Is My Platy Displaying, Or Sick?

[nessar]

I have 3 platys, but one is ill at the moment, and so is in the hospital tank. That leaves only 1 female with my male and he chases her contantly and nips her, so I have put him temporarily into a betta trap.

Well today my female platy has been acting very odd, she swims around the trap a lot, and then kind of tilts away from him, as if giving him a better view, if that makes sense. Like she's leaning to one side.

Is she wanting to mate or misses him, or is she ill and I need to post in the emergency section?

Water parameters are fine.

 

[nessar]

Bump! Anyone? Even if its just to tell me not to be silly.

He's back in the main tank now. Sometimes they circle each other and she does the tilting thing then.

Also he doesnt pay much attention to her with the other female in the tank, but when he does he is agressive. He follows the other female around a lot though, sometimes not chasing her, and hes not as agressive. Why could this be? I didnt think livebearers paired up like that - could it be that they are both blue coral, and she is bright orange and was introduced later?

 

[nessar]

Anyone? Theres a chance she may be male if that makes a difference. The anal(I think?)fin looks like a cross between a gonodium and a female fin.

 

[Curiosity101]

Pictures would help with regards to sexing. It sounds like odd behaviour... but not like illness behaviour.

 

[nessar]

I will try but she moves the fin around a lot. Will get some today hopefully.

 

[Curiosity101]

Stick her back in the breeding trap temporarily?

 

[OldMan47]

A platy with an anal fin that looks something between a male and a female is a late developing male in most cases. If that same anal fin is being moved around as if at the will of the fish, it is definitely male and will soon show a fully developed gonopodium.

 

[nessar]

its blue plastic so I wouldnt get any clear shots tried today but shes been hiding mostly, hes so mean to her! I think I'm going to have to get him another girlfriend so he has 3. Will post when I have some pics!

 

[nessar]

oh dear i hope s/he is not male i will have to get loads of girls! it tends to move when shes swimming and when shes stressed he/she clamps it to her belly, but I dunno .....

heres the best pic I could manage - he/she/it is so fast! the orange one.

EDIT: they are still circling each other! its really weird!

 

[AnthemOfDeath]

from my eye and owning red wag platy.

too me that looks like a gonopodium, Quite possibly a male..Well I'd consider it a male for me no doubt.
see what other people say but I believe its a gonopodium

 

[Curiosity101]

Yes it's a male. That is 110% a gonopodium... thing is it doesn't even slightly look like a female anal fin...

Eitherways, problem solved. You have 2 males and 1 female.

 

[nessar]

oh thats not good will he start chasing the female soon?

i thought id take a chance on him when i bought him, cause he was so lively, the lady spent about 15 minutes trying to catch him, and at the time i hadnt seen the other males gonopodium move at all, it was always tucked against his body. Plus he was so fat I thought he was pregnant

so this circling behaviour, is this them squaring up, fighting over the female? and can i stop it and the chasing by buying more females?

 

[OldMan47]

More females will not stop the chasing but it will spread the attentions of the males around and take some of the pressure off of your female.

 

[nessar]

well he doesnt chase the female that much anymore, he chases the (now known as male) orange platy though, constantly and he nips him too. Will this stop with more females or do I have to get rid of one of them? I have already put the blue coral mickey mouse male in the classified section, but doubt anyone will want him enough to collect.