Guppies - Male to Female ratio?

I have 4 males guppies but want to get some females and get them breeding.

I have read that I need more females than males to reduce stress but will I be ok adding 6 female guppies to a community tank in one go?

Tank is 2 months old and has a rainbow shark, pleco, 4 guppies and 4 platys. There are some platy fry in there too.

 

What size is the tank?

 

105 litres - 23 gallons

 

You need to rehome the rainbow shark and almost certainly the Pleco as well. Then you can add a few more guppies.

 

Why rehome them?

 

The shark needs a tank more than twice the size of the one you have now and the Pleco might, too. Do you know what kind of Pleco you have?

 

I think it's a common pleco. It's about 3 inches long at the moment. The shark seems fine in the tank as it is. Just sits under a piece of wood and comes out for a graze when it fancies it.

 

Definitely rehome the shark and pleco. I also wouldn't add female guppies because a 23 gal tank doesn't give you room for the hundreds of fry that they will produce.

 

Recommended ratio is 2-3 females to every male but I agree that you will not want to add any females to that tank for the reasons above. You may also want to consider rehoming your female platys if you don't want to keep getting more fry.

 

I am going to have no fish left at this rate!!

 

1 .A single (1 to 1) guppy pair can be kept together but if you have to go community style then the ratio is 1 male to 3 females+, reason being males are very vigorous breeders and can hassle females so much that they become stressed which makes them more prone to sickness and already being pregnant would not be able to recuperate and can die/miscarriage.

2 .The rainbow shark is a territorial fish and not compatible with smaller slow fish "fancy guppies with big fins and tails" they are also omnivores and any fry that happen to be born in the tank would most likely be eaten by it.
They also get to about 6 inches long and would require more swimming room.

3 .As long as its not a zebra pleco it should be fine.

4 .If you want to get a higher fry survival rate it would be best to breed them in another heavily planted tank for guppies only (hornwort is a great plant for that)

NB. Guppies are very easy to breed badly and very easy to breed well if you know what you are doing.
For 6 females you could use your first top male or your 2 top males, look for the guppy you think look the best.
Examine both your male and female guppies well and closely, you don't want to breed any fish with deformities - bent spines, deformed pectoral fins etc.. etc.. etc.. you get the idea..

 

1 .A single (1 to 1) guppy pair can be kept together but if you have to go community style then the ratio is 1 male to 3 females+, reason being males are very vigorous breeders and can hassle females so much that they become stressed which makes them more prone to sickness and already being pregnant would not be able to recuperate and can die/miscarriage.

2 .The rainbow shark is a territorial fish and not compatible with smaller slow fish "fancy guppies with big fins and tails" they are also omnivores and any fry that happen to be born in the tank would most likely be eaten by it.
They also get to about 6 inches long and would require more swimming room.

3 .As long as its not a zebra pleco it should be fine.

4 .If you want to get a higher fry survival rate it would be best to breed them in another heavily planted tank for guppies only (hornwort is a great plant for that)

NB. Guppies are very easy to breed badly and very easy to breed well if you know what you are doing.
For 6 females you could use your first top male or your 2 top males, look for the guppy you think look the best.
Examine both your male and female guppies well and closely, you don't want to breed any fish with deformities - bent spines, deformed pectoral fins etc.. etc.. etc.. you get the idea..

Agree with all but the pair thing (as you said, if a male is with only one female, he can harass her to death) and the zebra pleco. Why can't it be a zebra pleco? That one would actually be fine in this size tank, while many other plecos would not.

 

Thanks lucky guppy for the constructive advice. Just going to leave everything as it is for the time being. If the Shark starts looking too big I will do something but everyone seems happy at the moment. Won't be adding any more guppies for now.

 

Thanks lucky guppy for the constructive advice. Just going to leave everything as it is for the time being. If the Shark starts looking too big I will do something but everyone seems happy at the moment. Won't be adding any more guppies for now.

You really should rehome the pleco and the shark. They're not happy now, and they won't be in such a small tank.

And I promise you won't have an empty tank if you rehome these. We can help you stock with appropriate fish that will be happy and look great in your tank.

 

Agree with all but the pair thing (as you said, if a male is with only one female, he can harass her to death) and the zebra pleco. Why can't it be a zebra pleco? That one would actually be fine in this size tank, while many other plecos would not.

1 .A single female guppy can handle the advances of a single male and usually a female can even kill a single male if she completely rejects him. This is simply due to the fact that the Female is usually larger than the male and she doesn't have to worry about sneak attacks from other males while she is facing of the one male. This is where usually you would see the lone male resorting to the courtship dance to impress the female to allow him to mate and not the forced matting tactics you would see with an excess ratio of males vs females.

2 .The zebra pleco is more aggressive and territorial than the other types of pleco.

 

But at least the Zebra Pleco stays small, unlike the Common that's in the tank now.

Common Plecos become giants if they aren't stunted by improper conditions and basically need a tank the size of a small pond. They're also amazing waste producers which needs a large volume of water and high filtration to maintain livable parameters.

 

No problem John and If you do decide to breed them but don't want an additional aquarium a planted tub or half barrel "basically a minI pond" is a good inexpensive way to go and show of fancy males in the aquarium
https://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/15/21/68/33/p1010410.jpg

But at least the Zebra Pleco stays small, unlike the Common that's in the tank now.

Common Plecos become giants if they aren't stunted by improper conditions and basically need a tank the size of a small pond. They're also amazing waste producers which needs a large volume of water and high filtration to maintain livable parameters.

Yup that's also true but it depends on the size they are right now, if the normal pleco is still small it can stay in that tank temporarily. You also have to consider if the person is able to get an additional tank at the moment "one can only give advice, can't demand it of the person"

 

Very few people can get a tank that's 150+ gallons. Rehoming is the better option for this one.

 

The pleco is 2 inches long. It is fine. Man in the shop says I can take it back and swap it for a smaller one when it gets big. Getting the shark may have been an error but now I know and won't do it again. It's all a learning curve and thanks for your input. Enjoying fish keeping at the moment and hope to invest in a much bigger tank one day.

 

I don't understand the point of having a fish only to have to rehome it when it outgrows your tank (which you know it'll do). Why not get a small pleco that you know will be appropriate for your tank long term and enjoy for many years? You can become attached to it and won't have to return it in a few months.