Fin Nipper Help

[willowstwin]

Hi all

I went to the LFS today as they told me they had a wonderful selection of new male guppies in, and boy do they! I got 3, a yellow snakeskin, a lemon, and a black (I think they're called tuxedo) and silvery one. All gorgeous fish and so far *touches everything wooden in the room* they're healthy and happy and exploring the tank...

BUT....

My existing flame male guppy is causing havoc. After I'd introduced the new ones to the tank, I did as I usually do and left them alone in the dark to settle... when I came back an hour later, another of my existing males (with a large fancy tail) had 2 rips in his tail. I was worried that one of the new ones was a nipper, so as I sat and watched movies (day off so chillaxing for hours for a change), I also watched the fish and noticed my flame male was following the lemon like a magnet. At first I thought it was sweet as he's always been alone as the other 2 day always stuck together, BUT I noticed him charging and what looks like trying to bite his pectoral fins. This has been going on for hours, and I'm seriously worried about him stressing the new lemon one to death (literally) so to give him a rest, I've put the flame in a net in the water....

this is how it looks (the net is bigger than it seems on the pic)

Will I be ok to leave him like this overnight? to give the lemon guppy chance to settle? or should I release him and just let nature take its course (so to speak)?

really dont like this. He's never been this way before... I thought adding more males was supposed to spread out the aggression

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Keep an eye on the situation as it may stop when the newbies get settled. There have been cases of psycho guppies. I had a group of five that raised hell in my tank, scaring full grown male swordtails into corners. I took them back to the LFS.

 

[willowstwin]

and yes I know my backing on my tank is a mess, the stuff I was told was excellent for sticking it on, is actually garbage and it's now full of bubbles

ok, well, I think I'll let him out and pray for the best... that the dark will calm him overnight, and he'll chill out. He's never done this before... he's always left the other 2 alone, even though he's bigger and they have nice big tempting tails to nip... the new ones all have shorter rounded tails, but he doesn't seem interested in the tail, just the side/pectoral fins

meh, cross your fingers for me (and Leonard, the bullied lemon guppy)

 

[willowstwin]

well, I let him out of the net and turned off all the lights. Woke up this morning and was scared to turn the lights on, but when I did they were all alive, none showing any more signs of fin nipping, and apart from the usual morning grogginess (my fish are like me in that respect) they were all swimming around wonderfully! So hopefully the flame guppy has established his territory or dominance or whatever his beef with the lemon guppy was, and he's settled. Now to keep an eye on the fancy tailed guppies to make sure their fins heal properly.

 

[colleen0309]

and yes I know my backing on my tank is a mess, the stuff I was told was excellent for sticking it on, is actually garbage and it's now full of bubbles

ok, well, I think I'll let him out and pray for the best... that the dark will calm him overnight, and he'll chill out. He's never done this before... he's always left the other 2 alone, even though he's bigger and they have nice big tempting tails to nip... the new ones all have shorter rounded tails, but he doesn't seem interested in the tail, just the side/pectoral fins

meh, cross your fingers for me (and Leonard, the bullied lemon guppy)

I bought that stuff to put the backing on my tank and it did the same thing. I found someting that works better. It takes more time to do but it works nice once you get all of the air bubbles out. It's also alot cheaper. Vaseline. I cover the back of my tanks with a thin layer, attach the background, then use a straight edge to smooth out the air bubbles. Worked great for me.

 

[willowstwin]

wow thanks colleen. It doesnt bother me so much anymore. I'll use vaseline when I upgrade to a bigger tank.

The flame guppy seems to have calmed down. there is no fin damage to the lemon one, even though he's constantly being followed but I keep seeing 1 or 2 of the others giving the flame one a quick warning charge, so maybe he's getting put in his place. all seem happy and well so I'm optimistic about lack of deaths with the new ones

 

[colleen0309]

The vaseline does take longer to apply and get the bubbles out, but once you get it on, mine hasn't given me any trouble for over a year now. Good luck!