Need some words of experience about a fish getting beaten up

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


Zambize4899
 
Posts: 499
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:35 am

Need some words of experience about a fish getting beaten up

by Zambize4899

I have a Guppy that I think is being bullied. I'm pretty sure I've seen another Guppy chasing him and I think I saw my female Betta nip at his tail fin (it isn't huge, but it's the biggest in the tank). The fish have been fine and suddenly I have this behavior. I also notice what looks like tiny white marks sporadically on the Guppy's forward body that I'm thinking may be bites or nips. He has a fancy tail and I've just noticed what appears to be tears, but they run perfectly parallel to the rays so maybe it's normal. I've never seen nipping, biting, or tears for sure so I don't know.

Is it possible to deter this behavior? I have four male Guppies. I don't want females because I don't want to deal with babies in my tank. If I add more males will it calm them and create a more normal hierarchy? I have a 3 gallon tank with only an African Dwarf Frog and I can move the Guppy to this if he'll just continue to be attacked, or if he could be killed.

Guppy rescue.

Zambize


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

I know people experiment with cichlids and deter aggression toward one fish by slightly overstocking, I guess spreading the aggression out or by making it hard for each to establish it's own territory, but with guppies I don't know.

Why not have a female or two and let her breed? The fry will just get eaten in most situations right? Is it that you don't like the idea of the babies getting eaten?


Tmercier834747
 
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Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

I'm being really general here but most stocking ratios are favorable to what would be most useful for a species survival in nature. One male can go a long way with multiple females. Therefore most species stocking ratios are 1:3, since you have no females you can expect some frequent aggression among the 4 males. Creating more dense plantings and decor may help with betta vs guppy, but not so much guppy vs guppy. Your betta probably won't be able to stop him/herself from attacking a large waving tail in front of its face from time to time.


timkett
 
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Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:13 am

by timkett

Try moving all the decor around in the tank first. Buy some new plants or something too so it makes the tank look totally different. This was if some of the males have claimed a territory it breaks it up and puts everything back frest start. I'm a bit more concerned about the white spots. This sounds like white spot disease 'ich' or 'ick' or could even be small fungus spots. It is hard to tell without a photo. Is it possible to upload a photo?


spongebob4460
 
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Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:37 am

by spongebob4460

Zambize werent u battling ich a little while back?


darkruby
 
Posts: 87
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 2:00 am

by darkruby

Well, to answer the white spots.... It seams to be ICK. This is a normal disease most aquarist have to deal with at one time or another. You should treat the whole tank to get rid of the ICK.
Now the bulling could be from that the males guppies are fighting each other and they just found that one easyer to hurt. OR He is weaker and the other fish sense that he is sick and they couold treat him like an outcast. Either way, its best a 5 gallon quarintine tank be set up to house the hurt guppie as soon as possible.
The strips in his tail ARE more than likley rip marks from the constant badgering and fin nipping. I have seen this before first hand.

If you have any quaestions I can probly answer them, just email me.
Darkruby


Zambize4899
 
Posts: 499
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:35 am

by Zambize4899

I don't think it's ICK, it isn't something growing on him, it's more like an abrasion. And it may not even be that, the marks look a little iridescent. I can't get a picture of a Guppy, that's like trying to get a picture of a bird in perpetual flight.

I can consider the females, but I haven't because of the fry. I'm not too opposed to the fry being eaten, as long as they're just eaten up and aren't left to linger and die slowly with bite marks, but I'm thinking they're so small that they just get gulped down.

The thing about fry is that I hear "some" of them get eaten. I have a small tank and don't have room for fry growing up to inhabit my tank. My lfs is terrible and I don't see why any lfs would take the fry because they'd cost more to raise than the .99 they could sell them for.

I'm having the same problem with 2 male Swordtails. They tussle a bit, which I don't like, but I know that livebearers breed like rabbits so I'm afraid of having too many fry in my tank if I get some females.

What do people do with fry that don't get eaten?

Zambize


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

Unless you remove the fry for their protection they should all be eaten in a short time. I have separate tanks I raise fry in, one being for mosquito fish which I put into my step dad's Coy pond for mosquito control.

I wouldn't worry about the fry. They'll all be gone soon after they're on their own.


Zambize4899
 
Posts: 499
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:35 am

by Zambize4899

Peter, Is that true with both the Guppy and the Swordtail fry?


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

I think it's pretty much the same with all live bearers, and with other's too. In the confines of an aquarium the adult fish (the parents and the other adult fish) will eventually find them and eat them.

In the wild babies will get separated from their parents and hang in huge schools where they can be more protected. Even so, there is still a high mortality rate in their natural environment. I don't know what the numbers are, but with say guppies, which live breed, the females each produce many broods of hundreds of fry per brood a year. For the population in their natural environment to have any stability almost all the fry will be eaten and only a few from each brood will make it to maturity.

In aquariums though, the fry are just too much in contact with the adults and other large fish, so unless you have an extraordinary amount of very thick plant matter like java moss that larger fish cannot swim into all the fry eventually get eaten.

Need some words of experience about a fish getting beaten up

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