Hello! Fairly new to the hobby, and I was wondering if there was any way to curb aggression with community fish. My situation is a bit complicated, so let me explain:
Basically, I have a 20 gallon tank with 7(?) guppies, 3 platy, and a nerite snail. It's lightly planted because it's still fairly new, and it has 4 lava rocks (maybe a little bigger than the palm of your hand) arranged so there are hiding spots. I also plan on adding some driftwood once I have the funds.
I also have a separate 10 gallon with some plants and a betta. This was my first "real" tank, and I've had it since late last year (to make another long story short, my preteen sister bought a betta and then completely forgot about it, so I took it. I kept it until it passed, and by that point I decided that I really liked fish and wanted to continue keeping them).
When I first got my betta (a male koi plakat), I read (from various online blogs/forums/etc) that sometimes it's possible for bettas to have tankmates. I wanted to see if my betta would tolerate any tankmates, so I got a guppy and 2 nerite snails the same day I bought him to test his temperament. The nerites were fine; he nipped at them at first but quickly lost interest. But he really did not do well with the guppy; and after an hour or so I decided to remove it so my betta wouldn't kill it. I moved it to the smaller ~5 gallon with one of the nerites until I could afford something bigger so I could add more guppies.
Admittedly, it took way longer than I wanted. I got the tank and cycled it before adding more fish (and part way through the cycle I added the lone guppy once I thought it was safe so I could toss the tiny tank); and about a week or so ago I got some more guppies and a few platy to try and start a community.
As you can guess, it did not go very well. My original guppy is very aggressive and will not stop nipping at any of the newer ones. It got so bad that I had to build a "time-out" area (which consists of a clear plastic cup, lid, and two pieces of styrofoam) to make it so he couldn't hurt them anymore. I poked holes in the cup to allow water/air flow, attached styrofoam to the sides to keep the cup from completely sinking and so it can float horizontally to give him the most space to move, and I keep it around half to 2/3rds of the way full of water; I also completely empty the cup and replace the water at least twice a day so waste doesn't build up. I've tried letting him out a few times (in general and during feeding), but he is relentless and won't chill out. The other fish will approach him while he's in the cup and he tries to go after them; I thought that if they could see each other but not touch that would help them get used to each other, but I don't know if that's working.
This is obviously not a long-term solution and far from ideal, but I want to try anything and everything I can to integrate him into the community before trying to rehome him. What else can I do? Do I need taller plants or more decorations to block line of sight? Even if the line of sight is broken he'll chase them down or follow them. If I add more females, will that curb the aggression? What else can I try?
Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading. ;-; )/
Basically, I have a 20 gallon tank with 7(?) guppies, 3 platy, and a nerite snail. It's lightly planted because it's still fairly new, and it has 4 lava rocks (maybe a little bigger than the palm of your hand) arranged so there are hiding spots. I also plan on adding some driftwood once I have the funds.
I also have a separate 10 gallon with some plants and a betta. This was my first "real" tank, and I've had it since late last year (to make another long story short, my preteen sister bought a betta and then completely forgot about it, so I took it. I kept it until it passed, and by that point I decided that I really liked fish and wanted to continue keeping them).
When I first got my betta (a male koi plakat), I read (from various online blogs/forums/etc) that sometimes it's possible for bettas to have tankmates. I wanted to see if my betta would tolerate any tankmates, so I got a guppy and 2 nerite snails the same day I bought him to test his temperament. The nerites were fine; he nipped at them at first but quickly lost interest. But he really did not do well with the guppy; and after an hour or so I decided to remove it so my betta wouldn't kill it. I moved it to the smaller ~5 gallon with one of the nerites until I could afford something bigger so I could add more guppies.
Admittedly, it took way longer than I wanted. I got the tank and cycled it before adding more fish (and part way through the cycle I added the lone guppy once I thought it was safe so I could toss the tiny tank); and about a week or so ago I got some more guppies and a few platy to try and start a community.
As you can guess, it did not go very well. My original guppy is very aggressive and will not stop nipping at any of the newer ones. It got so bad that I had to build a "time-out" area (which consists of a clear plastic cup, lid, and two pieces of styrofoam) to make it so he couldn't hurt them anymore. I poked holes in the cup to allow water/air flow, attached styrofoam to the sides to keep the cup from completely sinking and so it can float horizontally to give him the most space to move, and I keep it around half to 2/3rds of the way full of water; I also completely empty the cup and replace the water at least twice a day so waste doesn't build up. I've tried letting him out a few times (in general and during feeding), but he is relentless and won't chill out. The other fish will approach him while he's in the cup and he tries to go after them; I thought that if they could see each other but not touch that would help them get used to each other, but I don't know if that's working.
This is obviously not a long-term solution and far from ideal, but I want to try anything and everything I can to integrate him into the community before trying to rehome him. What else can I do? Do I need taller plants or more decorations to block line of sight? Even if the line of sight is broken he'll chase them down or follow them. If I add more females, will that curb the aggression? What else can I try?
Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading. ;-; )/
