Male Platys Get Lonely?

[neon_platy]

Ok so ever since I moved the female I think I have been through like two male platys...All my other fish are great, the Zebras are all fine, my two tetras are fine, my cories are fine, but the platy male always dies within a few days of me buying him...Is it he's lonely w/o the female?? Should I just wait to buy until I move her back into the community tank?? I've had real bad luck with the males as the very first male was the one that died and I had the dream he was dying and I woke up ran to the tank and there he was dead, then the one after that swam into a plastic plant and got stuck in the fake leaves or whatever, freaked out and died in the night...

 

[dwarfgourami]

IME platies being sociable fish do best with other platies, or at least some fish with similar habits (like guppies), to potter around with. Though I wouldn't expect them to die as quickly as that just from loneliness. Probably some other cause you haven't yet spotted.

 

[juliehainsworth]

You are probably better off keeping more than one male and one female platy! The preferred ratio is at least 2 females to one male! You might be better off getting a couple more females to keep him company! Your only problem then is that you may become over run by fry as they seem to drop around once a month! (In my experience anyway)

 

[neon_platy]

Natsuko,

I was thinking that too...I think when i go to the LFS after work today as I have to get a lid for a 5 gallon tank for the fry to get bigger in, that I'd pick up the new male and another female to go with him...and yes I know about the overrun with fry, just haven't experienced it first hand yet. My female has been doing well in teh birthing tank, and I think it was your thread I got into, maybe not, where Anna said it should be another week or so for birth. I just keep hoping it's when I'm home, so she doesn't eat all the fry....Yeah, I am trying to think of crazy desks I could build to put all my tanks on then one giant hexagon like shape tank in the middle...I think my family is starting to worry about me....

 

[juliehainsworth]

I've always kept my females in a breeding trap in the main tank for birthing and then transfered the fry over when she has finished! People have said that the hormones in a female platy stop her from being hungry for approx 12 hours after birth of her fry so the fry shouldnt be at much risk! Even though the other week when I was fortunate to watch mine give birth she did chase a couple of the fry (she didnt get any though)

I know the feeling about wanting to expand in having tanks! I downsized and now I wish I hadnt as have two tanks running at the mo and I'm plotting for my next ones!

Not sure how much longer it will be til yours drops! I just watch mine and when the opening at the back end is pretty open I move her to where she I want her to give birth? I've been pretty fortunate to have them birth within 24 hours of transfer!

Good luck with all the fry, my two have had between them 59 fry to date and are both heavily pregnant again! In theory one should drop by next week (in theory but maybe not) but don't have room for the fry so they're gonna fend for themselves in the community tank!

What ones have you got I've just got sunset platies, I didnt really want them at the time but the colours on them have got brighter and they are pretty attractive!

 

[neon_platy]

I've always kept my females in a breeding trap in the main tank for birthing and then transfered the fry over when she has finished! People have said that the hormones in a female platy stop her from being hungry for approx 12 hours after birth of her fry so the fry shouldnt be at much risk! Even though the other week when I was fortunate to watch mine give birth she did chase a couple of the fry (she didnt get any though)

I know the feeling about wanting to expand in having tanks! I downsized and now I wish I hadnt as have two tanks running at the mo and I'm plotting for my next ones!

Not sure how much longer it will be til yours drops! I just watch mine and when the opening at the back end is pretty open I move her to where she I want her to give birth? I've been pretty fortunate to have them birth within 24 hours of transfer!

Good luck with all the fry, my two have had between them 59 fry to date and are both heavily pregnant again! In theory one should drop by next week (in theory but maybe not) but don't have room for the fry so they're gonna fend for themselves in the community tank!

What ones have you got I've just got sunset platies, I didnt really want them at the time but the colours on them have got brighter and they are pretty attractive!

Natsuko-san,

Are you japanese by the way or just picked the name natsuko?? I've been curious since I saw your name on here. By the way I lived/studied in Japan for 8 months, but anyway, yes I had bad experience at the school i worked at with guppies in a trap...one saturday morning when i was working she started giving brith and trying to eat them then i had to catch her and get her in, then she gave birth and most were ok...the psychology teach helped me with it and we joked that is "Crisis in Adolescense" lol *that was the class he was teaching* then that monday when i came back the female was dead with half a fry sticking out...it was quite traumatizing for me so I'm probably always going to use birthing tank or fending for themselves in the community tank....Other fish trauma included a plague of ich, and then some silver hatchets that had some weird eye problem and died...Anyway, yes I am hoping it will be anytime so I'm trying to constantly clean/change water little each day or every other day and always checkin ammonia stats/etc. i'll post pics when she does...yeah i just have sunset wag platies I think they're called...they're orange with the black tail...i saw a rainbow/blue one at the store the other day and was like that'd be pretty interesting if they crossed those two...anyway, my grandpa had fish when i was little so im like half wanting to call him and ask help me build some crazy giant aquariam park for my living room LOL

 

[juliehainsworth]

Unfortunately its the name of my betta, my partner named him he really liked the name after getting it from an anime film (which you cant beat anime/manga)! You are so lucky getting to go to Japan, I would love to go there one day well not interested in the modern bits more into the older buildings and art! (bit of a techno phobe)!

Sorry to hear about the bad experience, I once had a guppy die giving birth too she was still pretty full of the fry so I attempted a c-section of my own (I was only 15 at the time) I got out a few fry but they only livved a couple of weeks! I wouldnt have done it if she was alive though my theory was that she was already dead so might as well try and save something!

I wanted the wag tails but my LFS didnt have any so went for the sunset ones!

Hmmmm don't talk to me about ich its doing my head in at the mo as recently cleared it up and now my platy fry have it grrrrr!

It feels like water changes rule my life lol as am way overstocked so having to do daily water changes! I really need to get hold of a larger tank or I could part with some fish but I've grown too attached for that oh well apart from ich they seem healthy enough to me!

 

[neon_platy]

Yeah, I stayed out in the country near Kyoto area so all my coworkers ( I work at a major japanese trading company) laugh b/c I have never been to Tokyo before and call me "country". That's cool you tried a CSection. I don't know if I could do it, but I guess if she was really full and dead I would wanna do the same to try and save some of the fry...yes water changes seem quite the constant at my place too. I think i stopped putting the stuff away and have buckets and stuff out in my kitchen lol...i can't wait to see what babies come out b/c at one point i got a red wag tail platy by mistake thinking it was the same color as the fem and they may have had sex at some point so...guess i'll see how they turn out. I'm hoping to get a bonus this year and maybe hopefully not have to pay taxes and dare I say get a tax refund so I can buy a big aquarium. I should set it up as small business a fish farm or something, then get all sorts of tax exemptions lol oh well we'll see.....

 

[juliehainsworth]

Hmmm that would be good! Then again I keep daydreaming about what I would do if I won the lottery lol......

One can only dream, I so would go to Japan though........ Maybe even set up a small business!

It's always interesting to see what you get when you cross breed! I wouldnt mind trying it when I have a bigger tank! Just wish I could get hold of one! They cost a fair bit!

Why I ever gave up my 4ft tank I do not know grrrrr

 

[neon_platy]

Hmmm that would be good! Then again I keep daydreaming about what I would do if I won the lottery lol......

One can only dream, I so would go to Japan though........ Maybe even set up a small business!

It's always interesting to see what you get when you cross breed! I wouldnt mind trying it when I have a bigger tank! Just wish I could get hold of one! They cost a fair bit!

Why I ever gave up my 4ft tank I do not know grrrrr

I just realized you said 4 FT TANK LOL wow that is big!!! My vision is a table in a semi hexagonal type shape with room to put on the six outter edges, my tanks, a 10 gal, my 5 gal, maybe a couple more 10s, so maybe it would be more of a pentagonal type shape but anway, then in the middle of the tank a much larger tank so all the aquariams all go around the taller inner tank so all fish can see each other, but in different tanks obviously....other dream is to make a piping system type thing to make it all connect so fish can go in and out of any tank hehehe I think im on crack b/c that's not gonna happen

 

[juliehainsworth]

A 4ft tank isnt that big its what I had before I down graded ! Would be alot better for all my fish!

Your idea for piping I think has been done in aquariums around the world but not sure if anyone has it at home though!

So did you get your new platies last night?

My fish where starving when I got home last night no idea why they'd been fed in the morning! Talk about greeting when you walk in the room! Needless to say it was the platies up front I think they're bottom less pits!

I've had an idea of what would be perfect for an indoor aquarium a place that bred live food and periodically released some into the main tank area! Daphnia would be great for it as they eat algae so it would also keep algae levels down in a tank! Plus it would be slightly cheaper too! Oh well will have to stick to collecting it from my pond in the meantime!

 

[neon_platy]

A 4ft tank isnt that big its what I had before I down graded ! Would be alot better for all my fish!

Your idea for piping I think has been done in aquariums around the world but not sure if anyone has it at home though!

So did you get your new platies last night?

My fish where starving when I got home last night no idea why they'd been fed in the morning! Talk about greeting when you walk in the room! Needless to say it was the platies up front I think they're bottom less pits!

I've had an idea of what would be perfect for an indoor aquarium a place that bred live food and periodically released some into the main tank area! Daphnia would be great for it as they eat algae so it would also keep algae levels down in a tank! Plus it would be slightly cheaper too! Oh well will have to stick to collecting it from my pond in the meantime!

Hahaha...yeah I know what you mean...my platies eat and eat and eat and eat and then go to the bottom and eat some more...yeah, i got the two i wanted actually got one male sunset wag tail platy, then i saw this female that was soooooo pretty she was purple high fin mickey mouse platy...I'll post pics later...i did major water change on all 3 tanks and nobody's dead yet, so that's good news...i really need to get a big tank soon though...

 

[juliehainsworth]

Ooooh she sounds lovely can't wait to see the pic! I wish I could get decent pics of my fish but they just wont stay still for two seconds! Oh well!

I'm in the process of working on a colleague who has a 2ft tank with goldfish in that she doesnt want so I'm hoping the tank has at least a lid and light at least then I'll be able to take it off her hands and trade in the fish to my LFS and set it up to cycle and I wont need to worry too much about being over crowded in my tank as will be able to move them about! Then my betta can have his very own tank at last!

 

[neon_platy]

Ooooh she sounds lovely can't wait to see the pic! I wish I could get decent pics of my fish but they just wont stay still for two seconds! Oh well!

I'm in the process of working on a colleague who has a 2ft tank with goldfish in that she doesnt want so I'm hoping the tank has at least a lid and light at least then I'll be able to take it off her hands and trade in the fish to my LFS and set it up to cycle and I wont need to worry too much about being over crowded in my tank as will be able to move them about! Then my betta can have his very own tank at last!

Yeah Anna was asking about pics of her too...I'll post it tonight when i get home from work...yeah that would be cool. I still want to try and make the tube aqua land tank thing

 

[juliehainsworth]

Good luck in trying to construct one no idea where to begin with stuff like that!