Questions about guppies

[freshy]

So I'm excited of course and have a few questions. Let me start by saying that that reason I have only 1 guppy is because it was given to me as a present for my new tank. Right now it is accompanied by 3 diamond tetras (I added 2 of them just today). My tank was almost cycled when I got them( ammonia was down to 0ppm and nitrites were almost there) But today I noticed a rise in both nitrates and nitrites so I did a 20% water change.

My question is: (I apologize if this souns stupid but I'm an absolute newbie at this) Do guppies "sleep" near the surface of the tank? I noticed mine does, I was just wondering if all guppies do the same or if it's an isolated behaviour.

Q 2: My tank is 10 gall (40 lt) I've been suggested to get at least 4 more guppies, all male so not to deal with fry right now, but I've also read that these fish tend to be aggresive when there are 2 or more males in a small tank. What to do?
How many more would you guys suggest?

Q3: How can I tell if they are males or females?

Thanks in advance for any help here!

 

[kitty falol]

Hi Freshy

Welcome to fishkeeping! I'm a bit of a newbie but gaining knowledge fast.

Yes, my guppies 'sleep' either floating near the surface, or resting on the bottom.

I've had 4 male guppies in a tank all on their own and I didn't have any problems with aggression. You might start to get aggression if they start to feel overcrowded but I would have thought that as long as you follow the 1 inch of fish per gallon you wouldn't have too much of a problem. They will probably try to have sex with each other anyway but I think that's fairly standard behaviour for male guppies.

As yours is a relatively new tank and you noticed a rise in nitrites when you added more fish, I wouldn't add too many guppies at once - and none until your levels are back down to zero. Also, with the tetras in there, I would have thought that your tank could sustain maybe 2 more guppies. Maybe more in a few months when your tank has matured but I'd take it slowly for now.

The males will be more colourful than the females with longer tails and more opaque bodies. The females will also be slightly bigger than the males. The males will have a 'gonopodium' - a pointed fin under the bodies, while the females will have a fan shaped anal fin. You may also be able to make out a gravid spot on their bellies which will get darker if they are pregnant - which they usually are.

I hope this help, but I'm no expert.

Kathryn

 

[fishaholic]

Well thats supposed to happen with nitrates and nitrites, the nitrites rise then drop (depending on if you have live plants or not) then the nitrites. If you get live plants, that will affect the nitites and make it drop.

Well personally, I've had experiences with male guppies getting agressive, not all the time, but with 4, it's bound to happen. I suggest that ui get females, or 1 male and 2-3 females.]

 

[fishaholic]

If you are looking at female guppies, then have less colorful tails, and the tails are smaller. The males have bigger tails and have a gonopodium right infront of the coudal under the body.

 

[ruffmeister]

or anal fin

 

[ferrikins]

Fistly I would'nt sugest guppies as a fist fish, inbreeding has made them very very weak.


with sexing, females have a trangle anal fin, that fin looks like any normal fist. The males have a ppointed anal fin, like a little fish penis. (well that what it is realy).

what else you plaining on having as guppies don't do well with fin nippers.

 

[freshy]

Fin nippers?? who, the tetras??

Well, as a matter of fact I wasn't planning on having either of these two species, (at least not right now) the thing is that my niece called the other day saying she had a "surprise"for me since she knew I was setting up my first fishtank. As you can guess the "surprise" were a couple of fish SHE picked from the pet store. My cycle was not complete, (it was almost done) but there was no other suitable place to put them in other than my tank. So after a big water change it became their new home. But now that I have them I wouldn't want them to feel lonely. I don't want to overstock so I'm asking all this questions in advance, I'm not planning on getting more guppies "right now". I was hoping fot some platties, mollies or zebra danios, but I'm opened to suggestions