Male to female ratio in a 10 gal?

1077

Is right way to keep fishes,and wrong way.Opinion's are another matter altogether.
Nothing much enjoyable about our hobby if replacing, treating sick fish,is the norm.
My aplogies to OP for going astray from the topic regarding the 10 gal tank and guppies.
OP and other's are free to do as they wish.

sidluckman

You guys impress me with the balanced view you take. I would urge you always to tell what you feel to be the best practice regardless of the blow back you may receive. True, people get defensive, but they aren't the only ones on these threads. Lots of other people may read your explanations (regardless of how well or poorly they are received by the OP) and come to new and valuable insights.

I was reading a thread about goldfish that originated in July, and Jaysee: kudos that you were the only one that really stressed to the guy the hard facts of goldfish care. Everyone else was helpful and "nice" but now that same kid has got nothing but dying goldfish, probably for no other reason that he made an impulse purchase and could not be convinced that your "tough love" stance was the best opinion offered.

I have noticed that people hate hearing "no" so much we often get sucked into saying yes when we should not. Offer your best advice and let the chips fall where they may. People whose fish you help will thank you!

1077: the most important thing I keep in my fish medicine cabinet is a good bottle of cabernet!

jessicablahblah

Everythings been really good the past few days but today when i came up to my room i saw George (the older fish) right up against the filter intake place. i got really worried and stoped the filter for a second and he swam away slowly. In a few hours i noticed i couldnt find george anywhere!? Me and my sister panicked and looked around for him then decided to move around the objects in the tank to see if he was there. We found him floating upside down under the bridge and took him out.*s.i.p. Goerge* :( i havent had him for a full two weeks so i can return him back to the pet store. I don't know what went wrong so i checked the water and everything was fine. He was the one being nipped at by the more agressive guppy i bought (i returned him and got a matching sunrise guppy to stick with George) and had some of his tail nipped off and he seemed to be recovering... I thought you all would want to know...

shyguysy

The ratio should be 2 females for each male

sidluckman

I know this 2:1 ratio is often bandied about as though it were gospel, but I am watching my female sword being very tough on my male as we speak. If there were two females in that tank, he'd probably be dead. These two are cohabitating because they are the same variety, but this might not be possible for much longer.

In my 55 gallon, where there are six fish, three males,three females, no one gets cornered all the time. Nobody loses out continuously. And there is roomto get away from the aggressor.

My platies are in a 20 long.Two males, nine females. Happy as clams.

I think the key is to keep these species in large enough tanks so that you can have enough of them to allow for dispersal of aggression among many individuals. Otherwise there is often fatal aggression when only a very few are kept together and it seems to bear little relation to gender so much as size and dominance.

That's just based on what I see in these three particular livebearer tanks.

jaysee

Yes, and there is aggression between females as well - something no one ever thinks about. The bottom line is that the school should be large enough that the ratio becomes unimportant.

Chesherca

You're both absolutley correct - and on the other side, I have kept a single male and single female molly together with absolutley no troubles at all! So far in my limited experience with fish-keeping I've found that the ONLY rule is that fish don't EVER follow the rules! You just have to learn to watch closely and get to know not only the species you're keeping and their needs, but also their individual personalities. . . they really can vary wildly from fish to fish. . . one of the ten-thousand-and-twelve reasons that I love this hobby so much :) The 'rules,' like the 2 to 1 ratio have their place, though. When getting started, well. . . it's nice to have some kind of generic formula that seems to work for most people most of the time. It'd just be nice if it ever worked for me!!! :D

jaysee

Chesherca, that doesn't sound like it falls in line with the one true way...

Chesherca

Oooh, I know! I try so hard to do things right, but truth be told. . .I'm a dirty rotten RULE-BREAKER!!!

sidluckman

Jes:
the fish are the dirty rotten rule breakers!
They never read the books we do and they do all kinds of unexpected stuff.

Reading back through this thread regarding the issue of feeding fry to fish, other people receiving feeders that may be ill, should we or should we not, one true way, etcetera etcetera, I am reminded of one of my favorite and most useful sayings:


"There is nothing so small that it cannot be blown out of proportion."


1077 wants us to look out for the next guy down the road, which, though admirable in sentiment is impossible and meaningless in practice. Fish are the responsibility of the people who own them. If I give someone fry, my responsibility ends at the point that they are received, assuming I did my best to keep them healthy. I take a dim view on feeding live fish to other fish only for the reason that contamination may be a result. But if I accept live fish fry to be used as food, or buy them, it's up to me to be sure they are disease and parasite free. How can it be any other way?

I also am amused at the notion that we should be so planful about our aquatic purchases that we are to prepare, this moment, for every issue and contingency that may arise as we go forward. And this level of preparedness should include finding homes for generations of mollies as yet unborn? Folks, most people don't even plan their own pregnancies or retirements. Of course I agree that we should act responsibly, but we are carrying this a bit too far. I am more of a "I do my best as each moment dictates" versus a "one true way" kinda guy.