Aggresive Male Platy

[jayde]

I lost a female platy the other day because my male was bullying her and it stressed her out 2 much. Ive just bought another female she has been in the tank for 45 mins now and all he has done is headbutt her. its a 30l tank wiv 2 feamle platys and 1 male, 3 zebra danios and 1 pearl danio and 3 bronze corys. Wot can i do coz i really dont want to lose another female?

 

[KingOfTheSea]

Hes not being agressive, hes doing what livebarers are programed to do. If you find you have a particularly horny male, you need to add more females. Although is your tank 30 litres or a 30 gallon long?

 

[Harlequins]

have you got a breeding trap you could put the male in temporarily? he may learn his lesson from being kept away,but it mght be just in his nature to chase the female,it's best to keep more females.

 

[KingOfTheSea]

have you got a breeding trap you could put the male in temporarily? he may learn his lesson from being kept away,but it mght be just in his nature to chase the female,it's best to keep more females.

I dont think keeping him away would do any good other than stress him.

 

[Harlequins]

have you got a breeding trap you could put the male in temporarily? he may learn his lesson from being kept away,but it mght be just in his nature to chase the female,it's best to keep more females.

I dont think keeping him away would do any good other than stress him.

i just thought that,it worked on a neon i had,but platy males are a bit different i suppose with their one track mind!

 

[jayde]

Its a 30 litre tank. we haved the fish for about 3 months now and its only been the past 2 weeks he has been nasty. The new female is just hiding at the back of the tank every time she comes out he chases her.

 

[Gilli]

Im afriad some male platys are like this. You need to keep at least 3 females to one male in order to spread the aggression or sexual harrassment , but of course you will end up with loads more from the offspring as they are continual breeders. Also provide plenty of plant cover and hiding spaces for the females to get away- this way its not so bad. If its still bad you may have to rehome him.

By the way danios should be kept in groups of at least 6 and so should Corys. Try and do a little reasearch before you buy fish - it will save a lot of problems.

 

[KingOfTheSea]

Also isnt 30 litres much to small for danios anyway, they are hyperactive fish who like a long tank.

 

[jayde]

the corys and danios i have never had any problems with them at all. When i first got the tank i had lots of problems with the fish and they all started dying. When i added the danios it all calmed down, the corys just float up and down the tank no problems what so ever. Its just the male platy like i said its only been a recent thing ive only ever had 2 females in the tank its only been the past 2 weeks. Im gonna go and get another 2 females i hope that sorts him out.

 

[jayde]

I have bought 2 more female so lets see if he still picks on her.

 

[Tropical_Fish]

You are massively overstocked with that many fish, and most of them are unsuitable for such a small tank,

Your tank is 8 US gallons, the recommendation is that you have no more than 1" of fish (use adult size) per US gallon

So you should aim for no more than 8" of fish.

The adult sizes for the fish you have are as follows:

Platys - 2.5 inches each.
Zebra Danios - 2 inches each
Pearl Danios - 2 inches each
Bronze Corys - 2.5 inches each

From what I can gather you have 5 platys, 3 corys, 3 zebras and 1 pearl.

So you have approx 28" of fish


So you have 3 and half times to many fish,

Also Danios should only be in a tank of 30 gallons or more.
Platys should only be kept in a tank of 10 gallons or more.
Bronze Corys should only be kept in a tank of 20 gallons or more.

Bronze corys should also be kept in a group of 6 or more.


So you really need a much bigger tank for the fish you currently have or you need to rehome them

 

[Harlequins]

I didn't notice the size of the tank until you pointed it out Tropical fish,

Jayde that's probably why your male is so aggressive,there's no room in the tank for the females to get away even if they could!

I have a 30l tank and i can't imagine all them grown fish in there.

Buying 2 more females will not solve the problem of the aggressive male and you may well end up losing them also.

 

[jayde]

the male has calmed down he isnt chasing after the females like he was its all calm in the tank. All the fish are happy no problems at all now.