Guppies With Really Ragged Tails

I have 4 quite new male guppies who all have beautiful tails and I'd quite like to keep them that way! We got them from two different specialist LFS and most of the guppies in their (all male) tanks also had nice intact tails, but at chain pet shops I've noticed that most of the guppies have really ragged and chewed up looking tails.

Is it down to poor care such as bad water quality? Disease e.g. fin rot? Nipping from other species? Nipping from other guppies? Or is it something that can just happen with age?

Also would a chewed up tail grow back with time?

 

Nipping from other males is most likely the case when over crowded, because they set up a hierarchy this way.

 

Thanks Mcasella. The weird thing is the tank in the chain pet shop was much less stocked, whereas the specialist LFS had heavily stocked tanks but the tails were undamaged. But I don't know the conditions they had been kept in previously / in transit.

 

Packing order has to be reestablished with guppies, so every time a male is removed it starts over, chain stores have high turn overs for fish either from deaths or selling.

 

Thanks!

I think I might just stick to the 4 I have now as they seem to get on well and are not fighting. I don't want to risk disturbing the dynamics and getting a mean one next time. Will probably just add in my planned harlequin rasbora school and leave it at that.

 

Thanks!

I think I might just stick to the 4 I have now as they seem to get on well and are not fighting. I don't want to risk disturbing the dynamics and getting a mean one next time. Will probably just add in my planned harlequin rasbora school and leave it at that.

Good call. Guppy fraternities can be problematic as evidenced by all the threads on this forum. If it's working for you leave it alone.

 

Thanks! Yes, there seem to be conflicting opinions on guppy fraternities, it does seem to come down to the personalities involved. I suppose it's like asking if you can put 5 random human males in a house together and have them all get on. Maybe, maybe not

 

Thanks! Yes, there seem to be conflicting opinions on guppy fraternities, it does seem to come down to the personalities involved. I suppose it's like asking if you can put 5 random human males in a house together and have them all get on. Maybe, maybe not

Exactly that. I have around 200 guppies so about half are female. Often the females give me more problems. Why should that surprise me? Not sure I've ever met five women that could get along much over a week. I shouldn't say that. Too late, I just did lol.

 

Haha I think the same thing when I read about betta sororities. And I'm female

I wonder if there are god forums where supreme beings argue over how many humans they can put in a 1000 sq foot house before it all goes wrong.