# Feeder Guppy Control



## jaymyess (May 13, 2016)

Hey guys,

I'm new here but I have been a long-time aquarist.

I have a new 67 US-gallon planted soft-water tank which is 2ft deep because I intend to keep a discus. I used feeder Guppies to cycle the tank and was planning to feed them to my the Tilapias but I decided to keep them because I actually grew fond of them. But Guppies are Guppies - they multiply like rabbits. Only couple of months have passed I now have more than a dozen fry.

At the moment the fishes I have are only feeder Guppies and a bunch of Albino Corydoras. I will eventually add Neon Tetras and Discus but both are still unavailable. So what fish should I get to get along with Discus and Neons that will happily eat the Guppy fry? These are what is currently available at my local store:



Opaline Gourami - but this thing grows big
Black Skirt Tetra - quite too aggressive, I am a bit worried for the Discus
Betta - I cannot because the water current is too strong.
Angelfish - I am tempted to get these, I love their look: striped which is very similar to Altum but with a bluish sheen (quite exotic-looking) but they're anything except angelic
Danios - not a good tank mate for Discus
Albino African Frogs - look at that huge mouth!

I am leaning towards those Angelfish but again they're anything but angelic. I am worried if I add them first then they might attack the Neons. Any suggestions? Should I grab those demonic Angels? Lol.

I'll try to take a picture of the tank but my problems are the glass reflections. It is under a strong but indirect sunlight.

Cheers.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Angels are big commitment.

Bump: Angels are big commitment.


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

Do NOT get the frogs. They'll grow hand-sized and then murder your discus by grabbing on with their mouths and tearing with their hind feet.
Black skirt tetras aren't all that bad as long as you have at least 8 so they can chase each other. They get a bad rep because they can be pretty aggressive if you only have a couple, but when they have a bunch of tankmates to charge after, they're fine.


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## No.92 (May 1, 2016)

Poor guppy babies. They never had a chance. 

On another note I currently have Angel fish with neons in the same tank. However, I have a big tank (125 gallon) and lots of hiding places for the neons. I have about 27 or so neons. I know I have lost some neons but not sure how many but can't say its due to the Angel fish though. Could have just been stress or something else like my shrimp. Point is its possible to keep both in the same tank.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

You are doomed.

Angels might eat fry but they are poor Discus companions, it's either Angels or Discus. Same deal with other predator fish. I personally failed to find any "guppy fry control" fish suitable for a community tank. The end result - I have hundreds upon hundreds of guppies in most of my tanks.

On a separate note, Discus and Neons have different temperature requirements. Check out Cardinals, Glowlight tetras, black neons, green neons, etc. instead.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

For discus, the best tank mates are cardinal tetras. When fully grown, they should snack on new born guppy fry.


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## Lonestarbandit (Feb 7, 2013)

Has anyone considered Bala Sharks? They are not particularly aggressive but quick and and large mouths can and do suck up excess fry without the Angel/Discus kerfuffle.

Bump:


Nordic said:


> For discus, the best tank mates are cardinal tetras. When fully grown, they should snack on new born guppy fry.


Nordic! Do you ever sleep!?!?!? :grin2:


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Few hours here and there... Had a good few today... accidentally took my meds twice last night.


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## jaymyess (May 13, 2016)

On the African Frogs, they are actually the last thing on my mind although I was thinking about them - perhaps it is because almost all stores have them. I am pretty sure the frogs would easily swallow my corydoras.

I have successfully raised the angelfish, discus and neons in one tank and they were doing very well. I know it can be subjective - depending on the character of the individual fish. In this case, the discus was the boss in the tank. Also both the discus and angelfish couldn't care less about the neons - the angelfish were too busy bickering among themselves. The ones I saw on the store looks really good - really tempting. So far I haven't given in..

Eight black widows are quite a handful. We'll see... eenie meenie minie moe. They're nice looking - the ones available are those with elongated fins and have deep blacks. They look nice.

Meh.. so most of the guppies' fate will be on the Tilapias then. I'll keep them all for now until the discus and neons (or cardinals) are available.


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## Avianwing (Dec 15, 2009)

Nordic said:


> Angels are big commitment.
> 
> Bump: Angels are big commitment.


In what way? In terms of their 6+ years lifespan or tank size requirement?

Bump:


OVT said:


> You are doomed.
> 
> Angels might eat fry but they are poor Discus companions, it's either Angels or Discus. Same deal with other predator fish. I personally failed to find any "guppy fry control" fish suitable for a community tank. The end result - I have hundreds upon hundreds of guppies in most of my tanks.
> 
> .


In Bangalore's public aquarium, I have seen 100s of guppies in tanks having Macro predators like Oscars, Giant Gouramis, Snake heads etc. They seem to outbreed the biggest predators. 
That are more like mice than like rabbits.


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## Snowflake311 (Apr 20, 2011)

So many fill with be happy to eat tiny fry. I have some swordtails with bumblebee goby They love fry and are good at eating them. BUT they would be a bad mix with Discus. 

Here are some fish that will help eat fry and will work with Discus. 
Ram cichlid
Discus

Discus will eat small fish so don't worry if you keep bigger fish with Guppies or any Livebearer you will never have an over population.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

@Avianwing yes, on the points you raised. Add to that that once you have 2 pair off, you need to home the rest of your angels (unless you start off with a known pair). They really limit the kinds of smaller fish that can live with them. Mine seems OK with swordtails.

If a predator is too big, it is not worth their while in energy to go after tiny fish fry anymore than it would be a good idea to eat powdered food. I'd pick a largish semi aggressive tetra, maybe black skirt or similar. They are fast, hungry and the right size to actively hunt fry.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Reboot, folks. I try rely on logic and first-hand experience.

The issue as stated by OP is that there is a lot of guppies in what to be a Discus tank. I content that this is a self created situation that is becoming undesirable by the OP. Nothing that uncommon. *My* logic tells me that there are only two practical approaches:

1. Accept the situation and live with it
2. Remove all guppies from the tank. My personal experience tells me that attempts to end up with only males or females in the tank are impractical.

To back up the 2 approaches, my experience tells me that introducing other fish to control guppies population will create a lot more problems then it will solve. As an example, any fish that will eat guppies fry will attempt the same with Discus fry.

In the end, my experience also tells me that despite all of the ideas and advise, the long time aquarist OP will do as he wants. That is his prerogative.

If he wants to keep a single $60 - $250 Discus with some Angels and Neons in a new tank cycled with feeder guppies then more power to him.
I see nothing wrong with stocking a tank around what is available at LFS. The bummer is that Mother Nature still trumps with natural selection.


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## jaymyess (May 13, 2016)

I am certainly aware of the Angelfish's infamous temperament hence I am still holding off. This time it's either Angelfish OR Discus, I don't want to mix them. The Angelfish is seriously nice though - again it has distinctive dark/black stripes and it has a bluish sheen that is more prominent on its upper half. I haven't seen this variety.

On the Guppy feeder stuff - I have begun removing them from the main tank - starting with the females and the fry with the blandest hue. I have drums where I grow water spinach, Bacopas and some unknown water plants - I transferred them there. Downside is my main tank will no longer have mosquito larvae for snacks. I did not make this clear but it is my friend who has a tilapia pond - I was planning to give him the female Guppies and fry but he doesn't want them lol.

My LFS still do not have both Neon and Discus. I have three choices now though - Callistus Tetra, Rummy Nose and Black Skirt. I think I will grab the first two.

On the Neons, I thought that they have the same environment as the Discus. Anyway attached are some photos of my tank.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Tilapia will rather eat snails than fish.


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## Avianwing (Dec 15, 2009)

What is the plant whose broad leaves are popping out of the top? Forget the technical term- border plants?? Would love to have them in my aquaria.

I would say Angels are wonderful. Jet black angels are the most beautiful freshwater aquarium fish in the world and would look awesome in your tank. Platinums would be a close second and Wild type silver third. Then the lesser mortals like Gold, Marbles, Pearlscale, Koi etc.


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## jaymyess (May 13, 2016)

Avianwing said:


> What is the plant whose broad leaves are popping out of the top? Forget the technical term- border plants?? Would love to have them in my aquaria.
> 
> I would say Angels are wonderful. Jet black angels are the most beautiful freshwater aquarium fish in the world and would look awesome in your tank. Platinums would be a close second and Wild type silver third. Then the lesser mortals like Gold, Marbles, Pearlscale, Koi etc.


I am not sure which one you are referring to but i assume the one that has the most leaves - am I correct? It is a type of Philodendron which I couldn't find its specific name. From left to right: Pothos, Peace Lily, Philodendron. I may be wrong and it may not be a Philo but an Epipremnum - same class as Pothos. They do really well with their roots submerged but their leaves sticking out.

Yea Angels are really nice and I do love the all-black ones - not the pearl variety but the velvet ones. I'll do a wait-and-see if the Discus arrives or not. I can wait for about a month or so. As for feeder Guppies, I'll just remove them from the main tank and put them in the drum/bucket where my other aquatic plants are.


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## Avianwing (Dec 15, 2009)

OVT said:


> You are doomed.
> 
> The end result - I have hundreds upon hundreds of guppies in most of my tanks.
> 
> .


Why did you add Guppies in so many of your tanks? And how many tanks do you have?

Bump:


jaymyess said:


> I am not sure which one you are referring to but i assume the one that has the most leaves - am I correct? It is a type of Philodendron which I couldn't find its specific name. From left to right: Pothos, Peace Lily, Philodendron. I may be wrong and it may not be a Philo but an Epipremnum - same class as Pothos. They do really well with their roots submerged but their leaves sticking out.
> .


The one with the darker slightly dull leaves with the shape of a bay leaf. I guess it is what you have termed as a Philodendron


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