[iElBeau]

Hey everyone!

So I was looking at fish to stick with my male betta, and since I want aesthetically pleasing female fish, and hopefully only about 4 fish (maybe 6 but I'd rather not), it seems guppies would be an appropriate choice.

This has led me to look for female fancy guppies. Now I have some questions, since I've never kept a guppy before:

Can females all live together without a male guppy?
Will they likely nip the fins of my betta?
Are they typically friendly?
I can't seem to find out how large they grow (maybe I keep skipping this part on guppy pages) ... how big can I expect them to get?

Uhh... that's everything for now I suppose... but as I have more questions I'll be sure to ask!

Thanks

 

[LebronTheBetta]

Um, Guppies don't necessarily go well with Betta Fish.
Betta Fish can easily mistake them as another Betta, and Shred/Eat them.
They can easily get eaten/killed. Especially because of their Long Fins, and Smallness. The Betta will normally be the one that would cause trouble. I think Guppies can get 1.5 inches. 2 inches probably at the most.
Can't you get Neon Tetras? They're kinda like Guppies. Except only 1 color.

 

[djembekah]

i think that's more common with male guppies, Lebron, but i'm not totally sure.

 

[LebronTheBetta]

Oh, yeah. The Males have more coloring. But, just be careful with the longer finned ones. Those are the ones that shouldn't be with him.

 

[Mo]

Wild strain and feeder guppies ant usually attacked by bettas due to there lack of color and finnagge

 

[iElBeau]

Uhh. So anyways. Females have short fins - only their tails have color, rest of them is bland...
So how likely are they to be nippy? :/

And yeah the above is true especially for males. That's part of why I'm getting females.

And no to neon tetras because apparently they need 6 or more fish to form
A school, so if I get unlucky, 6 won't be enough and they'll be nippy ... Plus I apparently need 20G instead of 10. that was my original choice lol

 

[Lenimph]

Female guppies do fine with Betta from my experience. It's the males that tend to nip.

Also my females have thrived without males around. Males bother the females constantly with breeding attempts and harass pregnant ones if they're not the only male in the tank.

There are some very beautiful female guppies around. They might not have a colored body like the males but they can still have some gorgeous tails. They're also very docile so I say go for it.

Oh and in terms of size they usually are around the size of an inch to an inch and a half for a really big one.

 

[iElBeau]

Awesome, thank you! Four will do okay with a male betta in a 10G then?

Also, I won't be adding the guppies until July, just because I want to make sure the tank is pretty much cycled by the time I add them. It will just be my male in there for the first month. Therefore, when I acclimate the guppies, how long should they float in my tank for, until I can release them safely?

 

[Lenimph]

They should be able to out swim him easily so let him check them out. I would say float them until he becomes disinterested, and if he constantly harasses them once you release them remove him, rearrange your ornaments in the tank and then put him back in.

4 would be fine... I say you could even do 5-6. Guppies and bettas are super hardy so you can get away with a little bit of overstocking if you have a good filter. Just make sure to have lots of plants in the tank and maybe a cave for the betta to call his own space.

When you do select female guppies, try to look for juvenile smaller ones. Since guppies have a short life span of only a year to a year and a half. I have had one male live for 2 and a half years. Also the more mature ones are usually already pregnant even if they were separated at the store, they can store sperm inside themselves for months. ._.

 

[Curlyfatbottom]

All fancy female guppies for chain store are pre hit
So they can give u 2 batch of babies without having a male around
If your betta is a male Ct
I recommend u not to put any guppies with it
F2 hybrid can grow really big
2"+ on the female
I've seen guppies bigger then Betta

 

[Surfingshelll]

I personally don't know if the betta and guppy would do well together but I know guppies are community fish so you want a couple of guppies maybe 4 or 5. They'll probably stay in a school if the tank is big enough. The betta might try to attack your guppies because of thier colorful tails.
Hope I helped!

 

[ZackyBear]

It really REALLY depends. Female guppies are safer to put in than males, but it really depends on your boy. (and be sure to have LOTS of hiding places)

Every betta is different, one may do something that goes against the rest, but I wouldn't put my luck on it. Why don't you try something like a bright colored Platy first to see if your boy tolerates tank mates?

I would take him out, rearrange everything, then stick the fishies in first. THEN add him. If he stalks and nips them for more than a few hours or is seriously aggressive then I wouldn't add anything.

My boy seemed really docile until I tried moving him into my heavily decorated 10gal platy tank. He ripped one of my boy platys apart....*R.I.P, Pong.*

 

[staffylover]

I bought neons for my tank. I bought 6 on the recommendation of my pet shop and put 3 in each tank initially, this was to ensure I did not affect the water conditions and that the males were OK with other fish in their terrirory. Initially one of my betta's was chasing them for the first few minutes but then it all settled down, they have been together for just over a week and all is OK.
I am keeping an eye on my water conditions and will add a couple more neons to each tank in a couple of weeks

 

[MaisyDawgThirteen]

Try a female betta and female guppies, less likely for problems . . .