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Just out of curiosity, because I've been hearing conflicting responses - is there an "ideal" ratio of males:females in a guppy tank? As in, one male for every three females, or vice versa?

Minimum is 1M/2F, with 3F being preferable. Less stress for the females.

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We've found 2 males with 4 females to work well! Of course, we also have the same ratio in platys and mollies....

To thine own self be true...

i have 2 males and 3 females but i will be moving the fry in there when they are old enough

I'd say 1 male for every 3 females, minimum 1 male for 2 females.

i have 1 male and 2 females, used to have more males and females but they killed each other off till i had 3 guppies left.....

not gonna bother getting more since i have 22 fry, 16 of which are getting large since the were born earlier

Just have less males than females and you will be fine. I started with 1/4 and I have over 200 fry.

3-1 is best fm/m ratio.

The Amazon Nut...

Is this ratio only the best in you WANT fry? If I just want to look at guppies, can I just have several males without any females, or visa-vera? If so, is there a minimum number to make them happy, like with cories or tetras?

thanks,

-Dennis

IMO Beefshank it depends on the guppies you get. The females tend to do fine by themseleves in greater numbers (but are not necessarily as pretty to look at as the males). The males unless you get some that "grew up" together may not get a long due to territorial issues and may severely nip at eachother, UNLESS you have a big enough tank the males will probably leave each other alone if you have a good amount of plants in it (real or fake).

But... if you wanted to have both male and female the suggested ratio is 1m:2-3f or else the females will not tolerate the male and will get stressed (and probably kill him).

Good luck to you!

Min 1m/2f but the more females the better. Male guppies are quite aggressive towards each other so ensure that the tank is either big or well planted.

livebearers ratio is 1 male per 2 to 3 females!!! the more female the better... ]

the ratio u was good is good but i dont think u need that many females. The ratio i heard is at least 2 females for every male.

[span class="edited"][Edited by newguppyhobbiest 2004-08-08 15:42][/span]

Surprisingly the best ratio I have found for breeding a true strain is 1 ist 1

If male guppies are aggressive towards each other, how can the fish stores keep just males in one tank? I also remember other people mentioning the stores around them keep the males and females seperate.

In my tank I just try to keep a population where the females outnumber the males around 5:1. I find the extra females per male keeps them from getting worn out too early in their lives.
If you want a pure strain, I would go 1;1 in a secluded breeding tank. I am doing this with a pair of platys, trying to develop an entirely new strain.


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