LuminousAphid
New Member
Hello everyone, so I have a situation here that I think I understand, but I want to make sure it will go the way I'm thinking it will
I have been keeping guppies in my 10 gallon tank for a couple months now, and the main group of adults has gotten fairly used to each other, and for the most part don't hassle each other too much anymore. The exception is the "alpha" male guppy, who has a big flashy colorful tail and a gun metal-type body, who is obviously the boss. He sometimes displays a lot to the biggest female, but lately he has begun chasing her around and doing the male guppy thing, but doing it constantly, every time I look at them. I didn't really like this, as it seemed like the big female was stressed out by his constant harassment.
So, I have removed the male to my 20 gallon tank, which has similar water and everything, but doesn't have any guppies for him to harass. Now that he is in with some unfamiliar fish, he has of course calmed down, but still seems to be doing ok, not too stressed or anything. There are only other small fish in that tank. He seems to be leaving them alone, and vice versa.
So, now that I have taken him away from the main group, I think the next male in line has stepped up to become the alpha (which is what I was hoping, I like his coloring better anyway). Before now, he has been nicely colored, but his tail and dorsal fins have been very small and short. What is really surprising is that within even a couple days, I can tell that his coloring is getting brighter, and his tail seems to be getting longer- there are even spots showing on his tail finnage that I didn't see before now. It could be my imagination, but I don't think it is... I wish I had pictures of before and after to make sure
I'm assuming that he is going to successfully take over the role of alpha male, because the other males are significantly younger, but will he continue to look more like your traditional male guppy (with the long, wide tail and big dorsal fin) as he adapts to his position in the group? I didn't really expect even the amount of change in him I have seen so far, so lets hope it continues, it's awesome!
p.s. anyone want baby guppies? guppypocalypse is almost underway, so I need to get rid of some of the babies and juveniles sometime soon... maybe I will move some of them to the 20 gallon
I have been keeping guppies in my 10 gallon tank for a couple months now, and the main group of adults has gotten fairly used to each other, and for the most part don't hassle each other too much anymore. The exception is the "alpha" male guppy, who has a big flashy colorful tail and a gun metal-type body, who is obviously the boss. He sometimes displays a lot to the biggest female, but lately he has begun chasing her around and doing the male guppy thing, but doing it constantly, every time I look at them. I didn't really like this, as it seemed like the big female was stressed out by his constant harassment.
So, I have removed the male to my 20 gallon tank, which has similar water and everything, but doesn't have any guppies for him to harass. Now that he is in with some unfamiliar fish, he has of course calmed down, but still seems to be doing ok, not too stressed or anything. There are only other small fish in that tank. He seems to be leaving them alone, and vice versa.
So, now that I have taken him away from the main group, I think the next male in line has stepped up to become the alpha (which is what I was hoping, I like his coloring better anyway). Before now, he has been nicely colored, but his tail and dorsal fins have been very small and short. What is really surprising is that within even a couple days, I can tell that his coloring is getting brighter, and his tail seems to be getting longer- there are even spots showing on his tail finnage that I didn't see before now. It could be my imagination, but I don't think it is... I wish I had pictures of before and after to make sure
I'm assuming that he is going to successfully take over the role of alpha male, because the other males are significantly younger, but will he continue to look more like your traditional male guppy (with the long, wide tail and big dorsal fin) as he adapts to his position in the group? I didn't really expect even the amount of change in him I have seen so far, so lets hope it continues, it's awesome!
p.s. anyone want baby guppies? guppypocalypse is almost underway, so I need to get rid of some of the babies and juveniles sometime soon... maybe I will move some of them to the 20 gallon
Brighter coloration I'd expect, but the shape changing is neat.