Dorsal Fins Up - Male Vs Female Platy

[Rich_77]

Long time no post....

I have been doing ok, since getting my 64L tank. I hope.

It's been going well. But today I've noticed my male platy's dorsal fin is up and he's swimming at very unusual angles with a female. He used to bully her a little. She wasn't his favourite of the 4 in there, to put it mildly.

I done a test with the master kit from API and nothing is out of the ordinary, I'd like to reduce Nirates a little though. Test : Ph - 7.6, High Ph - 7.8, An. - 0.25, No2 - 0, No3 - 10/20 (this is up from 5/10).

She's gotten a little bigger (growth, preggers, constipation ?) and is now actually seeming to put up a little fight. Her fin is up too.

Is this normal ? Should I be worried ? Help would be great.

Thanks in advance, guys & girls.

 

[Rich_77]

Long time no post....

I have been doing ok, since getting my 64L tank. I hope.

It's been going well. But today I've noticed my male platy's dorsal fin is up and he's swimming at very unusual angles with a female. He used to bully her a little. She wasn't his favourite of the 4 in there, to put it mildly.

I done a test with the master kit from API and nothing is out of the ordinary, I'd like to reduce Nirates a little though. Test : Ph - 7.6, High Ph - 7.8, An. - 0.25, No2 - 0, No3 - 10/20 (this is up from 5/10).

She's gotten a little bigger (growth, preggers, constipation ?) and is now actually seeming to put up a little fight. Her fin is up too.

Is this normal ? Should I be worried ? Help would be great.

Thanks in advance, guys & girls.

They seem ok now.....but some advice would have been nice. Especially if it kicks off again.

 

[lolobunnz]

It seems as if normal mating behavior is taking place in your tank. The male will try to match the females movements at every pace and will try to angle around her to perform his manly duties. This may be the angling that you are talking about. She may have been the odd platy out at first but it seems that males tend to pay more attention to pregnant females. The further along in the pregnancy the more the males attention is drawn it seems. The dorsal fins of happy healthy fish are usually up and not tight to the body.

Oh, to help, I would suggest that you provide enough room in their environment for her to escape and take a breather out of site as well as hiding spots like caves and plants. It is also pretty darn important to have a good male to female ratio. The saying usually goes 3 females to every male. This ensures that not only one fish is getting harassed and stressed all of the time.

 

[Rich_77]

It seems as if normal mating behavior is taking place in your tank. The male will try to match the females movements at every pace and will try to angle around her to perform his manly duties. This may be the angling that you are talking about. She may have been the odd platy out at first but it seems that males tend to pay more attention to pregnant females. The further along in the pregnancy the more the males attention is drawn it seems. The dorsal fins of happy healthy fish are usually up and not tight to the body.

Oh, to help, I would suggest that you provide enough room in their environment for her to escape and take a breather out of site as well as hiding spots like caves and plants. It is also pretty darn important to have a good male to female ratio. The saying usually goes 3 females to every male. This ensures that not only one fish is getting harassed and stressed all of the time.

Cheers for the help. She's calmed down, he has too, bit strange to me, but this is new too.


Was impressive to see her put up a big fight though. He's usually such a bully boy.

 

[OldMan47]

Rich_77, if your male is swimming at maybe a 45 degree angle to the female and is positioning himself so that she will get a good view of him, he is doing exactly what can be expected to result in the female being receptive to him. It is not a problem unless you don't want them to breed. That kind of display is exactly what he should be doing. For platies, a fins up position means good health. If your fish are showing that, you are doing something right.

 

[Rich_77]

Rich_77, if your male is swimming at maybe a 45 degree angle to the female and is positioning himself so that she will get a good view of him, he is doing exactly what can be expected to result in the female being receptive to him. It is not a problem unless you don't want them to breed. That kind of display is exactly what he should be doing. For platies, a fins up position means good health. If your fish are showing that, you are doing something right.

FWIW, thank you for that. They bred, he's moved on now (was having too many fry) but she's still around ! Thanks for the advice, albeit a few months late