetras in the past have continually died (the reason why the shoal number is so low at the moment) - I have usually lost tetras after a partial water change - can anybody shed any light on this ?? Water testing shows all ok apart from raised PH
thankyou Mark

 

[ally86ozzy]

I rehomed 5 male guppies for a friend into my community set up
I then purchased 3 females to keep them company
The males are now showing fin damage (from nipping) and seem to be chasing each other at times
Could the fin nipping be due to the sexual tension ?? or maybe my platies and tetras have taken a liking to them ??
What do you think ??

Like people have said earlier, the ratio is 1 male to 3 females. Since you have 5 males, you would need 15 females But I don't think your current stocking...:

Thankyou for your advice
It is the males that aer showing fin damage (4 out of 5 of them) - Why not the 5th ? - could he be the culprit ?
My tank is 75L and also contains 5 platies , 1 male fighter , 2 neon tetras and a black neon.

... would allow that. I suggest getting a new tank or rehoming the females, restocking your tetra shoals (maybe 3-5 more neons minimum, and 5 more black neons minimum), and getting a separate tank for the fighter (betta, right?), as they like to nip the fins of guppies AND tetras, which might be the reason for your continual tetra-loss:

I am going to increase the tetra shoal and keep a good eye on the fighter as you suggest
My main concern is that the tetras in the past have continually died (the reason why the shoal number is so low at the moment) - I have usually lost tetras after a partial water change - can anybody shed any light on this ??

I don't know why you would lose tetras after a water change. Could be the PH, the water you're using, or just coincidence.

And just out of curiosity, what is the male to female ratio of the platies in your tank?

 

[cowboy507]

have usually lost tetras after a partial water change - can anybody shed any light on this ?? Water testing shows all ok apart from raised PH
thankyou Mark

Neons are very weak fish. If your tank is new (less than 6 months after cycling) then Neons tend to die a lot. The reason is because these fish are so over bred that they are very week and dont tolerate a lot. BUt if you do have a well matured tank then it must be something to do with the new water.
is there any ammonia and nitrates in you tap? if there is this might be the cause.

 

[karigupi]

Its not recommended to keep Fighters with guppies, especially males, their long, colourful fins will make your fighter turn on them, you need to find a new home for either the fighter or the male guppies, they arent called Fighter fish for nothing.

 

[Realtree]

To update
I have rehomed the fighter and the fin nipping has seemingly stopped
But unfortunately my tetras have continued dying
I increased the shoal to 13 neons but less than a week later have only 4
The strange thing is that I cannot find any bodies (have seen the odd one but has vanished if I have not immediately removed it)
Also the remaining tetras are hiding in the rocks.
As far as I am aware all my fish are communal and would not eat the tetras ( 6 platies , 6 guppys, 3 swordtails, 4 neons,1 golden loach and 3 golden snails)
Any ideas ??