Small Guppy Not Eating

[echolocation]

Hi, I recently got three male guppies, and are keeping them in a 5 gallon tank with lots of plants and places to hide. My smallest guppy, Fabio, is being chased by the other two a lot. He spends a lot of his time in the corner of the tank at the top of the water, usually by the heater. Occasionally, I will see him swim around, but he is usually in the corner, with his tail hanging down. He doesn't notice/see the food when I feed them. He is noticeably smaller than my other two guppies, and they chase him around a lot... What should I do? Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Colin_T]

Separate the smaller one because it is being bullied and will eventually die from stress.

 

[Teddy C]

Hi echolocation,

I also have 3 guppies and had this problem. It is very important to separate them. My smallest guppy just died yesterday after about 4 months; he was the smallest from day one. Definitely got attacked by the biggest guppy.

 

[Fish4dawin]

Also I just want t bring this up. A possible reason of why he's being chased is that either there is no females in the tank for the males to mate with, or there isn't enough males. If there are say 5 males, they probably wouldn't bully a singular fish, it would probably just be the occasional squabble.

 

[echolocation]

Hi echolocation,

I also have 3 guppies and had this problem. It is very important to separate them. My smallest guppy just died yesterday after about 4 months; he was the smallest from day one. Definitely got attacked by the biggest guppy.

Hi, thank you for the response! Separate them when they are eating, or permanently?

 

[echolocation]

Also I just want t bring this up. A possible reason of why he's being chased is that either there is no females in the tank for the males to mate with, or there isn't enough males. If there are say 5 males, they probably wouldn't bully a singular fish, it would probably just be the occasional squabble.

That is good to know, thank you!

 

[echolocation]

Separate the smaller one because it is being bullied and will eventually die from stress.

Permanently? If so, won't he get lonely?

 

[Colin_T]

Yes keep it away from the other 2 fish permanently. They don't like the smaller one and will bully it until it dies. You can return it to a pet shop or put it in another tank with a few other guppies, but keep it away from the 2 bigger ones in the tank.

 

[echolocation]

Yes keep it away from the other 2 fish permanently. They don't like the smaller one and will bully it until it dies. You can return it to a pet shop or put it in another tank with a few other guppies, but keep it away from the 2 bigger ones in the tank.

Ok, thanks for the advice