# Guppies With Single Male Swordtail?



## nonserviamgr (Jan 7, 2014)

Hey, i got 25g aquarium. I have 6 guppy (2 male 4 female), a male swordtail (little bigger than male guppies), an amano shrimp (that keeps staying hidden 2 days now), a small pleco that is still hiding mostly too. I noticed the male guppy was attacking the swordtail at start and now swordtail fights guppies. Will they stop fighting and is the amano shrimp and pleco gonna get active? Also what else do you think i could add in the aquarium? Im thinking of a group of 4-5 corydoras catfish or some more shrimps. Thanks for answers in advance!!


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Plecos aren't the most active fish, I usually only see mine in the early mornings or evenings for short periods. Shrimp too...though it may be getting harassed by your guppies.


The swordtail needs a group of three at the minimum, preferably more in a larger tank...keeping males can be problematic, but sometimes they're ok in bachelor groups. He's feeling insecure likely and the guppies are harassing him for it. He's also different...Not really recommended to have swordtails in tanks smaller than thirty gallon, long tanks. This is because they get rather large and they can be aggressive if there's not enough space, and not enough friends. I have a male swordtail in my 55 who is more than seven inches long. He's quite large and not uncommon for them to get that big, females are larger bodied than the males too. Youngsters will be ok in there temporarily, but if you want swordtails I suggest a larger tank...same for the pleco unless it's the type to stay under four inches at adulthood, otherwise he'll stunt and fairly quickly.


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## Thoth (Mar 16, 2011)

Another thing on Plecos, they are high waste producers and grow to 4" to 24" depending on the species. IMO your tank is stocked full for a beginner plus the live bearers will be adding more bioload to your tank. You could add 5 Cories if you have a plan for the baby guppies and for the pleco once he gets larger than 4".


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

I agree, cories are better for tanks under 30 gallons(as are mystery snails or nerite snails...nerite snails are better since their eggs can't hatch unless in brackish water so you wont get over-run with them), they do need a group of five and also require softer substrate like sand(sand is good for just about every fish contrary to what some people think...they're not going to eat it but will often sift through it...and whatever they DO eat, they likely needed...unless you have a real moron fish who thinks sand is food...o-o; It happens, very rarely...). And keep in mind that 30 gallons is still pushing it for swordtails, it's a bare minimum size requirement for them since they do get so big and like space. If you want preferable size for them, 45-50+ gallons is golden for them. 

Can you tell us what kind of pleco you have? And do remember, they're mostly nocturnal, so feed him at night, they're not the most active fish even at night though....they just like to hang out, though some will bounce around looking for food when real hungry.


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## nonserviamgr (Jan 7, 2014)

Sylverclaws said:


> The Pleco is a hillstream loach and swordtail gets up to 4'' (10cm) how come 25 gallon isnt enough for it :S?
> 
> Also i gave away the syno and now tank consists of: 6 guppy(2 male 4 female), 4 amano shrimp, hillstream loach, nerite snail and male swordtail. Things seem to be peaceful now.
> 
> Are the fries of guppy gonna survive and is the stocking lvl alright now?


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