Platy At The Top Of The Tank.

Adam Wilson · Dec 30, 2007

Hey y'all, I'm pretty new to the hobby but I've acquired a 29 gallon tank with two corys, 4 cardinal tetras, a snail and a platy. The other fish (and mr. snail) are all acting normally, although the smaller cory tends to swim to the top and back down over and over whenever I have the bubble line on. Thing is, the platy doesn't really move around that much, other than swimming down to grab his food, he just continuously chills out in the top right back corner of the tank. Never moves more than a little bit from that area. Am I overthinking this? Could it be he just likes it up there near that big plant? Or should I be worried?

stiffler69 · Dec 30, 2007

Adam Wilson said:
Hey y'all, I'm pretty new to the hobby but I've acquired a 29 gallon tank with two corys, 4 cardinal tetras, a snail and a platy. The other fish (and mr. snail) are all acting normally, although the smaller cory tends to swim to the top and back down over and over whenever I have the bubble line on. Thing is, the platy doesn't really move around that much, other than swimming down to grab his food, he just continuously chills out in the top right back corner of the tank. Never moves more than a little bit from that area. Am I overthinking this? Could it be he just likes it up there near that big plant? Or should I be worried?

Get him some buddys thats a pretty big tank for the amount of fish you have i could point you in the right direction for some friends lol :good:

Adam Wilson · Dec 30, 2007

stiffler69 said:
Adam Wilson said:

Hey y'all, I'm pretty new to the hobby but I've acquired a 29 gallon tank with two corys, 4 cardinal tetras, a snail and a platy. The other fish (and mr. snail) are all acting normally, although the smaller cory tends to swim to the top and back down over and over whenever I have the bubble line on. Thing is, the platy doesn't really move around that much, other than swimming down to grab his food, he just continuously chills out in the top right back corner of the tank. Never moves more than a little bit from that area. Am I overthinking this? Could it be he just likes it up there near that big plant? Or should I be worried?

Click to expand...

Get him some buddys thats a pretty big tank for the amount of fish you have i could point you in the right direction for some friends lol

I thought about that, he does seem lonely up there. I just didn't want to get too many at once and be overwhelmed. Would I need to get the same exact type of platy for him? I'm assuming so, since the two corys are different and they don't "hang out" too much at all.

kribensis12 · Dec 30, 2007

No, all platy's came from 1 strian, and will breed with eachother. Corries need groups of like 6, as they are very social. Also, is your platy male or female? It look's male, but you will need to post pic's of it's side if you cannot tell b y yourself.

Adam Wilson · Dec 30, 2007

kribensis12 said:
No, all platy's came from 1 strian, and will breed with eachother. Corries need groups of like 6, as they are very social. Also, is your platy male or female? It look's male, but you will need to post pic's of it's side if you cannot tell b y yourself.

Reading the FAQ on Platys it's a male (Pointed dorsal fin instead of broad one). I hate that I've neglected him, I specifically asked the folks at the pet store if he'd need a buddy and they said that only the tetras would need to school. Chalking that up to my ignorance and won't make that mistake again.
So we're pretty certain he just needs a friend to get out of his funk?

kribensis12 · Dec 30, 2007

Well, you need atleast 2 female's. Or else his "funk" will stress out the only female.

electric yellow · Dec 31, 2007

Adam Wilson said:
kribensis12 said:

No, all platy's came from 1 strian, and will breed with eachother. Corries need groups of like 6, as they are very social. Also, is your platy male or female? It look's male, but you will need to post pic's of it's side if you cannot tell b y yourself.

Click to expand...

Reading the FAQ on Platys it's a male (Pointed dorsal fin instead of broad one). I hate that I've neglected him, I specifically asked the folks at the pet store if he'd need a buddy and they said that only the tetras would need to school. Chalking that up to my ignorance and won't make that mistake again.
So we're pretty certain he just needs a friend to get out of his funk?

Platys are great aren't they!

They were the first type i got. I have 6 in my tank. 3 boys and 3 girls. I only started with a boy and he was lonely and not as excited as he was in the tank that i got him from at our lfs. He would hide up the top of the tank, behind the filter or behind the heater. So got him some girlfriends and he lived up in no time

Yours is definantly a male. As the girls have a different fin underneath. You will easily be able to handle three platys. I have an arrayment of colours. Orange and yellow, blue and grey, gold with dalmation spots and a silver with blue shimmer. Platy fry are just adorable to. They do breed regularly. But then we have only had one batch in the last 4months....but now two of our girls are preg :hyper: