red platy

[TeKnoLord]

i need to get a new platy, one died but not sure if maleor female, one that died has a small black fin on the bottom towards the back, like a triangle pointed down , the other has a fin in the same place but is longer pointing towards the tail, i know this is how u tell the sex, but which one is the male and which one is the female, so i know which one to ask for... if u can show me a pic of the male, and a pic of the female would appreciate it, not sure why died, res of the fish are fine, ph 7.0 - 7.2, ammonia 0, nitrite 0.1 or just under, tank is just becoming established finally, only had the 2 platties, 1 male and one female

 

[cheekeyarab]

sounds to me like you lost your girl but I am a beginner also so I'd wait for somebody else to reply!
I don't have any photos for you but if you have a cheeky flick through some books at your lfs there should be some in there.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hi and welcome to TFF
This link has a good pic of a male and female platy although since they belong to the livebearer group of fish, fish like mollys, guppys and swordtails also have the same shaped sexual organs;

http/fish.orbust.net/livebearers.html

Can you describe any symtoms/strange behavior the fish was showing before it died?
How big a tank are they in/how many gallons does it hold and were the platys with any other fish?

 

[TeKnoLord]

thanx for the info, i am used to dealing with gupies and red tail sharks, got new tank first in about 15 yrs, and wanted to add a variety

 

[TeKnoLord]

i had one of each platy, do u recommentd a different reatio, or is 1:1 ok

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I would advise you get at least 1male per 2 to 3females minimum for platys although with swordtails you can't realy have more than one male unless you have 6females to share between them at least as male swords are quite intolerant of each other apparently; in both these cases the higher numbers of females are basically so one female doesn't get harrassed and stressed out too much by a particular male and that if you have more than one male, that they don't fight with each other over the females too much.
I wouldn't buy any replacment fish though until we have an idea of why the first fish died as it could have been a desease, in which you don't want it passed onto new fish.
What size tank are the platys in?

 

[TeKnoLord]

looking at the pics of the platy it is the female i lost, unsure why, water quality is good, i think she may have not been well when i got her, cause she kept hiding, and didn't really seem to eat..... only had her since the 22nd, and all my guppies and other fish are doing good, the other platy have had hime for awhile and he is very healthy.... i am trying to figure out right now what kind of cat fish i have, didn't see one like him in the pics, want another cause they are excelent for helping to keep tank clean, he is light grey mostly with darker grey on the top if this helps..... isn't the nicest looking fish, was given to me by a friend, that is why not sure exact kind, and with a 20 gal tank recommend 2 to help maintain cleaner gravol, with 10 gal tank always had 1, plus when i get new tank pland to move some of what i have to larger tank accourding to type, and water trmp, cause they vary somwaht fish to fish, and the ones that prefer warmer water want to put in a tank that can increase temp, while keeping spiecies that prefer bit cooler like platties in a tank that has bit lower temp, kinda surprised that platiess are trop[ical concidering tey prefer the water to be about 21 - 22 degrees celcius, anyways if anyone has idea what sort of catfish i have let me know, want to make sure same spiecies, my care worker has to pick it up since i am unable to go due to por health, got fish so i would have something to help pass the time at home that i always enjoied, since can't go out anymore

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Is it a cory or a pleco to start off with?

A good place to indentify your catfish is

www.planetcatfish.com

They have thousands of cat fish listed, pics, their living requirements, what they are known by scientifically and by common name etc etc.

 

[sylvia]

I'm thinking your catfish is a bronze cory (seems the most likely candidate for a 'gravel cleaner' and the dark color above as compared to below is about right). Look up corydoras aenus or look at google images. If it is, I'd get 2 more (if your tank has room for them - post all your fish + tank size first if you aren't sure) as they are shoaling fish and should be kept in a small group.