Help! My guppies hate me!

[lava]

I came home late one time. Checked the aquarium and saw all of them (4) in a corner looking all scared. I didnt give it much thought, so I wen tto sleep. Next morning I wake up, and try to feed so I raise my hand to drop them some food and they all ran off! they are so skitesh now, they run and hide as soon as I get to close to the aquarium :( I dont know what could of caused this....water paremeters are almost perstine!! and so are the paremeters, no fish that would bully them cuz all I have is cherry shrimp with a white halfbek or whatever its called. (white, really small and thin):scry: I just feed them flake food.

[iZinedane]

how long have you had them?

[Fraoch]

Guppies are skittish creatures. They're prey to nearly everything in the wild, so they are fearful of everything.

Perhaps there was a bright light or perhaps there was a bang that caused a vibration. They get really freaked out by a big vibration that shakes the tank, I mistakenly hit the aquarium side with my elbow once while trying to adjust my filter flow and they got really spooked.

Just give them time, they'll recover. Make sure the water parameters remain OK and don't suddenly change light levels - ramp it up and ramp it down if you can. So when turning lights off at night make sure the room lights are on when you turn off the tank lights, then turn off the room lights a little while later.

You're "the man that brings the food" and they will recognize that sooner or later.

[DrNic]

My guppies were really sensitive to vibration. I found that the fish were really skittish until I removed the airstone from their tank. I'm running a power filter with a cover over the intake so there is more than enough water movement and the air stone wasn't really required. If you're using a sponge filter however you'll need to keep the airstone.

[Jaster]

I had the same issue with mine at first too. I added 2 more to the small group I had and they mellowed out a bit. Safety in numbers... thumbs2:

[Fraoch]

I had the same issue with mine at first too. I added 2 more to the small group I had and they mellowed out a bit. Safety in numbers... thumbs2:

Yes, there's also a social structure which can greatly influence their behaviour.

At one time I was down to one guppy and he was behaving very strangely. At the time I thought it was a dominant thing, he was zooming around the whole tank with his caudal fin raised and his gills puffing furiously, kind of like saying "MINE! MINE! ALL MINE!" but now I'm thinking it was stress caused by isolation.

With 8, none of them act like that anymore. Sure, they try to mate with each other all the time even though they're all males, but that seems to be normal guppy behaviour.:hmm3grin2orange:

[Northernguy]

They definately feel safer in numbers!
They will do great once the numbers come up.I don't think they will ever greet you when you approach the tank like a cichlid would but they will not hide fast.

[MrJim]

When I get down close to the tank my two female guppies, when they see me, come to the glass then to the surface thinking they are getting fed. They also attack the wafers I feed the corys and get into scuffs with the corys, so maybe I got a couple of weird ones:hmm3grin2orange:

[PostalPenguin]

Does your tank have enough plants or hiding spots? Some fish may feel shy if the tank is open with no cover since they feel like they have no place to retreat to.

[Ashley]

I have quite a few guppies. Mine always come to the top of the tank and follow me wherever I go around the tank, thinking I will feed them. Whenever I put my hands in the tank too they are all over me. I have some younger ones that I can actually pick up with water in my hand! Give them time and possibly larger numbers. Any new fish is always skittish with a big human coming to the tank. I have a lot of plants too that they can hide if they want.

[Inspiire]

I just gave all of my guppies to my nephew so he could start his own 10G. He's just two years old, but I'm starting him early. :)

Mine never seemed to be scared. I had, (I think) about 22 guppies in my 44G. I never noticed them being scared. I also noticed they didn't care much for decorations. I had a large coral-looking formation and they never went in it. They stayed out in the open and tried to drown themselves in the current of the filter. Everywhere else was calm, but they insisted in being in the current.

They are nice fish if you have a bunch. 10+ look best and give them more security.

[lava]

Augh the problem is they were always fine...they always greeted me when ever I came up to the tank thhinking I would drop in some food. I had them for about 2-months now, and they were really fine all together, this is the first time they are acting like that. Im having a hard time feeding them because as soon as they see my hand 4 inchs close to the tank wall, they run like crazy. I have to get a chair,put it like 3 feet away from the tank ,get on the chair so they dont see my hand, and drop some food really high from teh tank and hope it falls in X_X" I hate my self, I swear I did not do anything wrong. Everything was like it always was. Just came home and saw them in a corner all scared.

[Fraoch]

This will sound strange, but apparently electric equipment can fail in such a way that it energizes the tank (?)

I know, I don't understand it either, but here it is:

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=43508

So you may want to try unplugging your electrical equipment for an hour or two (no longer with the filter though!) and see if their behaviour changes?

[lava]

Well they are coming back finally now, They are still skitesh but not like yesterday. I will give ur idea a try.

[Inspiire]

They are just like kids, abuse them and they hate you forever.

Coming home late, what were you thinking?!

Just kidding, good to hear they are coming around! :)