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Aggro Guppy | 4 comments (4 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
Re: Aggro Guppy (none / 1) (#1)
by guppygirl on Tue Mar 01, 2005 at 04:59:00 AM PST

Hi Jubal,

I have a quick question, is your platy a female by any chance?

It could be that having a female of a different species, yet still a livebearer, could be causing the little guy to exibit these behaviors.

A very wise member here recently tipped me on to that one, and once the female was removed,(swordtail) the excessive chasing, nibbling, etc. stopped.

If the platy is not a female, then I'm hoping someone else chimes in.

Good luck and keep us posted!!

gg
:o)



Ah! Pheromone city! (none / 1) (#2)
by unclescott on Tue Mar 01, 2005 at 12:29:08 PM PST

GG has a great question vis-a-vis the possible gender of that platy.

You are keeping the tank at a safe temperature. (Fish are more aggressive at the top of their range.)

What is the condition of your water? Could that be tail rot? (Sorry to raise the question.) Is the smaller male actually biting the larger one or just really confused/ desparate to mate with anything resembling a guppy or livebearer?

Partial water changes (maybe 25 to 45% on as many days as you can) which improve water conditions may also blunt aggression. Ironically, feeding more, while it can dirty up the water, may calm some fish. (Just think of a big holiday dinner at a relative's place. Everyone is too full to quibble.)

If removing the platy, improving water quality (even if it is already good), and all of the rest is ineffective, you may have to remove the offensive male guppy to a breeding net. Putting him a swordtail tank may make him mend his ways - he would be among even bigger bullies. ;)

You may not want guppy fry and all, but if you purchased a couple of female guppies, I would bet that both male guppies would focus on the girls.

You probably don't want to take the smaller male back to the LFS or to euthanize him. I hope one of the above ideas or a combination of them and what others might suggest will be useful to you.

All the best!
u.s.

[ Parent ]



Re: Ah! Pheromone city! (none / 0) (#3)
by Jubal dAzar on Wed Mar 02, 2005 at 06:58:48 PM PST

Thanks for the suggestions.  

A few mentionables from questions raised:

+ Temperature is kept at 74 F
+ Doubtful it's tail rot.  My wife and I have witnessed the small guppy attacking the larger one's tail.
+ I test the water quality weekly with a 5-in-1 test strip.  Everything has looked good since we set up the tank.  The only thing I've had concerns about was the water is tested as "hard", but the fish store said that doesn't matter as much with the fish I currently have.
+ We don't really change the water that often.  Only about 25% per month (plus a little extra if too much evaporates out).
+ I feed the fish once a day, pinch of flake and one veg tablet every other day.  The platy and the aggro guppy are the only two that eat on the tablet.
+ All fish in my tank are male, including the platy, the neons, and the two guppies.
+ Also I didn't mention it before, but the platy is about 2", the larger guppy 1-1/2", and the smaller guppy 1".  All the neons are less than an inch.  The smaller guppy is literally picking on someone twice his size.

I will try the water change tomorrow and again this weekend.  We're actually planning to buy 4-5 female guppies later this month.  We just recently purchased the neons and we try to keep new fish down to once every two months to make sure the tank settles in between.

Thanks again

-J-


[ Parent ]



Re: Ah! Pheromone city! (none / 0) (#4)
by FancyGuppyGuy on Fri Mar 04, 2005 at 08:24:31 AM PST

Well there have been strains of guppies that are very aggressive.  Not a normal trait but can show up.

In one strain the males would kill the weaker males even when they were fry.

So it is possible to get a rogue guppy that just has an attitude.
I LOVE GUPPIES!!
[ Parent ]



Aggro Guppy | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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