Four Platies!

[Kowalski]

I got four platies today for my heavly planted 10 gallon. I was going to get 3 Dwarf Puffers, but I can't find them anywhere but online which is way to expensive! The platies are doing well, but one, I beliebe the largest female, is bossing around one of them, who isn't the exact same coloring. They're all red with black tails, whatever they're called, but then there's the one who gets bullied without black fins and is lighter. Should I be concerned?

Edit: Also, now the lighter one is hanging out a lot on the bottom...? He is hiding, but doesn't look like he's flipping out, just hiding.

 

[mypapercuthurts]

Are you sure they are all females?
I haven't seen or heard about livebearer females bullying any other livebearers but dont put all you trust in me.
Wait for more replies. Some one with useful info will come along soon.
(They are red wag tail platies by the way.)

You might get more help if this was in Livebearers. So maybe one of the mods can move it.


I am no puffer expert but i dont think you can put three puffers together in a 10g tank, let alone with 4 platies.
Here is a link to puffer info> here

 

[Kowalski]

Are you sure they are all females?
I haven't seen or heard about livebearer females bullying any other livebearers but dont put all you trust in me.
Wait for more replies. Some one with useful info will come along soon.
(They are red wag tail platies by the way.)

You might get more help if this was in Livebearers. So maybe one of the mods can move it.


I am no puffer expert but i dont think you can put three puffers together in a 10g tank, let alone with 4 platies.
Here is a link to puffer info> here

Sorry, to clear some things up:

I think only one may be a female, the large one who is bullying. I read the females tend to be larger. Thanks for clearing the Red Wag Tail part up, I just had a brain fart and forgot, haha.

Regarding puffers, I was originally just going to have 3 DPs, nothing else at all but snails for snacks. BUT, nowhere I looked had DPs, so, I just figured I'd settle for platies and have a small community tank or something. No way would I keep DPs with anything, hell, I wasn't even going to get an Oto for them, haha. My dream of having DPs will have to wait though, maybe when I can afford to order them online.


EDIT: I believe the "duller" Platy is a Mickey Mouse variant. He's still on the bottom hiding, but he's not breathing hard at all or anything. Also, side note, I think one of the Red Wag Tails might be a mix between a Red Wag Tail and a Painted Red Platy (he/she has black spots on the top of his/her body unlike others)

 

[diburning]

Are you sure they are all females?
I haven't seen or heard about livebearer females bullying any other livebearers but dont put all you trust in me.
Wait for more replies. Some one with useful info will come along soon.
(They are red wag tail platies by the way.)

You might get more help if this was in Livebearers. So maybe one of the mods can move it.


I am no puffer expert but i dont think you can put three puffers together in a 10g tank, let alone with 4 platies.
Here is a link to puffer info> here

puffers will tear at each other. They are best if kept solitary in a species tank.

The only livebearers with annoying agressive females are Mollies, gambusia, and MAYBE wild guppies

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

If you have 4 platies, you should either have 3females and 1male in a 10gal or an all-female group, to find out the gender of your platies you should look at the anal fin- on females it is fan shaped, while on males it is tube shaped.
In this link there are two pics of black and red platies, the first one is a male and the second one is a female;

http/fish.orbust.net/livebearers.html

It does not matter what color the platy is as all commonly sold platies are the same species, just different color variations.
If you have unbalanced gender ratio in your platies this would explain the harrasment between them, as males are very over-sexed and can harrass the females to much (which is why you should have numerous females to a single male, to help prevent him concentrating his efforts on a single female all the time), which in turn can make the the females very stressed if there is too little of them to go around.

 

[voo]

Maidenhead aquatics in Crowland has some dwarf puffers but as you're in USA i dont think that'd be much help for you.

They also have a tank with normal puffers in and they say they shouldnt be kept together. Dunno if it's the same for the dwarf ones as they looked a lot smaller.

 

[Tommy Gunnz]

I am currently the owner of a nice 55 gallon tank with TONS of platies in it (because they reproduce so quickly, I have been having a hard time relocating them). I am responding to your post because oddly enough, all of my 'brighter' colored platies have basically dominated my tank and all of my lighter colored platies have died from stress or lack of food. Yes, I have been aware of the problem and tried everything including removing the bullied fish from the tank.

Like you, I am not sure if this is some type of selective nature or not. I have had no problem with any platies other than this and I love the tank I am currently running because it is always so busy and just looks great having these colorful fish swimming against my darker background and plants. I have had no other problems with platies even when it comes to size; only color. I also hope that you have some sort of plan set up for your fry, because I didnt and I had a lot of fish really quickly. I bought 4 platies and a molly as 'tester' fish with my very first tank to help cycle my tank. Like most people on this forum, my first tank led to more and more tanks and I swear that I have never bought another platy again, and in fact, am supplying my local LFS with lots of these fish, all of course in darker or brighter color variations.