Who Is The Fin Nipper!?

[snoopyfrench87]

Please help!!

I have 12 fancy guppies - mixed males and females,
one small silver molly,
one gold ringed butterfly sucker,

i recently added one queen loach and a Siamese fighting fish.
I have now discovered my fancy guppies gorgeous tails are starting to shred!

who is the fin nipper?!?! and how can i help stop or prevent it!

 

[littlest]

my bet's on the siamese fighter fish. They can be difficult to keep in community aquariums for two reasons: they attack other fish and other fish nip at their fins.

Guppies in particular are a bad tankmate for them as they have long flowy coloured tails and siamese fighter fish may think they are other fighters, and so nip and attack them.

You should consider moving him to a tank of his own. It doesn't need to be that large., maybe 3 gallons. Check out the betta section of the forum, plenty people to help you out there.

 

[snoopyfrench87]

Please help!!

I have 12 fancy guppies - mixed males and females,
one small silver molly,
one gold ringed butterfly sucker,

i recently added one queen loach and a Siamese fighting fish.
I have now discovered my fancy guppies gorgeous tails are starting to shred!

who is the fin nipper?!?! and how can i help stop or prevent it!

will the guppies tails heal back up again??

 

[tibby25731]

One of my guppies got a nipped tail, i put melafix in the water and it is healing nicely, I can see it starting to regrow slowly.

 

[Colin_T]

I would say the male fighter too.
Their tails should heal up as long as they don't develop any secondary infections. Monitor them for white fluffy stuff or red inflammed areas. The white fluffy is fungus and the red inflammation is bacteria. Melafix should help limit problems with infections.

 

[snoopyfrench87]

I would say the male fighter too.
Their tails should heal up as long as they don't develop any secondary infections. Monitor them for white fluffy stuff or red inflammed areas. The white fluffy is fungus and the red inflammation is bacteria. Melafix should help limit problems with infections.

thank you for all the great information - i have been adding salt to the water to lower any chances of infection - is this a good idea?

will the fighter settle into the tank and stop fin nipping?? i haven't actually seen him doing anything.

thanks

laura


MY siamese fighter now looks like its had its fins nipped tooo!!! could this be my queen loach?? - the loach and molly are the only ones who havent been chewed on!! argh!!

 

[Davo86]

It is quite possible that the culprit may be the loach, however i agree with the others that the siamese fighter needs rehoming to another tank as they don't usually tolerate fancy fish such as guppies

 

[fourthtimelucky]

The fighter is probably nibbling at the guppies, who are in turn retaliating and nipping him.
Best to separate them ASAP.

Guppies look like potential rivals to male fighters (bright colours, long flowy fins) hence the aggression.

Fighters (also known as bettas) aren't often great community fish and usually do better in their own small tank. There is lots of info in the Betta section of this forum.

 

[JellyPi3]

i'd seperate your fighter and guppies immediatley...is he flaring at them at all? if money is short, grab a tupperware box, or even better if there is a wilkinsons nearby, the £5 tanks from there, you can get a cheap 25W heater and even a small filter from PAH or somewhere...he'd be much happier on his own

 

[Colin_T]

will the fighter settle into the tank and stop fin nipping?? i haven't actually seen him doing anything.
My siamese fighter now looks like its had its fins nipped tooo!!! could this be my queen loach?? - the loach and molly are the only ones who havent been chewed on!! argh!!

Sometimes male fighters are fine in community tanks and other times that cause nothing but trouble. Each fish is individual and although they are generally peaceful towards other species they can become agro towards fish with long flowing fins, ie male guppies.

I'm not sure what a queen loach is but some botia species will chew up fish with long fins. Mollies might but it is usually the males that try to breed with everything. Female mollies are normally not a problem.

Check the tank after you turn the lights out and see if the loach is chasing everyone around.
Get a small plastic tupperware container or icecream bucket and put the male fighter in that. Use a peg to hold the container to the inside of the tank. Keep the male in there for a few days until he heals and you find out who is causing the problems. If it is the male then the other fishes will also heal up. If it is the loach then chances are the guppies will get worse.

 

[paul_219]

Definitely its the Saimese fighter u must remove it because betta and guppies dont work together. The betta will think the guppies are another male betta and it wil nip it.

 

[snoopyfrench87]

The nipping has not been going on during the day - i have turned the lights out and out comes my queen loach and she is chasing the other fish. When there was a big supply of snails in the tank there wasnt a problem. I have harvested some more for her. If she is kept busy with food will she leave the other fish alone? The fighter is not reacting to the guppies. Every now and again it displays to the mollie if the mollie catches it by suprise. Other then that they all ignore eachother. I hope the loach will settle down or it will have to go. I did put a similar loach in to be its 'companion' and i found it dead the next day with what looked like attach wounds.

This is my first tank - but all the set backs i keep having make me think im not cut out for tropical fish keeping!

thanks for all the advice guys!

 

[Colin_T]

Most loaches are territorial to some degree. Some like the clown loach are fine in groups but most of the other bigger varieties can be real nasty.
I wouldn't worry too much about the setbacks. Everyone has problems when they first start out. Heck, most people have problems even after they have been keeping fish for years. The main thing is to try and learn from mistakes and ask for advice before spending up big on something. Then you will hopefully get to learn from other people's mistakes.

 

[snoopyfrench87]

Most loaches are territorial to some degree. Some like the clown loach are fine in groups but most of the other bigger varieties can be real nasty.
I wouldn't worry too much about the setbacks. Everyone has problems when they first start out. Heck, most people have problems even after they have been keeping fish for years. The main thing is to try and learn from mistakes and ask for advice before spending up big on something. Then you will hopefully get to learn from other people's mistakes.

thanks colin!

in your opinion will stocking my tank up with snails again for the loach to eat - as he doesnt seem impressed with algae wafers, stop him eating the guppies tails?? or should i just get rid of him?

 

[Colin_T]

sometimes more food can stop them becoming nippers but other times they continue to chew fins even when well fed. Try adding some snails and see what happens. If the snails get eaten and the guppy tails don't, then set up a tank for breeding snails and everyone should be happy, (except the snails).
If the fins continue to get nipped even with the snails then you will have to move the loach.