# is it unusual for a guppy to chase a platy



## pairenoid

my guppy has litterly not stoppd chasing my red platy for the past 3-4 days

he pecks at him and follows him closely even when i feed he ignores the food a bit to chase the platy

the platy has a white eye that looks kind of bent it looks like the guppy bit his eye but i cant tell 100% but i know hes attacking him cuz i see him chew at his fins but not dmgin them

cant tell if its play or haras


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## BBradbury

hello pair...

If your guppy is a male, then it will chase anything. Male guppies are constantly in the reproduction mode and instinct outweighs everything else, especially in a small tank with very few fish.

I have several large tanks with nothing but Fancy Guppies and Corydoras. The advantage I have is there are so many males and females of all ages, the males chase one female and then lose her in the crowd and go after a different one. The guppies in general spend a little more time resting.

I think it would help your male guppy if you got three or four female guppies. He'd likely settle down a little. Your Platy could rest a little too.

B


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## jrman83

Not to go against what BB says, but personally I'd wait on getting female guppies. Last thing you need in your 10g tank is more fish, much less in the form of Guppy fry.


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## pairenoid

thanks, i do want more guppies but i dont know it can wait. I plan on buying either a 20 gallon or 30-40 during this summer when i hopefully get a job but for now i dont want guppy babies

if i got more guppies they would be male but i dont know maybe i will give my guppy to a friend and see how the platy does, or give the platy away and keep the guppy


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## BBradbury

Hello again pair...

Apologies. Didn't see anything about a small tank in your post. jr is quite right. If you're pushing the fish limit and have a small tank, it wouldn't be a good idea to add more.

I've never been one to recommend small tanks. Have been that route and it never worked for me.

B


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## chris oe

Yep, male guppies chase other fish. They'll try to mate with anything, and or/do territorial displays with anything, but especially other livebearers. I would not recommend more male guppies. If you are stressed watching him chase your platy you will probably not enjoy watching him spar with his male guppy friends, which is what he will do. He won't damage them - I've had male only guppy tanks with as many as 30 male guppies together, and while they chase each other and flare they don't do any damage, even with all those long delicate fins involved. 

The one exception is if there's anything not quite right with the water parameters or similar. Fish have a slime coating that protects them, and when the water is correct, the little nips and tussles that sparring fish have doesn't do them any harm, but if the ammonia is up a little bit, or the nitrite or nitrate are up a lot, this can cause the slime coat to slough, leaving the skin and fins unprotected, and that can leave the fish open to disease as well as damage from the little everyday brushes they run into. 

If a fish is injured, the other fish instinctively pick at the injury, sometimes it can appear that a fish has been injured by other fish when really the fish was injured by a net or an object in the tank or has an infection and the fish are only picking at it. Unfortunately this spreads the infections and can lead to an epidemic. No fun. I'm not saying the platy hasn't been damaged by the guppy, but i suspect if everything was 100% its unlikely the guppy could have hurt him. I'm thinking either water iffyness or a previous injury.


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## bruceaction

I,m really thankfull to have your guys and girls ,to read your speak, and learn. all very interesting, i HAVE 8 TANKS , 10 LITERS within hafe a meter of my shoulder..I have live plants i them all,,strata,base, rocks, betta males in four tanks,,gypies 8 in ione tank ,having babies,,which I revove after a week,place gugie fry nad platy fry in the same tank.
no prob,s also have emperor gudgeons in a tank these are about 5 cm each (3) everything is doing fine.


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