Platy Behaviour

[Guppyz]

I bought 2 palties a week ago. For the first week the have been very calm. I have one male and one female. The male swims up to eat when I feed them. The female however swims to the back of the heavily planted corner whenever my hand get close to the tank. I don't witness her eating. Will she be okay? They share a 10 gallon tank with a filter and heater with four guppies. I know people say to keep a 1 to 3 ratio with the genders but the male doesn't seem to be bothering her. At least until last night when I saw him doing kind of a shimmy dance near her. Is he being mean or trying to breed or something? I also noticed there was great damage done to two of my female guppies gill areas. I'm worried about their health as well as my platies health. Do you think it was my platies that are hurting my guppies? Is my female and male's behaviour troubling? My tank is finally cycled and now I'm stuck with this mess. Do I need more female platies? Do I have room for them in my tank? Please help!

 

[soybean]

He may not pester her much now, but that shimmying is mating behaviour. You would be best to add another female to give her a break.

My single male platy also harasses female guppies and anything else it can try to mate with, as I have no female platys. So there's a chance it will chase your female guppies. Another reason to add another female platy.

She will soon associate you with food and come closer, just let them settle in. She will find bits around the tank in the meantime.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

The female may be hiding in the planted area to avoid the males attentions. Either that or she is heavily pregnant and is going to give birth soon, or she is sick.

The damaging gills on the guppys is much more likely to be a parasite or disease causing the damage rather than the platys or the guppys themselves. Inflamed gills & rapid breathing can be a result of Gill Fluke infestation (use external parasitic med to treat this), while Gill plate/tissue erosion can be due to mycobacteria/bacterial infection (use broad range anti bacterial med to treat this). Pics will help .

 

[Guppyz]

The female may be hiding in the planted area to avoid the males attentions. Either that or she is heavily pregnant and is going to give birth soon, or she is sick.

The damaging gills on the guppys is much more likely to be a parasite or disease causing the damage rather than the platys or the guppys themselves. Inflamed gills & rapid breathing can be a result of Gill Fluke infestation (use external parasitic med to treat this), while Gill plate/tissue erosion can be due to mycobacteria/bacterial infection (use broad range anti bacterial med to treat this). Pics will help .

It is not a parasite. It was very sudden. I looked at them when I woke up and walked in an hour later and it looked like something took a jab at them. A parasite couldn't do that dammage in that short time.

He may not pester her much now, but that shimmying is mating behaviour. You would be best to add another female to give her a break.

My single male platy also harasses female guppies and anything else it can try to mate with, as I have no female platys. So there's a chance it will chase your female guppies. Another reason to add another female platy.

She will soon associate you with food and come closer, just let them settle in. She will find bits around the tank in the meantime.

Thanks this helps! Are my other fush in danger? Do I have enough space in my tank for another female? Would it be okay just getting one more?

 

[soybean]

Add one more female and see how you get on don't forget with Livebearers you get babies, most get eaten but some may survive and add to the inhabitants of the tank.

As for your guppies, try not to fret about them, it may not be anything serious. Are you keeping in top of your water changes? Very clean water will help heal any damage. If it doesn't clear up, or gets worse in the next few days, try to post a photo and take it from there - its hard to tell what it is without one. Never medicate a tank without knowing what you're trying to treat.