LauraFrog
Fish Gatherer
Some of you might remember Striker, the copper-black platy I posted a few days ago. I had some photos with a very clear anal fin. There were no signs of pregnancy in the photo, and now I think the anal fin is changing shape. It's sort of concave at the back, and the bottom edge is thickening. Is this how a gonopodium develops? I've never seen the entire process before.
Also, last night Striker was nipping one of my other females, the dalmatian, Jester. She is definitely a female - 85 fry in one drop a few months ago. Yes. 85. Yikes. Anyway, Striker wasn't biting or being nasty - it was a direct nip to the side, just under the dorsal fin. Jester would immediately roll over on her side and stay there for a few seconds. Every time Striker was near her, she flared all her fins, anal and ventral fins hanging down, dorsal fin drawn up and caudal fin extended. If Striker touched her she rolled clean over, and only flipped up when the other fish moved away. At first I was terrified that something was wrong with Jester - healthy fish just don't swim sideways. But every time Striker lost interest Jester would straighten up, relax her fins, swim away and behave like a fish. Big deal. When she got sick of it she nipped Striker on the tail pretty hard and was left alone for a few minutes.
I'm just confused. I have two other females and neither of them was responding to Striker in this way, nor were they being chased. Surely if Striker is a male, he would be interested in all the females?
Edit - just saw very similar behavior on a mating pair on YouTube. Less worried.
Anyway, there were male platies and some large, aggressive swordtails in the same display tank at the LFS as Striker (only bought on Saturday) so is it possible that Striker is a young male? I thought I had a female on my hands, could I have been wrong? If this is normal mating behavior I'll quit worrying, lol.
Also, last night Striker was nipping one of my other females, the dalmatian, Jester. She is definitely a female - 85 fry in one drop a few months ago. Yes. 85. Yikes. Anyway, Striker wasn't biting or being nasty - it was a direct nip to the side, just under the dorsal fin. Jester would immediately roll over on her side and stay there for a few seconds. Every time Striker was near her, she flared all her fins, anal and ventral fins hanging down, dorsal fin drawn up and caudal fin extended. If Striker touched her she rolled clean over, and only flipped up when the other fish moved away. At first I was terrified that something was wrong with Jester - healthy fish just don't swim sideways. But every time Striker lost interest Jester would straighten up, relax her fins, swim away and behave like a fish. Big deal. When she got sick of it she nipped Striker on the tail pretty hard and was left alone for a few minutes.
I'm just confused. I have two other females and neither of them was responding to Striker in this way, nor were they being chased. Surely if Striker is a male, he would be interested in all the females?
Edit - just saw very similar behavior on a mating pair on YouTube. Less worried.
Anyway, there were male platies and some large, aggressive swordtails in the same display tank at the LFS as Striker (only bought on Saturday) so is it possible that Striker is a young male? I thought I had a female on my hands, could I have been wrong? If this is normal mating behavior I'll quit worrying, lol.
