Grouchy Platy !

[Malfie]

Hello there guys.
Merry Christmas etc etc. Thought I would post a problem I'm having.

fistly my 60ltr tank was up and running for about three weeks before I added 2 clouded minnows. they were doing fine but they weren't weeing enough to get an ammonia reading so I added a pair of platties.
These all seemed fine for a day or so and since then the larger male platty is making life hell for the female.
He's constantly chasing her and backing her into corners !This gets worse at meal times as she almost has to jump out of the tank to get away from him.
Is she gay and doesn't fancy him or is he just a horrible fish ?
I can take him back no problem as I work at the place I bought him from,or should I buy another female ?

Reading today Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 15ppm
the tank has been set up for 3 weeks and a day if that helps and I feed twice a day feeding no more than they eat within about 2 mins.

Help would be fine and dandy.
malfie.

As you can see from the picture I have taken EVERYTHING is hiding from him!!

 

[donna123]

hi,
your female not gay lol,
males can be a hand full really you need 1-2 females per male so no single female gets picked on,
having said this you can get the odd male thats a pain, ive had to rehome one because he would not stop picking on one female even though he had 6 to himself . if you could swap him for a female they would be a lot more willing to come out and wont feel they have to hide. all the best Donna

 

[Morquinn]

LOL definately not gay, you have a gold twin bar platy there (same as mine) and mine pops out loads of babies all the time, she was my biggest fry producer.. not saying all gold twin bars are that way, but mine is hehe

 

[Morquinn]

Oh nevermind, is the pic of the male? Is the female the same type or??

 

[Majjie]

That's the male in the pic - right? He's a pretty boy - but if I was you I'd take him back and stick to females

If I was starting again I wouldn't have a male platy anywhere near my tanks. I bought a couple of pairs of platys - in my ignorance - about three years ago and naturally enough have ended up plagued with lots of platys. I've given about 17 young ones away. I kept them all together with some angelfish at one point - to keep down the numbers of fry - which worked a treat but the platys aways seemed to be stressed. I thought it was the presence of the angelfish but actually I think it was just the number of males in there.

Have now separated the boys from the girls and have 9 boys in with my pearl gouramis - they continually chase each other round (exactly as they did the females - it doesn't make any difference that there are no girls in there ) and some of them are always completely stressed out. They're forever coming down with infections of some sort.

I love the girls - their tank is very calm (they only think about food these days) - but the boys are nothing but a pain.

 

[Malfie]

My terror of a male is DEAD !
He was fine last night before I went out and when I got back this morning he was lying on the bottom of the tank.

NO, BOB IS GONE !!!

THERE WERE NO MARKS ON HIS LIFELESS BODY. Guess he lived hard and left a beautiful corpse.

I have had no ammonia readings since very early on in December and my nitrite is zero and nitrate is constant at around 10-25 ppm.

I thought that my tank had cycled so I took back my 2 minnows to put in the display tank at work and bought a blue female platty to help with the boisterous male.
I was also due to buy a small shoal of cardinal tetras, but they sold out so now all I have is my two female platties.

Have just tested the water and still feel the ammonia is zero,but if I look closely i might see a reading of 0.10, but I'm just clutching at straws.

I did see a possible thread worm hanging out of his bum the other day,but it could have just been poo !
Are parasites easy to control and is it advisable to treat them all when I buy more fish tomorrow ?

Please help. wasn't prepared for any deaths as I love my tank and its contents.
M x

 

[xoedusk]

Sorry about your loss. Yes, he was very pretty.

I suggest posting your last post in the Emergency section. There are some smart people there who can help you out. In the mean time, read up online from different sources about internal parasites.