# Guppy and a betta? Help!?



## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

So i have a halfmoon betta in a filtered 1 gal. tank. (He's very happy in there) My friend brought her guppies to school to keep there. The water was GROSS!!! They were in a 1.5 gal. filled halfway up with 20 guppies. I couldn't stand it so i decided to save one. The guppy i picked out is small-ish with a bright orange tail. He's floating right now. My betta flared a little but it wasn't really an aggressive flare.. Does that make sense? He just watches the guppy. He's like,"Ummmm what the flapjack is that?" But here's the strange part... The guppy is being really aggressive... He's in his bag but he follows where ever my betta goes, swimming up and down. Yea im more concerned about my betta than the guppy... Help???


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## ollief9 (Mar 16, 2011)

Well, Bettas often mistake Guppies as other males due to their bright colours. Not only this but Guppies need to be in groups in at least 10 gallons so you will have to find a home for him/her. Keeping a Guppy in a 1 gallon with a male Betta should definitely not be done long term.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Only a betta should be in anything less than a 5 gallon. Best bet, get a 10 gallon tank and cycle it. SOME male bettas can be okay with male/female guppies. Others cannot. You are taking a risk by trying a betta with a guppy, as the betta could see the guppy as a small male betta... Which results in finding fish parts strewn in the tank D: 

My Spartan was okay with guppies, but I doubt the betta I had, Dusk, would even want to be with anything other than his reflection (even that he hated xD)

Also, some guppies are aggressive. Male guppies need groups of 6 or more to avoid aggression problems (then they just think the betta is an overgrown guppy! or at least mine did...). Females same thing. I would not suggest mixing male and female guppies because then you have met the "million fish"  We had one guy drop off over 300 guppies because his initial 6 guppies bred worst than rabbits.


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## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

Ok so here's whats happening. I put the guppy in and i got the surprise of my life (Kinda). After 5 minutes they got along perfectly and the cutest thing is going on! Since the guppy used to live in a school of guppies he follows My betta around everywhere! ITS SO CUTE! The only signs of aggression i see is when the guppy gets in Skylar's face and he flares a little bit. Thats all. 

But i am having one problem.. I've never owned a guppy before and i have no idea how to feed him and if i drop the food in my betta will eat it. What should i do. I tried taking him out and putting him in a cup to feed him to he just swam around in circles.... Any ideas?


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Never take the fish out. this can cause stress. Have you tried dunking the food so it sinks? could give him a chance. It's harder since it is a small surface area.


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## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

Hmmm... I may just end up taking him back... He looks like he's annoying Skylar :/ Well i'll decide on what to do in the morning...


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Lol yeah well I had an african dwarf frog with my one betta. They didn't care for each other... in a 10 gallon.. however in a 10 I have had 3-4 female guppies, one endler, and my betta xD the guppies thought he was an overgrown guppy, and he didn't know what to make of the itty bitties lol


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## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

Haha! Guess what? I got pumpkin (The guppy) To eat!!! Skylar doesn't flare at all any more. They play chase sometimes though, thats it! So yea.. He's staying for good! Skylar has a new tank mate yay!


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Please note that guppies like to be in groups of 6+. Having one guppy in (I dunno your tank size) your tank with your betta may not end out well. Though they seem fine now, things can go very wrong very quickly. Please keep a close eye out and have a back-up plan in case the betta starts picking on him (or the other way around).


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

youlovegnats said:


> Please note that guppies like to be in groups of 6+. Having one guppy in (I dunno your tank size) your tank with your betta may not end out well. Though they seem fine now, things can go very wrong very quickly. Please keep a close eye out and have a back-up plan in case the betta starts picking on him (or the other way around).


Guppy and betta in a 1g filtered tank. But yes, guppies do better in larger groups


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## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

Yes, i do know that, but i don't want to buy more guppies and stress out Skylar. Taking the guppy back is completely OUT of the question!!! When i went to school today my friend's guppy's tank was so nasty that you couldn't even see them! I convinced her to let me clean in so i did ((((((


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

You're tank is way too small for a betta and a guppy to begin with sadly. Adding more is out of the question unless you pick up a 10g tank, then they could get along fabulously in a group of 6 and your betta! I do want to say that when you keep fish in conditions that are below their needs, you risk diseases which happen often to stressed fish. I would hate for your fish to catch something or start fin biting. 1g tanks are a minimum for one betta. Guppies are some cute though!!

And what your friend is doing is absolutely horrid. HORRID.


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## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

I understand that but my betta isn't fully grown yet and the guppy is tiny... Here 1 sec. I'll post a link to a video....


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Oh jeez... umm. I think you need to put your guppy elsewhere. A 1g. is barely big enough for one betta let alone another companion. 

Just my advice to you. 

EDIT: Could you possibly get a filtered 10G and put him in there with some other guppies(you could steal more from your friend, lol)?


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

It's still not a suitable size tank, and your not meeting the guppies needs by not having guppy companions. My personal rule of thumb is one inch of fish per gallon at adult size. Bettas are a 1-2" fish, which require 1-2g minimum. Guppies are 1.5" fish that requires 1g or larger. With both fish you would need 2g minimum, but to satify the guppies needs you need a group of six. That's why I said 10g for 6" of guppies and 2" of betta. In the end its your fish really, but I'm just really worried about Skylar catching something if your guppy gets sick or Skylar nipping the fins off you guppy


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## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z86kXBv-H9Y

Link to video ^

Im really not trying to be cruel or anything! I only get 10$ a week for allowance and my birthday isn't till december. I only had the guppy's best interest in mind. Let me say it again. The tank the guppy was being held in was a halfway filled, one gallon plastic tank, with 20+ guppies!!!! I spoil my fish, i really try at least! I just recently bought the new tanks and skylar etc.


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Well that's true, it is MUCH better than what he was in before. 
Just be sure to keep a VERY close eye on them.  They seem ok for now, but as stated before, things can change fast.


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

As long as you know the proper info and will upgrade when you can, that's fine with me. Not telling that youre wrong or awful, just letting you know what would be the best solution for your fishes health is all  Wish you were closer, I'd help ya out lol I have a spare 10 with all the trimmings.


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## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

He isn't going to stay in there for too much longer! Since he's such a gentle fish, i'd really like to get him a 10gal and put some more tank mates in. But my room is tiny. Like, SUPER tiny. I have a twin bed right now and i only have like 8-10ft for walking. For my birthday i'm going to rescue bettas! Like i'd go to petco/petsmart and see if they had any dying fish in nasty cups etc. And since my parents will be paying for it all , they can get bigger tanks!!! In a few weeks i'll be buying one of those 15 gallon tanks for 14$ and i'll manage to sneak a few bettas in 

The 1gal is my smallest tank. I have a 1.5 with Dancer in it and he loves it. I have videos of my on my youtube channel  The 1gal is temporary (I forgot to mention that D: )


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

Well there you go, upgrade will make them so happy. Sounds like you got it all figured out now! If only it was that easy with your friend haha


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## pinkcupid765 (Aug 14, 2011)

^_^ I do get it, but convincing my mom is the problem... My mom keeps her betta in a vase, in the kitchen, completely vulnerable to my cats... Well, wish me luck


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Yeah I successfully kept one male betta with a group of 5 guppies and an endler. The guppies liked him, and he learned that they eat their food fast... so he "headbutt" them out of the way and soon they learned HE was king xD it was cute, and I was happy he wasn't a nippy little guy.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Your YT channel is cute! I LOVE your fish Dancer!!


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