Platy And Swordtails ~ Problems...

[Jamie624]

Hello, 2 problems with my fish~ hope you can help.

Firstly both of my newly introduced swordtails have started showing symptoms of ich; they keep flicking against the gravel and plants but I can't see any white spots on them at all? Should I proceed with an ich treatment anyway? And if so, should I remove the bag of charcoal from my filter? (It doesn't mention it in the instructions)

Secondly, my male platy who was originally in the tank is being very aggressive towards the new comers. I initially had 3 swordtails -1male 2females, but the male platy kept harassing the male swordtail, chasing and nipping him. I found the male swordtail dead in the morning. Now I'm worrying for the female Swordtails as he is displaying similar behaviour towards them now.
I do not have a separate tank to put him in, will he ever desist?

Will gladly take any other advice, thank you.

 

[OldMan47]

I am not sure where to start Jamie. If you have no option but to leave the fish in the same tank, maybe you could use a tank divider to separate the bully. When it comes to ich, I would start a treatment as soon as I had any confidence that ich was the problem. Ich can be deadly if left untreated but can be easily and effectively treated using nothing but salt and elevated temperatures. I have a link in my signature area to some good Ich Info that will give you details about the ich parasite's life cycle and prevent you making some of the more common, and deadly, mistakes. Failing to thoroughly treat ich means repeated infestation episodes that eventually can mean lots of fish losses.