Help with platies

K

KLinB

AC Members
Dec 29, 2009
5
0
0
We just bought a five gallon tank and two platies five days ago. The aquarium is still very basic, a couple of plants and some rocks, but we'll add more in time. All seemed to be going okay until yesterday. When we fed the platies yesterday evening, one of the platies began harassing and chasing the other platy constantly. The bullying continued through the evening but finally calmed down. The same thing happened this morning, but the bullying slowed down when I turned the aquarium light off after feeding.

I am afraid the bully is going to injure or cause the other platy so much stress that she won't make it. Any suggestions. I'm afraid that adding any more platies might be too much for such a small tank.

Could it be the fish aren't getting enough food?

Could the temperature of the water be an issue? I'm not sure the water is warm enough without a heather?

I'm wondering if having just two fish is causing competition and aggression?

We are very new to this, but we really want to take care of these fish (I'm trying to teach my four year old about caring for something). Any recommendations would be much appreciated.
 
Not sure. How do you tell? I've read the tail on a male is longer. Their tails look similar to me. The chasing platy is a little bit bigger, but only a bit.
 
It most likely is a male and a female (I used to breed them), and you have two issues:

One, in a brand new tank, the rising ammonia/nitrite levels could add to the stress of the female (fan shaped anal fin), and the harrassing of the male (tube shaped anal fin) could end up being too much.

Two, in a new 5 gallon tank, you can't add more females to spread out the males aggression...

Your best bet is to keep the tank as is and get a good test kit, and keep up on water changes until there is rising nitrates, and no ammonia or nitrites.
 
Yes, anal fin is more tube shaped on the chasing platy. I feel so badly for our little female. She hasn't had a rest. Would adding more hiding places help?
 
I have three Platys in a 29 gallon (two females and one male) and even in a heavily planted tank there is a lot of chasing, but the extra plants do help. Fortunately he divides his attention between the two of them.
 
My males are picky and only go for their 'girlfriends' and leave the rest alone, never show interest in any others. Seems like I'm the only one with this issue...?
 
Would the LFS where you bought them trade the male for a female? With two females you shouldn't have any problems, and you won't have to worry about what to do with babies. My only other suggestion would be to get a bigger tank which might not be something you want to do right now.
 
The tank's really far too small for Platys and it's not cycled yet. The chasing problem is surely a male chasing a female, that's the reason I always get just female Platys. Please read up on cycling a tank and consider getting them a bigger tank.
 
Thanks for all of the advice. I definitely think it is a male/female issue. Not sure I'm ready to explain why my fish are eating their babies to my four year old... I'll check and see if we can return the male and trade him for a female. That seems like the best option for us right now. I will also read up on cycling a tank.

I did read up on tank size before buying these fish... if platies need something bigger, then what fish could we house in a smaller tank? We'd really like two fish (one for the four year old, one for the almost two year old). We simply can't get a bigger tank at this point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom