Experiences Of Keeping Guppys With Bettas Please!

[Dieses Madchen]

I have managed it before with female guppies though not males and that was mainly because i completely forgot the guppies were in there!

I had 260L that was so heavily planted that despite having 80+ fish in it, i rarely saw them all lol. Was never really sure how many cories were in there but i put 2 male endlers and 4 female guppies in there purely to provide food for the kribensis pair

It was litterally like a hedge in a box...

But even then, the male fighter was a bit special, he lived in the cave with the male kribensis and kicked out the female. The female guppies were ok but the male endlers chased the fighter on the occasion that they saw him.

I think even if they do get on, its cruel because its creating an unhappy and stressfull environment for the fighter.

I also always found it was the fighter that caused the aggro (guppies just wanted food and females!) but the fighters being so over bred with poncy tails couldnt man up and finish the fight they started and ended up with nipped tails.

I would always refused to sell fighters and guppies to the same tank. No matter what the persons experience in keeping them together was.

I dont spend every day cleaning and feeding and caring for the fish just to sell them to an unhappy and possibly dangerous home.

+1

 

[Joanne_]

I currently have 1 male betta and 1 female betta with 2 male guppies and 5 female guppies.

They are all healthy fish and I have never seen the bettas chase or pick on any of my fish.

In this same tank I have:

1 sailfin molly
3 mollies
2 dwarf gouramis
1 pearl gourami
9 white cloud tetras
23 neon tetras
4 bala sharks
1 bristlenose pleco
2 pakistani loaches

None of my fish fight with each other

Oh also, as I added all the fish together I watched them to make sure they all got along. I had a back up tank ready in case some of them didn't get on.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

How big is the tank, and you must have a really chillax betta

 

[Joanne_]

Well, my tank is only 130 litres, which I know, seems small for that many fish but they are all small. As they grow bigger I will exchange for smaller fish.

Oh, I also have 2 praecox fish. Forgot about them ! Here is a photo of my tank: Fish tank. It's quite an old photo so some of the fish are different to what I listed.

The bettas that I own are the most gentle, easy going ones I have seen

 

[Dieses Madchen]

That is such a cute tank! I have 4 male fighters. All highly aggressive. I had guppies at one point and they fought. And I use to hate the aggression, and ironically enough, i keep aggressive cichlids. You can see the tanks I have in my signature. I love the setups I have, even in the bettas are alone, and even if I am a loser for 5 fish in a 600l tank

 

[deftuch]

its absolute bullcrap if someone says you definately cant have fighters and guppys together. its more that they are a risk. i had 5 male guppy and then added a fighter fish. it was fine for 2 weeks until i added 5 females. it then started to harrass them. but never was it being aggressive. just following them about. kinda making a half hearted effort to scare them away. 2 days later. back to normal. however my fighter is a bit lazy. some other fighters would defo kill guppys. like i said. its a risk not a dead certainty.

Most people would rather not risk their fish getting hurt just because it might work. Most of the time it doesn't. After 2 weeks you had problems? That's about right. They established territory.

no i didnt have problems. like i said my fighter was just following them about. my parrot, rainbow, clown loach and other fish all do the same. not once has it been violent. my fighter is the sort of fish that like to burrow into my plants and fall asleep on the side of the filter. like i said its lazy and it lets the suction from the filter do the work. next time i see it il take a photo. its a real fight. and my apologies. i just believe theres room for a few more

 

[Dieses Madchen]

its absolute bullcrap if someone says you definately cant have fighters and guppys together. its more that they are a risk. i had 5 male guppy and then added a fighter fish. it was fine for 2 weeks until i added 5 females. it then started to harrass them. but never was it being aggressive. just following them about. kinda making a half hearted effort to scare them away. 2 days later. back to normal. however my fighter is a bit lazy. some other fighters would defo kill guppys. like i said. its a risk not a dead certainty.

Most people would rather not risk their fish getting hurt just because it might work. Most of the time it doesn't. After 2 weeks you had problems? That's about right. They established territory.

no i didnt have problems. like i said my fighter was just following them about. my parrot, rainbow, clown loach and other fish all do the same. not once has it been violent. my fighter is the sort of fish that like to burrow into my plants and fall asleep on the side of the filter. like i said its lazy and it lets the suction from the filter do the work. next time i see it il take a photo. its a real fight. and my apologies. i just believe theres room for a few more

Well I can only speak from my own experience. I didn't have good luck, and most people don't. If you were successful with it, great. That's a really laid back fighter! As for my 125g tank, I think its fine the way it is. The oscars and the severums get huge. The sevs are already 5 inches, and the oscars are about 8.

 

[jenjen_82]

I went back today and it had gone so my decision was made for me.

Out of interest do different tetras such as neons and rummynose school together? Or do you have to get 6 of each?

 

[Fishy friend2]

you should ideally get a minimum of six each, as different specific species of fish will only feel safe and secure in groups with there own kind. especially considering the difference between a rummy nose and a neon

 

[jenjen_82]

Well I have 1 surviving neon from my 1st disaster tank so will be getting some more of them. I have a 64ltr with 6 harlequins, 2 otos and 2 guppies so I ain't got room for 6 of each do love the rummynose thou so cute!

 

[andyg81]

i have a male fighter, and 5 guppys (2 female 3 male) in my tank and they are fine, not had problems at all