Lonely Platy?

[George Farmer]

Is it "acceptable" to keep a single Platy? I've seen them being kept single in a few well-planted tanks for their aesthetic qualities, Amano's for one, so I assumed it was ok. It seems happy enough, is feeding well and is very active. It is also fantastic at eating surface scum.

You can see my 33G in the journal link in my sig. I was considering adding another 3 or so but am concerned about lots of fry. I have no other tanks to house them in and I don't want the extra bio-load.

Is it possible to sex them i.e could I have 4 females?

Obviously I'm a livebearer novice so any advice appreciated.

 

[smallords]

hi, i'm new at keeping fish. had 3 platys for the last 6 months but lately, 2 died, and only the big bully left. for a week he had the tank all to himself but seemed less active. hiding mostly, only coming out for food. HOWEVER i got him 2 lady friends this morning, and ever since, he's been swimming around, hanging out with his new mates. i do believe he's been lonely, but not anymore!

 

[Annastasia]

Well welcome to the Livebearer section then!

It IS okay to keep one, but they are happier in groups. Fry is one of the biggest concerns with them, as they breed like no tomorrow. Getting all females, however, won't help that, as they can store sperm from one mating with a male for up to 6 months. If any of their fry grow up and become males, you're going to be in for it.

It is quite possible to sex them. The females will have a rounded anal fin, shaped like a fan. The males will have a pointed one, also called a gonopodium, which is a modified anal fin used to impregnate the females. You can look here in William's topic, and see the difference. Female on the right, male on the left.

Looking in your journal, I would say you have a male Variatus Platy. In which case, you could get 4 more males. It is possible to keep all males, however at least 5 is recommended, as that seems to be the magic number to cut down on aggression. I can't tell from the picture, but does the tank have lots of hiding places? Males usually need hiding places and their own little 'territory' when it's an all male tank.

If you could get a closer picture of the Platy, I could tell you for sure the sex, or you could just take a look at him/her versus the pictures in William's topic.

Good luck with them! They really are great little fish.

 

[George Farmer]

Well welcome to the Livebearer section then!

It IS okay to keep one, but they are happier in groups. Fry is one of the biggest concerns with them, as they breed like no tomorrow. Getting all females, however, won't help that, as they can store sperm from one mating with a male for up to 6 months. If any of their fry grow up and become males, you're going to be in for it.

It is quite possible to sex them. The females will have a rounded anal fin, shaped like a fan. The males will have a pointed one, also called a gonopodium, which is a modified anal fin used to impregnate the females. You can look here in William's topic, and see the difference. Female on the right, male on the left.

Looking in your journal, I would say you have a male Variatus Platy. In which case, you could get 4 more males. It is possible to keep all males, however at least 5 is recommended, as that seems to be the magic number to cut down on aggression. I can't tell from the picture, but does the tank have lots of hiding places? Males usually need hiding places and their own little 'territory' when it's an all male tank.

If you could get a closer picture of the Platy, I could tell you for sure the sex, or you could just take a look at him/her versus the pictures in William's topic.

Good luck with them! They really are great little fish.

Thanks for the informative reply Annastasia, very helpful.