Will my guppies harass each other to death? Possible males nipping at females?

Question

I am a first time guppy owner with a 5 gallon aquarium. According to the pet store all of my fish were female, because they keep them separated from the males. Now one of them looks rather pregnant. Another one is pretty shy. The other two fish are quite aggressive with those two and I'm worried about their health. It could very well be possible that the pet store made a mistake and gave some male guppies. If that's the case they're probably trying to mate but I'm worried about the females getting too stressed.

Eduardo · Answer

Yes it's possible they will harass eacheother to death. Its highly likely that will happen in a tank as small as your, 5 Gallon tank isn't big enough for 4 guppies. In a tank that small the females won't have any space to get away and the males will stress them a lot. Here is a link on how to sex guppies: http://guppy-guide.blogspot.com/2010/01/sexing-guppies.html?m=1

? · Answer

The male guppies look totally different. Smaller bodies and much bigger and brighter tail fins. Chances are the female guppy was already preggers when you got her from the store. They are like the rabbits of freshwater. It is natural for fish to harass each other, especially in a small tank. You'll want to make sure there is at least one hiding place in your tank. I would reccomend multiple places but that might be tough in such a tiny tank

noselessman · Answer

The females can hold sperm and get pregnant a long time after having been in a tank with a male, which could have been at the breeder.  and yes they could have made a mistake, but you can look at them and easilly sex them.

But you need at least a 10 gallon for 3-6 same sex guppies!  Otherwise they will be stressed, and stressed fish can be fin nippy, aggrssive, or shy and lethargic.

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Will my guppies harass each other to death? Possible males nipping at females?

3 Answers