Minnow Aggression

[Sgooosh]

Hello! I recently got some minnows for my greenhouse, they have been doing well but a gambusia sneaked in.
Recently, when taking videos of the minnows, they seemed to have ragged fins but the gambusia is okay.


Do you think the gambusia is nipping all my minnows? i can separate it to live solo if so.
Are minnows aggressive by nature? would guppies nip them too?

 

[GaryE]

Gambusia were popular aquarium fish when people couldn't get anything else, 100 years ago. The standard American one, Gambusia affinis, is a famous fin nipper, and people stopped keeping them regularly because of that. Other members of the Gambusia family I've kept haven't been nippy at all - Gambusia nicaraguensis was a really easy going fish. But you probably have affinis.

When I used to sit and listen to the elder aquarists when I was a teenager, if anyone mentioned Gambusia the reaction was always total disgust. I caught some in the US and brought them back, and they were cool in a species tank, but they gave bad haircuts when kept with other fish.

Asking about minnows can't get much of an answer, especially on an international forum. You may as well ask what colour birds are. "Minnow" is a name used for I don't know how many fish, even for fish sold in the hobby.

 

[Sgooosh]

Gambusia were popular aquarium fish when people couldn't get anything else, 100 years ago. The standard American one, Gambusia affinis, is a famous fin nipper, and people stopped keeping them regularly because of that. Other members of the Gambusia family I've kept haven't been nippy at all - Gambusia nicaraguensis was a really easy going fish. But you probably have affinis.

When I used to sit and listen to the elder aquarists when I was a teenager, if anyone mentioned Gambusia the reaction was always total disgust. I caught some in the US and brought them back, and they were cool in a species tank, but they gave bad haircuts when kept with other fish.

Asking about minnows can't get much of an answer, especially on an international forum. You may as well ask what colour birds are. "Minnow" is a name used for I don't know how many fish, even for fish sold in the hobby.

Okay, I'll remove her once i can move her into my old betta tank. They are really nice fish to me, since they're the only small fish you can catch here in my area of central cali.

I believe the minnows are Pimephales promelas, some wild type some pink type, forgot to specify lol.