Least Stress For Bullied Pregnant Platy

[HeatherW]

Hey,

Today I bought a pregnant platy from my LFS.

My male platy is quite aggressive with her.
This is NOT mating behaviour. I've seen him with the other females.
It's not the slow side by side chasing, but a quick chase to nip at her.

Does he not like her because she is pregnant?
Or because she is new?

He loosly schools and feeds with the other female platies. He is the only male.
But he was not aggressive with them when they were new.

It seems worst at feeding times, otherwise she stays out of his way.

I'm afraid she will not get enough to eat or that she will abort from stress.

Should I wait 24 hours to see if he gets used to her?
Or is this a common pregnant female thing?

She is at least a week from dropping, maybe 2.
I was going to put her in the Penn Plax Aqua nursery, but not for about a week.

Should I put her in now? Will she eat better and be less stressed in there?
Or will that be more stressful for her?

Thank-you
Heather

 

[Annastasia]

It's because she's pregnant. They give off pregnancy hormones, which the males like. If he's being really aggressive, and nipping near her gravid spot, he could be trying to make her abort to he can eat the babies. Bt usually that happens when they are closer to giving birth. I say the aggression has mostly to do with the pregnancy, and a little to do with being new.

I'd give them a little while. A couple days or so. Unless you notice him getting really aggressive, then it'd be best to put her in another tank, if you have one. I wouldn't advise you to put her in a breeder trap (I'm guessing that's what it is?) because leaving her in there will most likely just stress her out even more. You might want to try planting up the main tank some more, and maybe adding more decorations. If you re-arrange it, the male might lose some of his aggression for a while.

 

[Somethings Fishy Here]

i agree with annastasia, try putting in some more stuff to make avoiding the male easier before you resort to moving her, but dont hesitate to move her if it gets worse.

 

[HeatherW]

Thank you for the advice.


Unfortunately she aborted last night and is no longer pregnant.


I looked for fry, but she was not very far along so they were likely born still in eggs and were devoured.

It must have been a stessful day with a new tank and a bully.
I'm glad she is doing well though. The male is not even bugging her anymore.

Better luck next time.

In the future should I remove pregnant females really early?
Or is my male less likely to bully them once he is used to them?


Heather

 

[Annastasia]

Sorry to hear that.

The male should be a little less aggressive once he gets to know her, but he may be one of those males that is really driven to pregnancy hormones. I had one like that. Yeesh!

If you do happen to have one like that, moving the female out early would be best, as long as you can move her into a breeder tank, not a breeder trap or net.