Aggressive male Platy 10/29/09
I'm fairly new to having an aquarium, but have spent countless hours the past few months setting one up.
<Welcome to the hobby.>
I've been searching for a few days on the web and through your site looking for a little more definitive answer to a small problem I have with some Platies. I have yet to find more of an answer than "typical male Platy behavior."
<Oh?>
Specifics:
I have a 12 gal tank, about 2 months old.
<A bit small for Platies; I'd say 15 gallons, and really 20 gallons, is what you want here. Males are aggressive towards each other, but they also harass females unwilling to mate with them. Since female Platies in aquaria are pregnant virtually all of the time if kept with males, that means the females are unresponsive almost all of the time as well. In other words, the males tend to be somewhere on a scale between wife-beater and all-out thug. Cute to be sure, but not "nice" animals.>
It's fairly heavily planted (artificial) in the back and sides and a couple small rocks.
<If it isn't floating, it isn't counting. Livebearers seek shelter at the top of the tank. Floating plants are ideal. You can stick all the rocks you want at the bottom of the tank and they won't be used. In any even, a rock is too easy for a male to swim around. Floating plants provide a more complex habitat that breaks up the lines of sight rather better. It also provides somewhere for fry to hide from their parents.>
It had finished cycling roughly a month ago and hovers around pH ~7.5, nitrites ~0, nitrates ~40ppm depending on when last w/c occurred, and somewhat hard water. It currently houses 5 assorted Platies and 2 Peppered Cory Catfish. No plans to expand much more than an additional Platy or two, possibly from fry. Of the Platies, only 1 is a male, Gold Twin Bar. The others are female; Red Wag, Sunburst, and 2 Gold Twin Bar.
<A bit generously stocked for a 15 gallon tank...>
My observations:
As of perhaps a week ago (shortly after discovering a single Platy fry in the tank which has since disappeared) the male has become increasingly aggressive towards the slightly smaller, and definitely pregnant, gold female.
<Normal.>
He ignores the red wag and the sunburst, and spends most of his time hanging with the other gold female who seems to enjoy his company. She also is starting to show signs of being pregnant again, as well as possibly the sunburst. I can't tell on the red wag, but likely not.
<If the female is with a male, she's pregnant. Don't imagine you can tell by looking for the gravid spot; that applies to guppies and smaller livebearers only, and in turn merely means the uterus is being pushed against the muscle wall. It isn't a "sign" that gets switched on when a fish is pregnant.>
Sometimes the male just swims slowly up to harassed female as if interested in her, then she darts off when she notices.
<I bet!>
Most times though he will openly dart at her as if to nip her, especially during feeding after the flakes are almost all gone and when only some bottom food is left. As of today, the harassed female has a split top fin, likely from being chased so much, so the male was isolated into a 2.5 gal hospital tank, at least for a couple days.
<Can't stay in there for long, you know.>
I have never noticed him chase any of the other females, even covertly watching them.
The Question(s):
<Yes?>
I guess it's several questions I'm asking that might be one simple answer.
Is the above situation normal?
<Yes.>
Should I leave them alone?
<See above for what you should be doing.>
Perhaps add another male to take attention off the harassed female (still have a 2:1 ratio of females to males) or another new gold female to at least split up his grieving?
<Adding another male in a tank this small will almost certainly result in the present male chasing the newcomer, and likely damaging it in the process. It won't dilute the aggression towards females one iota. Adding more females is always worthwhile though, assuming the tank is big enough...>
Maybe just replace him with a different male?
<May be an option. No guarantees, and since the species is prone to this behaviour, there's no reason at all to expect a magic cure.>
Thanks,
Brian
<Cheers, Neale.>

Male Platy Strange Behavior – 09/04/09
We have a Platy that has been exhibiting some very odd behavior for the last week and we are stumped. He has been laying on the bottom of the tank for a good while but will get up and swim around when we go by or when it is time for food.
<Usually, when Platies and other livebearers sit on the substrate, it's a bad sign. These fish are strongly associated with the surface of the water in the wild, hence their upwards-pointing mouths. The reasons for sitting on the bottom are varied, from chilling and constipation through to swim bladder deformities and bacterial infections. Fry with malformed swim bladders, known as "belly sliders" are quite common. But if a fish suddenly starts to sit on the bottom that hitherto swum normally, then you may have a serious problem. As always, review water chemistry, water quality, and temperature. Look for signs of bullying (damaged fins) or constipation (unusually long faeces or bloating).>
He eats just like he always does (picking out only the green flakes, very picky),
<These are herbivores, and should be fed an algae-based flake as their staple.>
he is not bloated nor is he any skinnier than before. When he goes to the bottom of the tank he falls rapidly but he seems to settle in before he lays down, he will find a comfortable spot and then lay on his side, <On his side? That's usually a very bad sign. But if he's eating still, then things are mysterious: fish that roll onto their sides are usually at death's door, and eating isn't something they do.>
and when he is swimming it doesn't seem like anything is wrong at all, he has perfect control and grace.
<May be a swim bladder problem. Constipation is the number 1 cause of this, and switching to a high fibre diet, e.g., crushed cooked peas, daphnia, and live brine shrimp, may help. Don't feed flakes for a couple of weeks. Will do your other Platies no harm, and indeed most fish will benefit from such a diet once in a while.>
He is in a 55 gallon tank that we have had for 1 1/2 years, we do a 10 gallon water change every 2 weeks, and do water tests on the opposite weeks of water changes (maybe too often but we want them healthy). Our tests always come back at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and PH of 7.8-8.0 (we ran the tests again just prior to sending this e-mail with the same results).
<All sounds fine.>
In the tank we also have 2 silver dollars, a Pleco, an Otocinclus, 2 red eye tetras, and 2 female platys.
<Apart from the Red-eye Tetras, all these fish are herbivores, so switching to a high-fibre diet for a while is a very good idea. The Red-eye Tetras will likely eat some of these foods as well, so no risks involved.>
Right before this happened we had a female platy that gave birth but died shortly after (we had recently moved her into this tank because she was being harassed by a male platy we had in another tank).
<Likely unrelated; but do remember that Platy males can be aggressive, and the use of floating plants is very beneficial in terms of providing females with hiding places and resting spots.>
We also had a large number of female platys from a few prior births that we removed, to keep the population down in the tank. We could not find anything that could describe what he is doing as a disease. Please help us to figure out what is wrong with him. Thanks. Joe and Amber worried parents.
<Provided the fish is still feeding and not showing signs of Dropsy (i.e., bacterial infection of the abdomen) I'd not be too alarmed. Try using high-fibre foods for a couple of weeks, and see if that helps.
Cheers, Neale.>

Possibly Stressed Platy (and some non-aquatic plants to boot!)   7/30/09 Hi, <Hello,> I'm having so much trouble with my platy it's a golden Mickey mouse and I think its pregnant but I'm just not sure. <If she's in a tank with males, or has been in the last 3 months or so, yes, she's pregnant.> She's fat and has been for a while; her poop sometimes is dark and always seems to be swimming next to my male guppy. Today I stuck her in my breeder so I can get a closer look at her but when I stuck her in the male guppy started to act nuts swimming around the breeder trying to get close to my Mickey. <Male Guppies are notoriously promiscuous, and will attempt to mate with not just Guppies but other related livebearers, including Platies. This may indeed stress the female Platy, hence my advice to keep livebearers in groups with at least twice as many females as males. So if your Platy is shy, attempts to hide, or shows signs of nervousness, then think about adding some more female Platies and/or female Guppies.> She always eats but when I don't feed her she is near the back of the tank always I just want to now on what I should be looking for. <Well, Platies aren't especially hard to keep, and provided water quality is good and she's getting an algae-based diet (these fish are herbivores) there's really nothing much to worry about. The common problems are feeding them regular fish food (they need livebearer/algae flake) and keeping them in soft/acidic water conditions (they need hard, basic water). By the way, adding salt to the tank isn't helpful, so if you're doing that, don't! http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwh2oquality.htm They need hard water, not brackish water; see WWM re: water chemistry for more.> -Carolyn <Cheers, Neale.> hard to take a picture she keeps moving I think she's camera shy. <Can't help but notice your retailer conned you into buying Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana). This is of course a LAND PLANT and WILL die underwater. So whip it out before it pollutes the tank, and treat as you would any houseplant: stick it in some soil, provide good light, and keep the soil moist but not wet. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/keepoutfw.htm You might want to review any other plants in your tank; my experience is that the folks who buy one non-aquatic plant are the folks who buy all the others!>

Platy pooping a lot   5/1/09
Hi,
I noticed that my platy(red wag) seems to keep pooping today. Is this normal?
<Just like any other animal: what goes in, has to come out! If they eat a lot of fibre-rich food (as they should) then yes, they do produce a lot of faeces.>
The poop is like a long string and is a dark color. The platy looks healthy and is swimming around fine though. Am I overfeeding it?
<Possibly; is it fat?>
I only put in a pinch of fish flakes once a day and I have 2 platys in the tank. The other platy (marigold) is smaller and I am worried about it not eating. It seems to be taking in the flake but spitting it out later.
<Try something else. Fish have taste buds, and sometimes they don't like certain brands of flake. Flake food oxidizes over time, and the fats go rancid, and that puts off most fish. For Platies, I'd recommend a combination of Spirulina flake and a high-quality micro-pellet such as Hikari Micro Pellets.>
I am not sure if it is taking really small bites out of the big flake or not eating. It is swimming around fine and looks healthy to me too. Should I be worried about the fishes?
<You should always be concerned if fish aren't eating. Review water chemistry, water quality, social behaviour and act accordingly.>
Thanks,
Wei
<Cheers, Neale.>

Colour Issues when Breeding Platies  4/28/09
Hello,
<Hi,>
I wanted to ask whether male platies are attracted to the more colourful females?
<Male Platies will mate with anything female, given the chance, and tend not to be selective. Female Platies on the other hand certainly are selective. The basic rule in biology is this: sperm is cheap, and males can
make more sperm throughout their lives. But females are born with a finite number of eggs, and each egg is expensive to mature (the yolk, for example, is an energy store). Females may also be responsible for broodcare as well, which means energy is spent protecting any embryos produced. So females parcel out their eggs very carefully, and only fertilise their eggs with sperm from the best males they can find. Interesting, with Guppies at least, females definitely do go for the brighter coloured males. The theory
is that because bright coloured males are "handicapped" in terms of being easily seen by predators, any males that survive *despite* being brightly coloured must be especially fast, healthy or clever. In other words, they have good genes. When teaching this to students, I make the analogy of bright red sports cars. Such cars are of no practical or economic value, quite the reverse in fact, being expensive to run and able to carry few passengers or cargo. But precisely because they're "bad" cars in terms of usefulness, the advertise the owner has disposable income. In other words, a man with a bright red sports car is advertising to females that he has good genes that meant he's acquired wealth and status. Hence, he will be more attractive to females than a man with a more practical, inexpensive motor car. (Apologies to female readers out there who disagree! And men with practical cars! I'm sure my analogy isn't true...)>
I have 5 female platies and 3 males. Of the females, one is a very bright orange/yellow/red colour whilst the other 4 include 3 who are orange with black fins and one which is grey colour. The two males, one being
completely red and the other orange/silver/blue only chase the one female who is very bright coloured.
<An interesting observation.>
Why do the male platies only chase this one platy?
<Is she larger? Males will usually pursue only sexually mature females, and given the option, they might go for bigger females, or at least females who are big enough to advertise sexual maturity.>
They pay no attention to any of the others. And the males seem quite competitive and if not chasing the bright female they seem to be chasing each other away.
<Males are indeed competitive. Typically male livebearers compete with one another for access to *all* the females in a certain patch of area. Again, this is typical animal behaviour: females are choosy, males are
competitive. For males, because they have virtually unlimited sperm, the best thing they can do is mate with as many females as they possibly can, and to do that, the best approach is to drive off any rival males.>
I would like to start breeding the platies, and was wondering whether I should move some of the other females into my breeding tank with the red male and hope something happens. Any advice on how to initiate some activity?
<Platies, and indeed livebearers generally, are kept differently depending on whether you are a serious breeder or just want to add them to a community tank. In a community setting, a ratio of one male to three
females is ideal, and if you do that, aggression and persistent chasing should be minimal. Since all varieties of Platy will interbreed, if you want to produce quality fry of a particular type, you'd keep virgin females
in one tank, and males of the same variety in another tank. When breeding, you'd select a male and one or more females, and leave them together for a day or two. Then separate them again. With luck, the female will produce fry. To prevent inbreeding you'd separate the male and female fry after 2-3 months, because by that time they males at least would have their gonopodia developed and could start interbreeding with their sisters.>
Regards
Mark
<Cheers, Neale.>

My Platy Hates Me?   4/1/2009
Hi Ya'll. I have a fish behavior question.
<Fire away.>
I finally was able to move my fish from their 20 gallon to their new lovely cycled 40 gallon.
<Great! A 40-gallon aquarium is a great size, and from personal experience, my favourite in terms of balancing cost with water chemistry stability and choices of fish.>
In the process, I had a hard time rounding up the last Platy.
<They're fast little guys aren't they! Swordtails -- would you believe it -- are even faster.>
I grew impatient and instead of counting to 10, chased him all over the tank for a while really freaking him out. This was 5 days ago and he is still hiding from me.
<Try using two nets, or one net and a plastic container like a Tupperware.
Use one net to force the fish towards the other net or the container.>
If he sees me approaching, he hightails it to a hiding space and just won't come out. He also spends the majority of his time when out running up and down the sides of the tank (I have developed stealth observing skills). He also spends a lot of time letting the air from a stone rise him to the top of the tank and swims down furiously to be lifted again. It's quite entertaining if I wasn't so worried about him.
<Don't be.>
He didn't do the constant tank running previously in the 20 gallon and none of the other Platies do so (except when he does but they bore of it quickly). I have been able to get a good look at him and he seems to look okay and is eating and swimming fine (when not going up and down the sides).
<OK.>
Does this type of thing pass? Did I mentally damage him?
<No. These fish have brains that would make the average MTV reality show starlet look like Albert Einstein.>
Possibly physically damage him? He used to be so gregarious with me and the other Platies but now he's a loner.
<He's fine. As/when you catch him, he'll immediately get frisky once he sees females. Wild Platies have three thoughts: eat, mate, and fight with other males. They aren't particularly sociable (whereas the females are) and frankly if they have any thoughts at all, they aren't at the same level of "smart" fish like cichlids and puffers.>
I know I suck.
<No you don't. If it makes you feel better, I'm supposedly an expert, but the last time I tried to empty a fish tank out, I managed to bury a fish under a few inches of gravel. He survived, but he was cross for a while.>
Oh, and I had previously written for advice on my pH and carbonate hardness rapidly dropping. I was able to fix the carbonate hardness by using the mix you suggested at 1.5 tsp Epsom Salt, 1/2 tsp Baking Soda and Marine salt (see below) but ended up having to add a 1/2 tsp of Seachem's pH Regulator to get the pH to steady.
<Great.>
I mention it as a follow up on what worked for me and just in case you see something horribly off with adding the Regulator.
Thanks in advance,
Gina
<Happy to help. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: My Platy Hates Me? 04/03/09
Thanks so much Neale for the information, reassuring words and humor.
Always a pleasure.
<Happy to help.>
He started coming around last night and now will approach the front of the tank with the other Platies when I'm around. I'm really enjoying the 40 gallon!! With your help, everything is stable so I'm not having to do
water changes all the time.
<See, when we say get a 20, 30 or 40 gallon tanks, not that cute little 5 or 10 gallon system, we mean it! Bigger tanks really are better, easier, and in the long run, cheaper because you're not dealing with sick and dead fish all the time.>
Now that I know my Platy will be okay, I can sit back and actually enjoy the hobby for once!
<Precisely. Once a tank is stable, it should be very low maintenance.
Beyond water changes every week or two, and the occasional wipe-down to remove algae from the front glass, there really isn't much to do.>
On a side note, when I'm snorkeling off the coast of Mexico this Summer, I highly doubt I'll be able to get the picture of that giant 4 foot worm you posted a few weeks back on the FAQ out of my mind!!
<I'm sure it won't bite!>
Yikes!! :)
<Enjoy your holiday; I'm jealous already!>
Thanks Again,
Gina
<Cheers, Neale.>

Hiding. Platy beh.    2/25/09
I read some of your questions and answers but none answered my question. I have a tank with guppies, 3 sunburst wag platys, two snails, and a bottom feeder. One of the female platys is always hiding even when I clean the
tank until I removed her hiding place this time. She may be pregnant but not far along. She does not appear to have ick or any other illness. She has started hiding a couple of weeks ago. She is now smaller than the other female. We bought them about a month ago. The only other change in her tank besides extra hiding spots is the death of my adult female guppy from dropsy (she was pregnant as well, I thought). None of the other fish or snails are acting abnormal. I am not sure if I need to be concerned.
<Wouldn't be immediately worried provided she is feeding normally and doesn't have signs of ill health or damage. The main reasons fish hide are these: Firstly, the tank is too small. This frightens them and they hide.
Platies need a tank upwards of 90 litres (20 gallons). Anything smaller is inappropriate. Secondly, bullying. Male livebearers are nasty bullies, and will force themselves on any female in sight. You should always keep twice
as many females as males when keeping Guppies and Platies, otherwise the females have a nasty life constantly being harassed by males. It's different in the wild because there's more space and to some degree the males are dying young because they are eaten by predators. So this behaviour simply ensures the males get to mate a few times before they die.
But in the aquarium the males have things too easy, and are just really aggressive towards the females. Hope this helps, Neale.>

Re: Hiding... platies, guppies   2/25/09
It does kind of help thank you. The only thing I am concerned about is I never see her eat but she must some how because she is still alive.
<Yes and no... fish can last a long time without food, or just by nibbling algae in the case of herbivores like Platies. But still, if your fish doesn't eat her (Herbivore!) flake each day, then something is up.>
The male is not pursuing the two females as much as before. And she didn't appear to be bullied by any of the fish.
<Hmm... Did you ever experience/observe bullying at school? Often it happens, and yet if you ask the teachers, they'll swear blind they didn't see any evidence of it. Just because you don't see bullying, doesn't mean it isn't happening. With fish, bullying can be other than chasing/fighting.
It can be subtle use of colours, postures, even electric fields in the case of things like Knifefish.>
My tank has been pretty peaceful now that all the females are pregnant. I believe even my snails have mated. A few of the male guppies still pursue the female guppies. Could it be the stress of the guppy males chasing the guppy females?
<Yes.>
Maybe there are too many fish? I have twenty something guppies and three platys and two snails and one bottom feeder in a 29 gallon tank.
<I would start thinning out a bit. I tend to rehome the males quite briskly, and certainly offspring should eventually be rehomed to avoid inbreeding.>
Thanks, I will keep an eye on her (as well as I can).
<Good luck, Neale.>
Thank you for the advice and insight. I really helps.
<We're happy to help. Enjoy your fish, Neale.>

Platy behavior 10/27/08
Hi I have a ten gallon tank with 2 diamond tetras, 3 neon tetras, 1 sunset platy, 2 apple snails.
<Apart from the Neons (which should be in groups of 6+) none of these animals belongs in a 10-gallon tank. You're going to have problems keeping them in the right numbers and with the appropriate water quality. Diamond Tetras in particular get quite big (5 cm) and are very active, quite boisterous fish when mature.>
One sunset platy died and I added 2 mickey mouse platys, 2 guppies and a albino African frog.
<Do first of all check water chemistry and water quality. At minimum, get back to use with the pH and nitrite readings. Usually when fish die for no obvious reason, the cause is water quality or water chemistry problems. This is especially the case where less experienced hobbyists are concerned.>
The sunset platy started lying on its side when by the mickey mouse platy was by it (only). What is it doing? Is it trying to make nice?
<No, fish don't work that way.>
Should I get another sunset?
<Not a priority. Neons and Diamond Tetras are both schooling species and keeping them in such small numbers as you're doing is cruel. However, your tank isn't at all suitable for 6 Diamond Tetras. I'd be more concerned about upgrading to (at least) a 20-gallon system that worrying about anything else.>
Thanks
Karen
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Platy behavior (Environment?) 10/28/08
Then what? Why is the platy going to its side when by the others only?
<When there's a flu outbreak or a cold spell, not every human gets sick simultaneously. Lots of factors come into play, such as age and genetics. Just so with fish: sometimes bad conditions are tolerated by some, while others succumb quickly. Though there's a one in ten chance that water conditions aren't responsible, virtually all sickness in common aquarium fish kept by less experienced fishkeepers come down to water conditions. So I need to know the water chemistry (at least the pH) and the water quality (at least the nitrite concentration). These are the two test kits every aquarist should have, without fail. So I'm assuming you have them. Use them, and get back to me. From there I can get a snapshot of the aquarium environment. Once I know about that, I can more constructively comment on what's wrong with the tank, cross off some possibilities, and give you advice on what to do next. A photo is also very helpful. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Platy behavior (Environment?) 10/29/08
Ammonia - 1.0
<Well there's your problem. This concentration of ammonia will swiftly stress and kill most any fish. Your tank is either overstocked, under-filtered, or over-fed. Possibly a combination. In addition, immature tanks that have not been cycled correctly can/will experience an ammonia "crisis" that lasts around 4 weeks until the biological filter is mature. During that time a great many fish end up dead, hence the preference for "fish-less cycling" methods. Review, and make appropriate adjustments to stocking, filtration, and feeding.>
Nitrate - 10, Nitrite - 0, Chlorine - 0, Ph - 8.4
<Likely "case closed", and worrying about other issues until you've fixed the ammonia problem isn't useful. Platies are hardy enough fish, but any aquarium with detectable ammonia levels has serious problems that will, sooner or later, kill anything adding to the tank. Hope this clarifies things, Neale.>

Odd platy behaviour   10/12/08
Hi,
<Sarah>
I have a 60ltr Juwel Rena tank that I was given 2nd hand. I had it empty for about 2 weeks, then bought 6 platies from a local fish shop. One platy died within a week, another 10 days later. Both were red platies from the same tank in the shop and I wondered if they had been poor stock as they had both been gasping a lot around the bottom of the tank, and not wanting to eat for about half a day, before they died.
<Mmmm>
I had tested the water and found nothing untoward. However, not being sure why they died I decided to leave it a good month or so before getting anything else.
<Good>
Now, 7 weeks since the last one died, I have a very sad little platy. She had been quite perky, then she had some fry (well, one day she was fat, the next she was not, no sign of the fry until two weeks later, we have one very sweet perky little chap swimming with the others, coming up for food etc)
From the day she had the fry about three weeks ago she has been very shy and hiding, only coming out from behind an ornament for food. She seems paler, and much smaller (but then she has no fry in her now) She has also taken on some very odd behavior in the last two days, swimming vertically against the tank wall between the wall and an ornament propped against the wall, in a just about fish sized gap, almost, but not quite scraping on the wall. She is there all the time, so I decided to remove her today to my quarantine tank (newly heated, one previous occupant of a goldfish, who has since located to my cold water tank).
<I see>
She has no obvious signs of anything on her body (no white dots, red gills or anything), will eat a bit (not as much as the others, but she's always interested) and her fins are not clamped. Since I put her in the QT she has hidden under the only ornament in there and has not come out (I have not tried to feed her yet). I just checked the water in the main tank (10 days since water change, am about to do another one now) and Ammonia is 0.3,
<Mmm, quite toxic. Needs to be addressed>
nitrite at 0 (<.03, lowest on the scale), Nitrate at about 10. Test kits are all vial style rather than strips. We have hard water here (I haven't tested it, but I draw water for the tank from the main stop tap as our house water is softened artificially) and the tank temp is set at 26-27 C (79-81) (is this a bit too warm?)
When I fished her out into the QT tank so I could observe her a bit better (before she hid) I notice she seemed a bit 'bent' (!) - she has a gentle curve in her spine, not noticeable unless you look at her from above.
<Good observation>
Any ideas?
<See below>
The other platies left in the tank have also been a bit subdued lately - I have had the light on a lot and notice that they seem happier when it is off so I will try not to turn it on so much (I work from home and I like to watch them instead of working!) There has been another batch of fry appear this week - most however have probably been eaten as I have not seen them much. Right now they are fighting over an algae wafer - even the little one is with them (he's about 8mm long now and quite bold)
I really want to sort out what may be wrong, I'm keen to get some more female platies as now I have two males and one female, which is not a good ratio.. but don't want to get any more until I am sure I don't have a problem. I have been offered an angel fish by a friend (he's being picked on by the other angel fish in her tank) but I need to be sure that the tank is Ok (and that he will be Ok with my platies)
<Mmm, perhaps while small... Could be too aggressive with growth>
One other thing. In the mornings I have noticed some very very tiny white worm like things swimming in the water and on the glass. They are maybe one or two mm long, almost hair like, and swim in a curled up motion. Could they be a parasite?
<No, not likely. There are many such "wee beasts" that "occur" in aquariums... "spontaneously" it seems at times>
Your help would be very much appreciated. Your website is the most useful resource I have come across, especially the disease troubleshooter.
Thank you
Sarah
<Well... it might be that the initial platies were "spent" (near their natural life spans) when you purchased them... or that in their observed weakened state they perished from the additional stresses of the move to their new home... or one of a few other possibilities, including pathogens. If it were me, mine, I'd stick with (for the platies) the young, and raise them here... adding other peaceful, compatible species to go along with. Perhaps some Corydoras catfish for the bottom, some small danios, rasboras for the upper water... Many possibilities. I'd pass on the Angel... as it is too likely to get too big, agonistic in this small volume. Bob Fenner>

Re: odd platy behaviour 10/12/08
Thank so much Bob for the quick response.. my female is still being odd, so is still in the QT..
<Good>
I have passed on the angel, despite really liking the look of her, she's gone to another friend setting up a 5ft tank.. I am working hard on my husband to get a much bigger tank by Christmas (you should see my Christmas wish list already)!
<Heee! Good to have wishes>
Retested ammonia and it is registering a zero. Tested again, still zero. I think maybe my sons help (he's 4) with testing yesterday may not have helped.
Will get a few little Danios next week, and keep on pestering for a bigger tank (all we need to do to make space is get rid of the wine rack, apparently this is an issue!)
<Mmm, there are many creative ways to stack such bottles... I know>
Thanks again. Back to children's bath time (I am told that the children should come before the fish...)
Sarah
<Ah, yes. Cheers, BobF>

Pregnant female red wag platy being mean to male? 4/8/08 Hello, I purchased a pair of Red Wag Platies from PETCO a few weeks ago, one male, one female. Much of the equipment in the tank is second hand, (including the 12 gallon tank itself) so I don't know brands, but I do know that the aerator (I'm sorry I do not know if I spelled that right) is fully independent (requires no external pump) and is made for the tank, and that the filter is a medium Whisper filter. I also have a heater and a thermometer in the tank. Now, as to the fish in the tank. There are 3 Danios (One Giant, one Long tail Zebra, and one Long tail Leopard), a Black Skirted Tetra, 3 Corydoras (One is spotted, one splotchy, and one albino), and a Black Mystery Snail. <An interesting collection of fish, in the sense of not being sensible or recommended. Danios are schooling fish, and expect/need to be kept in groups of their own kind. Six zebra Danios (Danio rerio) for example. When kept in insufficient numbers it is not only cruel, but also asking for trouble. Have seen these fish become aggressive and nippy when kept thus. The tetra Gymnocorymbus ternetzi is a real troublemaker. Apart from being a schooling fish (again, six or more!) it is a confirmed fin nipper; will likely nip the Apple snail too. A dead snail = water pollution on a massive scale. And I cannot stress to strongly that Danios, and especially the Giant Danio (Danio aequipinnatus) require a lot of swimming space. Danio aequipinnatus gets to about 15 cm/6" when mature, and can (and will) eat small fish, including of course any livebearer fry but potentially small tetras, Danios, etc. Danio aequipinnatus needs an aquarium at least 150 cm/60" in length. Small Danios need something at least 60 cm/24" long.> Anyway... <Hmm...?> All was going well until about 3 days ago when I noticed a small white spot on the female Platy's vent. I immediately started looking online and found that the white spot is supposedly the gravid spot for the Red Wags, which of course made me get all kinds of excited because I had thought she was pregnant a week ago. <No, no, no. You can't reliably see the gravid spot on Xiphophorus spp., and it certainly isn't white.> Today, I noticed that she has been refusing the male's affections and running from him, until about an hour ago. Now instead of running away from him, she keeps a bit of distance while having a bowel movement and then lets him get real close, only to swim away real fast and hit him in the face with it. (Is this normal rejection type behavior?) <Who knows?> The other thing she has been doing is hiding in places where he can almost reach her with his gonopodium, but not quite, which has been driving him nuts! I am beginning to wonder how long it will be between the gravid spot appearing and her birthing the fry. <Gestation period is between 4-6 weeks, give or take a bit depending on environmental factors.> So, I guess to sum it up, I have two questions. 1: Is torturing the male a common pregnancy pastime for the female? <Not a pastime, but rather the result of evolutionary pressures acting on the males and females in different ways. Male livebearers are small and colourful, and consequently likely to get eaten young. So they are anxious to breed as often as possible before that happens. Females livebearers (at least in the wild) are bigger and camouflaged, so live longer. They select their mates carefully because they are committing a lot of energy and time to each batch of fry. They will attempt to reject males they consider unworthy.> 2: How long between a gravid spot appearing and the birthing of fry? <It isn't reliably visible on fancy Xiphophorus spp. so don't worry about it. Unless your tank has lots of floating plants, the Danio aequipinnatus will eat all the babies within minutes of birth. So this discussion is completely academic. Do not put female Platies in a breeding trap. It is too small for them, and likely stresses the fish, leading to miscarriages. Read the many articles here at WWM on livebearers and fish breeding. Cheers, Neale.> Re: Pregnant female red wag platy being mean to male? 4/8/08 I noticed that in your response you stated that the giant Danio will get to 6 inches in length at full maturity, and you said that he will eat the fry. Currently he is only around 2 inches in length and has the smallest mouth out of all the fish. <Do see here: http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=10829 Danio aequipinnatus, maximum size 15 cm, minimum aquarium length 100 cm. Fishbase is a scientific database, and not something put together my amateurs! I don't make this stuff up to scare people!> I also read that you said my tank setup was not recommended or sensible, but it was actually recommended by the store manager. <Who you going to believe, a guy who wants to sell stuff, or a guy trying to help on the basis of 20+ years of fishkeeping and a degree in marine zoology?> We've had all these fish for a couple months (aside from the platies) and they haven't fought since I removed a catfish that was getting a little too territorial (I'm sorry I don't remember the breed), he died of an internal bacterial infection soon afterward which I discovered was living in the rocks of our second tank (quickly replaced those). <Bacterial infections don't "live on rocks" any more than Bubonic Plague doesn't hide at the bottom of closets. So again, if this is something the guy in store told you, treat with extreme caution. Internal bacterial infections are not common in aquaria, and mystery deaths are almost always down to other, usually environmental or dietary, factors. But we can discuss this another time.> The tetra and the Danios usually swim in circles around the decor as a school (I don't see how their numbers are cruel as they seem very content with their situation), the Corys and the snail usually sleep inside of it, and the platies seem to think they own the tank because they pretty much do as they please. <Swimming in circles isn't entirely normal. What they're doing is likely chasing one another or expressing displacement behaviours. It is exceedingly difficult to put human values on animal actions. The best we can do is ask: "Is this what these fish do in the wild?". If this isn't the case, then we can assume something is wrong. I call that cruelty, but you can call it something else if that makes you feel better. The bottom line though is that when fish are maintained in this way, they become unpredictable. Stress can allow them to be more prone to disease, while frustrated behaviours can release aggression, fin nipping, and other negative behaviours.> But your response arose new questions, such as, how long will it take for the giant to fully mature? (Considering the store tank said he would be fully grown at 3 inches or I wouldn't taken the suggestion in the first place.) <A year or so, I'd guess.> Also, how long is the snail's average lifespan? <Apple snails can live several years, but in aquaria they tend to last, on the average, less than a year.> I know that my aunt had one in a 10 gallon tank (packed full of tetras and Neons) that lived for 6 years. Hers was a plain apple snail though. I don't know if there's much of a difference between that and the black mystery. <Not really. It all depends on the environment. More often than not, Apple/Mystery snails get nipped by fish, so combining them isn't 100% recommended. Sure, it can be done (I've done it) but it isn't something that works every time.> When hers died, it was stinky, but not all that messy. Though we did a 25% water change anyway. Back to the platies, I was wondering if I need to provide cover from the Corys so that they can't reach the fry? <Corydoras won't eat livebearer fry.> Also, there's a one gallon tank in our basement which only lacks a heater. If I set that up, would I be able to move the female there for birthing, and if so how soon should I move her? <I'd not do that. Floating plants are the trick here, and then you put the fry into the breeding trap for a couple months.> One last thing, the female platy (being a show off as she is) let me get a good look at that spot, it seems that the white is actually just transparency from the vent being enlarged. Is it normal for it to dilate that early? <No idea, to be honest.> Thank you Neale (regardless of your pessimism) for the warnings. <Not pessimism. Rather, I try to give advice that will work in all cases. Sometimes you can play fast-and-loose and get away with it, but for beginners, recommending the cautious game is perhaps better.> I will try to talk the landlord into allowing a bigger tank, but for now (until I have the money for a larger tank) they will have to live with what they already have and enjoy. <I raise livebearer fry in 5-10 gallon tanks on windowsills. Lots of algae and space for them to grow. Sell the fry from a few batches, and you easily make up your expense! I got £40 (about $80) for one batch of halfbeak youngsters!> Victor <Cheers, Neale.>

Platys... beh.   4/6/08
Hello,
Ever since my female Platy died my male platy has been chasing all of the baby platys around. He just does this constantly, occasionally he stops to eat but that is about it. He chases one for a couple of seconds, stops for a couple of seconds, and then chases another one. He doesn't appear to be hurting them ( they are about half an inch long). He never used to do this, he would just swim with my female platy, but since she died which was about a month ago, he has been doing this constantly.
Thank You,
Megan
<Megan, this is pretty much what male livebearers of all types do. In the wild males are smaller and more brightly coloured -- and consequently much shorter lived than the females! So the males have to mate as often as possible before they get eaten, often after only a few months of life. This means they fight with potential rivals (other males) and try and mate with any potential partners (any females). Evolution has given them this instinct, and there's nothing we can do to short circuit it. The best you can do is add a couple more females (at least) so that his energies are spread out and he's unable to harass any one fish. Cheers, Neale.>

Mollie and Platy beh.   12/28/07 Hello, First, tank detail: The livebearers: 1 Dalmatian balloon molly <... Have you read on WWM re?> 1 Red Wag (?) platy The grumpy: 1 Bumblebee Goby <Mmm, this is a brackish water animal> The amphibious: 1 African Dwarf Frog The clean up crew: 2 Ghost shrimp 1 Kuhli loach 1 Otocinclus They live in a 5 gallon (18.9 litre) tank (let it be known now that I am aware the tank is small, but I am diligent with the water chemistry), with extremely closely watched parameters, and large water changes at least once a week. <Good... hopefully not too much change with the water...> Tank temperature is generally in the mid-high 70s, <You have a purposeful heater?> with incandescent light to promote algae growth for the oto. Nitrates slightly high, <How high is high?> all else is normal, absolutely no ammonia in the water. Medium blue substrate, small terra cotta pots for hiding spaces, as well as clear marble aquarium decor. Includes three types of live plants, the one in question being the pongol sword, which looks exactly like this: http://www.aquaplantas.com/images/fotos_plantas/0158-Clorophytum-P-Sword.jpg <Mmm... am compelled to state that this, aka Spider or Ribbon plant is NOT aquatic... See the Net re> Here, finally, comes the question: I first noticed this behavior with my molly: it seems to be scratching itself against the sword, the broad portion of it. However, it does this with ONLY the sword. It does not scratch against the gravel, filter, or the other plants or aquarium walls. Just now, I noticed the platy doing the exact same thing. Again, only with the sword, nothing else in the tank. What is going on here? <Some scratching is natural... not indicative of disease...> Do they just like the way it feels? Neither of the fish appear to be infected with anything, all of the creatures are eating healthy, and they are all active. I have one more question, this one should be easier: my platy has the tell-tale dark spot of the preggers female. But it also has the gonopodium. Did I receive a hermaphrodite? <Not likely... but it may be changing, or expressing itself as one or the other...> Thanks in advance, Alex. <Do see Neale's pc. re Mollies: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/mollies.htm And elsewhere on WWM re Brachygobius, and start dreaming and scheming (if you haven't already) for another or larger system... you need it. Bob Fenner> Re: Mollie and Platy beh.... Kings and Queens of De Nile  12/29/07 Thanks for your reply, I have, in fact, been looking out for a better system, but for now, I think this could do. <Mmm, not with the mix of species you have> The molly appears to be quite happy, and because every time I change the water, I also rearrange all of the plants and decorations (much to the dismay of the loach) so the molly may not get bored for a while. I don't actually have a heater, but the bulb seems to be doing well enough on its own. If the temperature ever steadily drops beyond what the fish can handle, I will buy a heater. <Uhh... you need one now> And about the platy hermaphrodite... <Serial...> yep, she had babies. Had to fish out around twelve of the little buggers. I'm keeping them in a half-gallon tank (it's all I have now) and feeding them ground shrimp pellets. I haven't had a chance to get more suitable food, but I may be able to wing it with hard-boiled egg yolk and minced bits of worms. I'm currently lighting their tank with an old-style desk lamp... you know, the ones that get extremely hot to the touch. I'm positive the goby type that I have in the bigger tank is the one that can live in freshwater. <Please send along an image> About the sword.. I had suspected as much, but the molly and platy seem to enjoy it so much, I may just keep it. Regards, Alex. <I'd keep reading. BobF> Re: Mollie and Platy beh.... More chatting, now re Tetras  12/29/07 Thanks for the continuing suggestions, you'll be pleased to know, I gave up the molly and goby in favor of tetras. Much easier to deal with. <Hmm... oddly enough, doesn't always work out this way. Cardinal and some other tetras can sometimes be disappointingly short lived in very hard (20+ dH) water, whereas gobies and Mollies in hard water with a little salt added are very, very durable. But still, if you don't want to keep a brackish system, then there's no mileage in trying to keep brackish fish in plain freshwater.> I'll look in to a heater... what's the optimal temperature for this tank to be at? <Unless otherwise stated, tropical fish should be kept at 25C/77F. A degree or two either way won't make much difference, but most tropicals will weaken and die below 20C/68F. Conversely, keeping fish above 28C/82F can cause problems with oxygen starvation and short life spans.> Can you suggest a good temperature to keep the baby fish? It's around 80F in the tank, I brought it down a little because I'm afraid of frying the fry. <Nope, keep the fry at the same temperature as the adults.> Regards, Alex <Cheers, Neale.> Re: Mollie and Platy beh.  12/29/07 Thank you very much for your help and suggestions, guys. I am hopefully well on my way to having a happy tank. <Very good.> I have rummy-nose tetras.. so far, they seem to pretty much stick to themselves. <These are excellent fish. There are at least two different species sold as these, but in either case provided they are given soft, acidic water conditions they are quite hardy and long-lived. Tend not to do well in hard, alkaline water though. Do keep in groups of at least six, or they pine away.> About the heater: I hate to sound to skeptical, but are you sure it is required? <It's really as simple as this: if the climate in your house is identical to that of the Brazilian rainforest, then no, you don't need the heater. But if your house gets colder than the Brazilian rainforest, then you need a heater. In other words, a daytime variation between a peak at ~25C/77F in the day and a low of ~20C/68F at night will be fine. When kept at the wrong temperatures, fish either die from suffocation/heat exhaustion (if too hot) or immune/digestive system failures (if too cold). Your move.> I keep the light on in the tank at least 10 hours of the day in order to promote algae growth, and the temperature through that alone hovers around 78F (I have one of those 'ballpark' strip thermometers). <Doesn't matter what sort of thermometer you use, so long as its accurate to within a degree or two. Given a basic, LCD stick-on-the-tank one costs very little (they come as free gifts on all kinds of fish kit) there's NO excuse for not using one.> I NEVER let the water drop or rise out of the 70s. The fry tank is now at the same temperature. <If this is so, then fine.> I can't remember where I read it, but during my reading up on how to care for livebearers, it was mentioned that the fry enjoy high-protein diets. <Garbage. Livebearers (with a few exceptions like the Pike livebearer) feed almost entirely on algae and mosquito larvae. Both of these are low protein foods, algae more so than mosquito larvae, but mosquito larvae are still only something like 4% protein. The vast majority of dietary problems with livebearers come from lack of fibre -- greens -- rather than lack of protein. All this will be explained in any book on livebearing fish, of which there are many.> Somewhere it was also mentioned that hard-boiled egg yolk works. I mashed a small portion of an egg yolk to a pulp in a small dish of water and fed it to the fry, and they ate with gusto. <This is an old-school treat for fish fry, and does indeed work well. But it's a treat, maybe once or twice a week. For the rest of the time, algae, Algae, ALGAE! There are plenty of algae-based (often Spirulina) flake and dried foods in the shops, or else you can use algae-covered rocks from green ponds or chop up Sushi Nori bought cheaply from an Asian food market.> Should I continue this diet? <As a treat, sure, but it isn't required.> Should any greens be involved? <Yes! Livebearers are omnivores, just like us. And just like humans: without meaty foods, they're fine; but without green foods, they get sick and die!> Thanks for all the help! -Alex. <Cheers, Neale.> Re: Mollie and Platy beh.   12/31/07 Thanks very much for the heads up about the fry! I'll start adding greens immediately. And thanks very much for all the other information! If I have anymore questions, I will be sure to contact you. Regards, Alex. <Glad we could help. Cheers, Neale.>

Platys, young, beh.   12/18/07
Hi I have 2 Mickey mouse platys and one dark orange platys and now MANY babies of both breeds but only from the one female, there are like 50 babies from 2 different litters in a 225 gal long tank, I have recently given my mother about 12 of the babies and 2 days ago and now I have noticed that most of them are staying at the top of the tank most of the time including the adults. I do not know if this is normal or not please help..... thank you..
<Greetings. It is entirely normal for baby livebearers to stay at the top of the tank. The more Platies you have, the more they will school together, and what you are watching is a bunch of happy, sociable Platies doing their thing! Cheers, Neale.>

Strange behavior with platies, lack of data, no reading, children   12/12/07
Hi,
<Rozelynn>
My brother and I have "introduce" our two male platies after quarantine (I bought him the new fish after his molly died and I didn't know how to tell male from female). The new one is about half the size of our first one. The smaller one flattened it's fins and started swimming backwards while floating at a 45 degree angle at the larger one. After about 3 minutes they where doing this to each other. Neither was biting at the other. Is this normal and what are they doing?
Thank you
Rozelynn
<Can't tell... not enough information included here... Re the make-up, history of your system, water quality, tests, feeding... Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/platybehfaqs.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Long strands of platy poo   9/3/07
Hi,
<<Hello, Lori. Tom here.>>
I have a female Mickey Mouse Platy living in my 20 gallon tank with two Peppered Corys, one Zebra Danio, one black guppy, four two month old Platy fry, and four one month old Platy fry.
<<Nice.>>
She is going to have another batch soon (in the next two weeks.) Ever since I got her, about six months ago, she has produced long strands of poo. They are red, green, or brownish in color, and are up to about six centimeters in length. I feed my fish two to three times a day Nutrifin Max Color Enhancing food, and I feed my fry, Hikari First Bites. Please help me, I don't know whether or not to worry.
<<No worries, Lori. If the feces were white, we’d likely have a problem. Otherwise, she’s pooing what she’s eating. Keep in mind that “color-enhancing” foods like the Nutrafin product contain items like red-algae (pigments) as well as other natural additives that are meant specifically to bring out the colors in fish. These also “enhance” the color of their fecal matter. The length may seem a bit disarming to you but this isn't out of the ordinary, really. I've got a Sailfin Pleco that appears to produce "spaghetti" on its diet largely of algae wafers and zucchini. Nothing whatsoever to be concerned about.>>
Thanks again,
Lori
<<You’re welcome. Tom>>

Platy Behaviour Problem 7/3/07
Hey WWM,
<Hello>
I know I've just recently asked a question, but I'm hoping you can help out with a issue I've been having with my platys as I couldn't find a similar Q&A online. <Will try.>
I have 3 platys (2 female & 1 male) in a 10 gallon tank along side other community fish. The male loves to follow around my female white calico (fish #1) continuously. <Typical behavior.> I purchased the second female which is an orange sunburst (fish #2) to help take some of the attention off female #1 so she isn't always stressed out, as she doesn't exactly appreciate the constant attention from the male. <I would think not.> But the male is not only uninterested in fish #2, he aggressively chases her around the tank whenever in eye sight, then goes right back to following fish #1. <May not interest him, or may be a juvenile male which can sometimes look very much like a female.> I'd like to get fry from both females if possible as they're beautiful fish, but don't want my fish to suffer through the breeding process. Should I consider buying more platys? <If possible, more females.> If so how many and of which gender? <Female> I can still fit in 3 more fish comfortably within my tank, and would rather not go above that. <A light stocking load makes the tank much easier to manage.> Any input would be amazingly helpful. Thanks for your time!
Sincerely,
Erica
<Get some more females if possible, chances are he will show interest in at least some of the new ones and give your current fish a break.>
<Chris>

Re: platy behaviour problem  7/4/07
Hello again, I did get some more females for the tank, one extra male did end up getting in the bag without our noticing, so the ratio has become 2 males to 4 females. As for the fish being an immature male, that is very possible no doubt, I have looked at the lower fins, and it is a female from what I see, there isn't a gonopodium, but rather a fan like extension. How long does it take a platy to develop into adulthood? The other platys I just purchased also look somewhat small like the sunburst platy I have. The male Mickey Mouse platy and his victim the white calico are much larger and rounder in the belly. Is this by chance a different strand of platys? Thanks again for all your amazing help and input!
Erica
<Hello Erica. It sounds as if you are sexing the platies properly. Any aquarium book will show pictures, and a little time on Google will help too. Anyway, 2 males to 4 females is a good ratio. Platies become sexually mature within about 3 months. All platies are the same two species (Xiphophorus maculatus and X. variatus) and both species and all varieties interbreed. In fact all the "fancy platies" sold are probably hybrids. Anyway, this means that when they crossbreed you end up with "mongrel" fry, as with dogs and cats -- offspring that don't conform to any one breed. That's why if you want to breed sunset platies, you only keep sunset platies in the tank, and virgin female sunset platies at that. So rather than getting a new variety of platy, what you're likely getting are crossbreeds. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but crossbreed fry are sometimes difficult to sell (pet shops want varieties they can label as something special and sell at a premium). Be sure and have a look at the MANY platy and livebearer articles we have here, at: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwlivestkindex.htm . Cheers, Neale>

Platy Male Aggression  – 07/01/07
First, Thanks for al the fantastic information. This site has been extremely useful to a new platy lover.
I've had my 15 gallon tank for a little over a month now. After two weeks I added my first three platies - one male and two females. Everything was
going very well, so three days ago I added three more platies - again one male and two females. The males, however, don't seem to be getting along.
<Mmm, can be a bit of aggression... but you do have sufficient room here...>
The newer male has become dominant pecking at the other male who now pulls his fins in and floats backwards (away from him) whenever he approaches. If
you have any advise on how to decrease the aggression it would be appreciated... should I add another male to take the pressure off the one who is getting picked on?
Thanks very much for your time and advise!
-Lisha
<Actually... do try this first... Catch the "alpha" male up in a net of size, or place in a "breeding net" or trap hanging in this tank (or a small floating/plastic colander... like those used for straining cooked pasta...) and leave it there for a week or so... this will keep it separated, but allow a new social dynamic to be forged... See if then it will "get along" with all. Bob Fenner>

Mean Platy    5/21/07
Hello guys, and thanks for your site.  I have a question about a platy who seems to have some behavioral problems.  I have a 20 gal tank with 2 female platys, and 3 peppered Corys.  The larger of the two platys is a bit mean, though, and seems to enjoy chasing the other platy around the tank.
<Mmm, quite common... better for most all fish species to be kept in odd numbers... to give one of the other "beta" ones a chance to rest... And with livebearers, to arrange that there is a ratio of more females to males...>
  No fins have been nipped so far, but I am worried that she's stressing out the other fish. Mean platy is also pretty aggressive at feeding time, and she's particularly fond of the sinking tropical wafers I have for my Corys and I'm worried that they're not getting enough food.
<Can be a concern... though these "armored cats" do have potent defenses...>
I've been thinking of adding a male platy to see if that will help with mean platy's behavior (you know, give her something to do other than steal food and chase her platy friend!).
<A good idea>
Also, I've been planning to introduce a blue gourami at some point -- do you think it's likely that the gourami will be harassed, or will a gourami be big enough that the platy will leave it alone?
<I do think the latter>
Should I introduce a pair, or a single gourami?
<Mmm, two would be my choice here>
I've included my tank stats below, for your info. Thanks in advance for your help!
Nicole
- 20 gal glass tank with power filter
- Temp set at 76 F
- set up for about 2.5 months, first six weeks without fish (I was doing a fishless cycle with household ammonia)
- the platys were my first residents, introduced 4 weeks ago
- the Cory cats were added 2 weeks ago
- current levels: ammonia = 0, nitrite = 0, nitrate = 5ppm, pH = 7.4
<Thank you for sharing, writing so well... completely and clearly. Cheers, Bob Fenner>

Skittish, clamping, lazy platies   5/14/07
Hi guys,
<Sinafey>
We've been having a problem with our platies for about 10 days now.  They're extremely skittish whenever somebody even walks by their tank or we turn on the light in the room or tank (going as far as trying to bury themselves in the gravel), are clamping, and just laying on the substrate of the tank all day except for feeding time.
<Interesting... fright contagions are one of my fave behavioral traits to study, discourse on...>
We've also noticed discolored spots on several of them, usually on their heads.  It's not raised like fungus, and is just one large spot so doesn't look like ick.  On two of them it's right on top of their heads, and one has it right above her top lip.
<Perhaps related to the behavior... but what came first let's say? Is it the nervousness that has led to the physical traumas or vice versa? Or are they even related?>
Tank specs are: 55 gallon, Nitrates: ~10, Nitrites: 0, KH: 80 (moderate), PH: ~7.
<No ammonia?>
We have about 19 Platies, 3 Emerald Green Otocinclus cats, and 2 African Dwarf frogs.  We've had problems maintaining our PH (it keeps wanting to drop) so we dilute a small amount of baking soda in tank water and are adding it slowly after each water change.
<This should be fine>
Doing this has given us moderate alkalinity and has kept our PH pretty steady at about 7 for the last several months.  Since the fish have looked sick we've been doing at least a 25% (usually closer to 30%) water change about twice per week.
<Good practice, percentage...>
About 2 days ago my fiancé got Maracyn and we've been following the dosing instructions on the box.
<The antibiotic Erythromycin? For what?>
If anything they seem to be laying around on the substrate more, and we noticed that one of the younger platies got a spot on it's head as well.  I know it might be too early to tell if the meds are helping, but it doesn't look promising.
Any idea what may be causing our problem?
<Mmm, yes... likely either "something else" environmentally... or the beginnings of a parasite... Flukes possibly, even ich, Velvet... Have you introduced any new livestock (sans quarantine) or live foods, plants in recent days, weeks?>
We love these fish and have been doing everything that we can to make them better, but it just doesn't seem to be working.
Thanks so much for your kind help,
Heather
<Best to keep up with the water changes, including bicarb additions, and be observant at this juncture. Bob Fenner>

White lines on Platy??  - 03/24/07 Hi there, I am new to the aquarium hobby and I have now found your wonderful website. <And you, us> Ya'll are so great to have sooo much information and such friendly people here.  I promise, I have searched your site all over to try and answer my query and even tried to join the chat boards but it said that registration is closed at the time.  So, I am hoping that perhaps you could help me?? <Will definitely try> I have a 30 Gallon tank with two zebra danios, five neons, one tiger barb, <Mmm, do watch this... are social animals... but even in groups, can become nippy...> two x-ray fish, three red wag platies, one albino catfish and two unknown orange fish with brownish blackish mottled markings.  We just recently brought home two of the red wag platies and the two x-ray fish from the local pet store (four days ago) but I didn't know about this quarantine stuff so I just acclimatized them to the temp of the tank and then put them in.  (I will have to acquire a QT now from somewhere.)  Anyway, one of the platies was pregnant we believe due to the big round bloated belly she had but now she has these white lines going up and down her sides that make her look like she has ribs and is emaciated ... yet still bloated? <Mmmm, maybe> I hope that made sense.  I have a photo that I cropped and tried to adjust the contrast to make it easier to see the lines.  Oh, the photo has two fish in it but I just zoomed in on the lines I spoke of. Please can you tell me what this is??  I added MelaFix for the first three days to try to soften the move for them and hopefully not make it so stressful.  When I saw the white stuff I thought it was Ich so I've been treating with Rid Ich (for two days) but the lines are still there.  What is your opinion? Many grateful thanks for any help you can provide, Christina <Not to be anthropomorphic, but these look like "stretch marks"... areas twixt underlying musculature, where lines of scales have been pulled apart ("advanced fishes like this have ctenoid scalature that can/do show such "articulation") under some circumstances). I would not be concerned re the lines here... Should grow back together post-parturition. Bob Fenner>

Platy colour change  2/12/07
Hello!
<Hi there>
I have a fish problem that I have not encountered before. I have a ten gallon tank with 4 female platies and 2 males. I've had this tank for 2 years and have only had the occasional fungus problem.
Well, one of my orange males is turning a dark brown colour and is hiding in the corner and won't eat. I have no clue what this is, he's just under a year old and never seemed to be stressed out or anything.
Thank you in advance for your advice!
Shelley
<... water quality? Tests for same? Filtration? This reads as a likely environmental disorder. You have read re Platies on WWM? Bob Fenner>

Unusual(?) Platy Behavior   1/27/07
<<Hi, Deborah. Tom this afternoon.>>
Our tank:  12 gallon, 6 neon tetras, 5 platys, 1 incredibly lethargic algae eater (can't even remember what it is).  Water tested regularly and all parameters always good.
<<If the “algae eater” is a Common Plecostomus, or a variety of the Plecostomus species, you won’t see a lot of ‘action’ from this fish. Can grow very large, however. A 12-gallon tank won’t suit this guy for long.>>
Platy History:  Got 2 dwarf sunsets (one male?, one female?  Can't really tell because they are so small and don't stay still long enough for me to observe tail fin very well).  Then later the tetras.  Female(?) platy died.  Got a "Minnie" Mouse platy.  She proceeded to have at least 7 babies (3 survived.  All female I think).
<<Talk about an “instant” family, eh?>>
Current behavior concerns:  Momma Minnie has been hovering either near the surface or on the bottom.  Not as active as usual.  
<<Not uncommon after livebearers give birth.>>
Swimming backwards about half the time when she does move.  She tends to get long strands of poop which hang for a while (gross!) which are usually sort of grayish.  They are now white.  She doesn't look preggers (not fat like she was before she popped out babies).   Should I be concerned?
<<Unfortunately, yes. White feces are not a good sign. In almost all cases, feces should be dark in color. I say “almost” because lighter colored “poop” can also occur with perfectly healthy fish. It’s the other behavior, in conjunction with this, that suggests that she’s not well. If you can isolate her, please do so. Juvenile ‘livebearers’ don’t always fare well after giving birth. Many (most?) can be fry-producing dynamos but others, sadly, don’t survive. In a lot of cases, Deborah, the “mother” needs rest that she doesn’t get if left in the main tank. A single, healthy female can be unbelievably stressed by the pursuits of a single male, occasionally to death. A weakened female isn’t going to have a good chance at all, if any. Separate her if you can and keep her water conditions optimal. Additionally, though I don’t recommend crowding the tank you have, you really want to have more females than males (3:1 or 4:1) to keep “Don Juan” from sharing too much of himself with any single female. (Yes, Platys can/will breed with other varieties of Platys. I knew you wanted to know. :) )>>
Thanks!
Deborah
<<I’ll do a little finger-crossing for your Platy, Deborah. I’m afraid that’s about all we can do right now. Wish I could be more hopeful for you. My best. Tom>>

Good morning...  I have a question regarding platy mating behavior.    - 12/29/06
<<Hello, Linda. Tom with you this afternoon.>>
I have a question regarding platy mating behavior.  
<<Okay.>>
I currently have 5 adult, 1 juvenile, 1 fry in a 37 high tank along with assorted tetras (11 total tetras).  I've noticed that the one adult male platy will only mate with the largest female.  The juvenile male platy will mate with the others but not the larger female.  Is this an alpha male, female behavior?  
<<Undoubtedly. Depending on the female’s disposition, this may be the only male she’ll allow to approach her. Not at all unheard of.>>
I'm getting ready to start a 55 gallon livebearer tank and will move all the platy's into the new tank.  It will be interesting to see if the behavior holds in the bigger tank.  
<<I suspect it will, Linda, at least until the juvenile male matures. That might be when things get “interesting”. :) >>
I do intend to add other livebearers, probably swordtails and guppies along with other platys.
<<I foresee quite a collection! Quarantine, if I may, will definitely be in order here, though. Good for you if you’ve already planned this.>>
Tank water parameters are ph 7.4, nitrates 0-5, nitrites 0, amm 0.  
<<All good…>>
Other than the alpha mating behavior all the fish are fine and act completely normal.  
<<Well, for the fish, the mating behavior is normal. Survival of the fittest and all that.>>
I don't make a point to save the fry.  A few survive and prosper on their own.  
<<Understood.>>
I do 25/30% water changes every two weeks.  Any comments will be appreciated.
<<It sounds to me like you have everything in fine order, Linda. Other than my comment about quarantining new fish before adding them to the 55-gallon tank, I can’t think of anything that immediately jumps out at me concerning your plan. As an aside, I noticed that you didn’t mention Mollies as part of your livebearer stocking plan. I suspect that you’re already aware of the fact that these are considered to be a brackish water species though my head swims (pun intended) from the agreement/disagreement aspect of this. Freshwater? Brackish? Marine? And not one comment about this from a Molly. :) >>
Thanks,
Linda Ritchie
<<Good luck in your venture, Linda. An enjoyable and prosperous New Year to you. Tom>>

Aggressive male platy  11/18/06
Hi there,
<<Hello, Rebecca. Tom with you.>>
We just started up an aquarium after a while and just got two male platys. They are the only ones in the tank.  We have had them for about a week.  I just noticed yesterday that one of them is being very aggressive towards the other one, chasing and nipping at the other when he comes anywhere in the vicinity.  Any thoughts on why?
<<Provided that your water parameters are good, he’s probably just “protecting” his territory. Not uncommon for fish to stake out a claim on “their” part of the tank and chase others off when they venture into that area. Could also be that he’s showing the other who’s “boss” for potential breeding purposes. Back to my initial statement, check your water conditions (or have them tested at the LFS). If your parameters are out of whack, i.e. ammonia/nitrite levels are detectable, it can bring out aggressive behavior in a fish due to stress. Otherwise, I’d just keep an eye on him to make sure his aggression doesn’t get out of hand. If it does, you’ll have to find a way to isolate him for the sake of the other Platy.>>
Thanks!
Rebecca
<<You’re welcome, Rebecca. Good luck with your “guys”. Tom>>

Odd platy behaviour 11/01/06
Hi, there,
<<Greetings, Julia. Tom>>
Thanks to your advice way back in April when I set up my first tank, the fish have been doing well and I've had a huge population explosion amongst my platies.
<<Usually Platys don’t need our advice. They just have population explosions on their own. :) Glad to hear everything has been going well, though.>>
I've noticed in the last ten days that one of the females has started acting quite strangely though and its not behaviour I have seen before so was hoping someone might have some thoughts.
<<I might have some. Let’s go on.>>
She has become exceedingly shy, but not in the usual pre-birthing sense. She spends a lot of the time either at the top of the tank or near the gravel. I've watched and she doesn't appear to be gasping. I've had a few ich and fungal outbreaks since set up but there are no telltale signs of sickness on her at all and her gills look fine. The entire population has been well for quite some time now.
<<Good to hear that the others are doing well.>>
She does look slightly L-shaped, instead of the usual straight stance her back fin appears to be pointing downwards and her bottom fin is permanently erect. She also tends to shy away from food at feeding time waiting for the others to finish before she goes for food of her own.
<<This could be neurological, Julia. A bent spine, if you will, can be an indication of a few different problems but, when connected to a disease, there would typically be outward symptoms/signs, as well. I would rule out a viral infection – one known to affect the brain/spine – since none of the others are affected. Piscine tuberculosis (Mycobacteriosis) can cause this problem but would have additional outward indications such as sores/lesions on the animal’s body. Physical “trauma” such as one might expect from vaulting out of the tank onto the floor isn’t the case here. I might conclude that she’s simply “predisposed” to an inherent condition that’s led to this.>>
For background this is 126 litre community tank of mainly platys, but a few zebra danios (10) and harlequin rasboras (6). I am advised that stocking is well within ethical limits.
<<I’d never accuse you of being “unethical”, Rachel. I reserve that term for lawyers and politicians…and used-car salesmen…and, well, never mind. Seriously, though, I do understand that folks in the UK don’t necessarily hold with what we Yanks feel are “appropriate” stocking limitations. I feel that you’re past the limit but I can’t argue with success, either. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.>>
I complete a 30-50 litre water change every week and feed a mixed diet of flake food, spinach and frozen and freeze-dried bugs.
<<Excellent. Now if we could get everyone to be as conscientious…>>
Any thoughts on this would be gratefully received.
Many thanks
Julia (UK)
<<Hopefully, these have been, Rachel. Sorry that I couldn’t offer more on your Platy but I don’t know that there’s much that you can do at this point in time. My best to you. Cheers, Tom>>

New FW Tank Questions 10/5/06 platy beh...
Hi again,
<Hi>   
Sorry to bother you! No problem.> I have a few more questions. (Actually more than just a few! Sorry again!) So here it goes. All of my 4 fish have died but 1. <Why?> She is a red wag molly. It is a 10g fw tank.  What fish do I add? <Nothing until you know why the others died.>  Should I get my own test kit? <Yes> I am afraid to have anything to do with the local pet store! So far they haven't done a thing right! <Not good.> When we went in the other night all the fish were dying! It seems they don't know anything! But they're the only pet store in town. (Besides Wal-Mart!) My parents aren't going to drive me to Owaso every week!  <Mail order is a possibility.>  Also how much water do I change? <!0-20%>  How often do I change it? <Weekly or bi-weekly.>
Thanks,
Kyleigh
<Time to start reading. Start here http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwset-up.htm >
<Chris>

New FW Tank Questions Part II 10/5/06
Hi,
<Hi again>
Thanks for your help! <Sure> I know that 1 of my fish died because it got stuck under a bubble decoration. The other 2 I am 99.9% sure died of stress. <Do you know what caused the stress.>  But what 2 fish do you recommend to go with a red wag molly in a 10g FW tank? <2 or 3 more platies, they are social and appreciate the company of their own kind.>
<Chris>

Platy Problem, actually beh.   9/26/06
Hi again, guys,
I have two questions about my platies this time (I have 1 red wag & 1 blue).
The first question is about my male platy (at least, I think he's a male).
<Easy enough to discern...>
When I first got him about a month ago, he was very docile & always swam together with my female platy. After a week or two, he started being
extremely aggressive toward the female platy, running into her side constantly & bumping into her tail.
<What they do...>
At first I was kind of scared about that, but the female's tail was wholly intact, & he eventually stopped terrorizing her after about a week. During the week or two following that,
my female platy became very plump (doubling in size), & the male followed her wherever she went. They almost swam as one being because they'd go everywhere together. ... and I thought that everything was peaceful & alright because they were getting along so well. BUT, just today he started getting extremely aggressive toward her again, & she has a little slit of the middle part of her tail missing. He won't stop leaving her alone, & I'm starting to worry about her.
My questions are: Why is he being aggressive with her on & off?
<Nature... need more room, more break-up of the environment... a different sex ratio (also natural)...  more females>
Did he bite her tail, & if he did, why is such a perfectly-cut piece missing (why doesn't the cut from her tail look jagged, like a regular bite), & why did he do that?
<Mating behavior... favored through space and time>
Also, is my female platy pregnant?
<Likely so... is a more or less constant state...>
Does his aggressive behavior have anything to do with this if she is pregnant?
<Mmm, yes>
I've enclosed pictures showing my platies. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that when the male platy was being aggressive the first time, I thought that adding 2 mid-sized Pristella tetras would distract him;
<Good idea... might help>
unfortunately, he leaves them alone entirely & never bothers them at all. Also, I definitely know that the pristellas didn't harm the red wag because they always mind their own business, & they're extremely shy.
Thanks, guys. Hope to hear from you soon. Save my fish!!! lol
--Jessica
<See WWM re Platy behavior... Systems... Reproduction. Bob Fenner>

Re: Listless Platy behaviour  9/10/06
Hi Tom, and thank you for taking the time to write back.
<<Hi, Gina. Happy to do so.>>
I'd like to learn more about "cycling", and I had a feeling the tank was too small, but the advertisement on the box make them sound so ideal; I thought that'd be the perfect size to start out a small boy with a few pet fish.  
<<Might have been if they had been a little more informative, Gina. I completely understand your thinking but too many of these outfits "prey" on the uninformed.>>
And I think the box said 5 fish was the limit.  
<<"Five what?", would be the question, Gina. I highly doubt the box was very specific...>>
He has been disappointed with our "mortality rate", and I feel terrible.
<<Not to worry. You've found us and we'll do the best we can for you.>>   
I did note that when we fed the fish today, there were some fuzzy white strands growing on the filter.  
<<Likely a bacterial growth of some kind.>>
This happened before.  After these appeared in the past, the water would get very cloudy and the fish would eventually die.  
<<Definitely a bacterial growth ('bloom' actually). Green colored water is the result of an algae 'bloom' while whitish colored water is, typically, the result of a bacterial 'bloom'. (The substrate, if not rinsed off, and some decorations, may contribute to this but I don't think this is the case with you.)>>
Even when I cleaned the tank, the process would repeat itself.  
<<Did you rinse the filter media? This should be done in water taken from the tank. Never, outright, replace the filter media since it contains the beneficial bacteria necessary for biological filtering. Also, never wash it in tap water. Doomsday for the 'good guys'!>>
If our platys don't make it, can we keep the Pleco in the tank by himself, or does he need companions?  
<<The Platys would do better, alone, in this particular tank than the Pleco will. Your Pleco will - potentially - grow too large for a two-gallon aquarium. Heck, he'll grow too large for anything shy of a 40- to 50-gallon aquarium. His common size will be 9- to 10-inches. Best case? 14 inches, and better. (No, I'm not making that up!) Find the room, if possible, for a 30- to 50-gallon tank. Cycle it properly. (I'll be here to assist.) Teach your son that fish need lots of room. They come from rivers, lakes and oceans in nature. (No, I'm not being 'hard' on you. You made a good choice based on what information you had. Now, it's time to learn.>>
We are really quite attached to him (no pun intended)!
<<Well, let's keep him 'attached', Gina, and, yes, I took that as a pun! Not a bad one at that. :)>>  
Thank you in advance!
Best Regards,
Gina
<<If the "cycling" gets too tedious, give me a yell. I'll attack it from any direction you like. Tom>>   

Missing Platy   8/31/06
Dear Chuck! I am very sorry to bother you again, please forgive me.  I did not mention this in my last email, it just didn't seem very important.  One of my other platies was acting a bit funny, hiding, and laying low, I actually thought she was pregnant, well Chuck...I can't find the fish anywhere, I mean it, I have looked every where,  is it possible she was eaten?!  I have 3 flying fox, and 1 female betta, and what appears to be only 5 platies left, Is that possible?  I haven't noticed any aggression to this fish, or anything weird, they have all been eating normally, and I don't see any signs of it being eaten...my toddler thinks he went for a walk!  I hope he's right, here's to hoping. Could that really happen?  She was one of the biggest platies,  I don't like to point fingers, but if I had my guess it was probably Benjamin, he is chasing another of the females, who is hiding in the zoo med, I think he has to go Chuck, do you think a pet store will take him back?  You guys have the greatest web site going, I spend alot of time reading all the info, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, and I promise to try and not bother you again, not today anyways, haha!!!!  Charlie 
< Look around the base of the aquarium stand with a flashlight and see if it jumped. If not, it could have died and been eaten by the foxes. Tell your story to the pet shop and see if you can trade him in or at least exchange him. Since you were not able to pick him out then they should take some of the responsibility.-Chuck>

Aggressive male platy behavior   8/31/06
Hi guys!
<Well hello there - this is Jorie.>
Wow! I've been going round on the web looking for some answers and thought I'd give you a shot.  Here goes.
<We try our best to help here...>
I have a 20 gal. community tank with 6 neon tetras, 1 sunset gourami, 4 rasboras, and now I'm down to 1 huge male Mickey mouse platy, 1 female Mickey mouse platy, and 1 red female platy.  The enormous male platy has killed every other platy (both male and female) that I have put in this tank and some other fish, too.  
<I've seen this happen; mostly livebearers are pretty docile, but the males can get *very* territorial sometimes.  In fact, I have one male molly who is currently in "time out" (i.e., his own 2 gal. tank) because he was terrorizing another male molly in my 29 gal. brackish tank.>
I have a 10 gal. tank that has only a male betta and a blue gourami who had to be separated from the sunset gourami so I am afraid if I put the mean platy in there he will get beat up.
<I'd be more afraid for the betta with his beautiful fins.  But, you might be OK, since none of these fish look at all like each other.  You could give it a try, but keep a close, careful watch.>
What's going on here? I keep reading how friendly this breed is but that is not what I am witnessing here. Oh, and we are on our second batch of platy fry, but from a different momma fish, he killed the first momma as she was delivering.
<Yikes - the platy in question sounds like a terror indeed.  As mentioned above, male livebearers (guppies, platys, mollies) can at times be quite territorial.  I'd say give the 10 gal. a shot (make sure to give everyone plenty of cover (e.g., decorations, plants, etc.), but do monitor all three fish closely.  Hopefully that works.  If not, I'm afraid the platy in question may be destined to live alone in a 2 or 3 gal. tank.  Don't know if you have a small spare tank lying around (do make sure to provide it with filtration, a heater, etc. etc.), but if not, the Eclipse/Marineland brand if fairly reasonable in price, and includes built-in filtration.  When the time comes, that's an ideal single male betta home - just in case you want to plan for the future:-)
Any help with this situation would be greatly appreciated.
<Hope I have.>
Thanks in advance.
<You're welcome.  Good luck with the meanie, and everyone else! Jorie>

Male Platy wants To Breed All The Time  8/28/06
Hello, I hope you can help.  I recently bought a ten gallon tank, and moved my male and female platy into it, until then they had been in a gallon tank, and were very happy, but he started attacking her, she was not mating with him, and she had become reclusive.  I moved them, and bought 5 more platies, 2 female Bettas, and was told at the pet store that I could not pick my platy's sex.
< Change pet stores. You are the one buying the fish, you should be able to pick out the fish.>
My thoughts were of course, that it would distract 1st. platy (Benjamin), my 3 year old son, Benjamin named him, ha!  from further attacking Maggie, 2nd platies, but it has gotten a lot worse, she isn't eating, is wobbly, and he actively pursues her, the other 5 platies appear to be this ratio, 3-2 for the girls, one of these males is particularly larger then all the other fish, but seems only to peck a little, not overly aggressive, I have moved my male Betta into the gallon tank, and one of the female Bettas is sick and I have her in the Betta tank that Sunshine used to live in to hopefully get better.  What can I possibly do with this fish?  Right now he is in a big bowl of water that I set up for him, although the water has been conditioned, there is no filter, or bubble stone, or heater. I feel he will eventually kill Maggie if I leave him in the community tank.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!  Thank you very much for your time.  Charlie
< I would reduce the water temp of the main tank to the mid 70's. At the upper temp range these fish are very active. Add some floating plant material or a floating ZooMed Aquarium Log for the picked on fish to hide. Floating material is very important for fish that have been beaten up or chased. Near the surface is where the food is so they won't starve and can regain their strength. As a last resort you could trade him in for a smaller platies.-Chuck>

Re: Aggressive Platy Gets To Go Home  8/28/06
Dear Chuck! Thank you so much for your speedy reply, I have returned Benjamin to the community tank and am off to a different pet store to get these excellent things you have suggested, I have no doubt that they will be most helpful.  I love Benjamin, he is a quirky, and incredibly energetic little fish, and beautifully coloured, I would hate to lose any of them, and my son keeps asking me, " Mommy, why is Benjamin in the fruit bowl?" Thank you again for the information, I will let you know how it goes, I was in a panic today, I am so glad that I have found you!  Have a most excellent evening!!!!  Charlie and Benjamin!
< I hope things work out. I'm sure it will be better.-Chuck>

New Fish   8/20/06
Hi,
<<Greetings, Susan. Tom>>
3 days ago I got 6 platies, in a 10 gallon tank. They seem to be very aggressive with each other. Only two of them, but before it was only one.
<<New environments/conditions can bring this type of behavior out in some fish, Susan. A little early to tell if this is a "permanent" situation, though. My Sunburst Platies go through "phases" where they'll exhibit this type of behavior only to quit and go back to their normal activity, which is looking for me to feed them. :)>>
I feel bad because the other fish seem to be scared of them now.
<<Again, Susan, a bit early to tell.>>
The two fish are both females (I have 2 males and 4 females) and one of them seems to be picking on only one, and the other one is picking on the rest. But they won't pick on each other. They all seem fine, they look fine, I don't know why they're doing that.
<<Could be establishing a "pecking order", of sorts. Other factors may be involved here, however.>>
And another question: I'm not sure if one of my aggressive females is pregnant, but she had a bit of a bigger belly then some of the others, and she has a blue gravid spot.
<<With 'livebearers' such as Platies the females, almost invariably, are either pregnant or on their way to being so. Females are capable of storing the males' sperm inside of their bodies so they needn't mate every time in order to give birth. A single female, isolated from any males, can give birth three or four times (perhaps more) once she has mated. The fact that your female has a larger belly with a darkening gravid spot indicates that she's, almost certainly, pregnant.>>
She has a blue color to her, so is it just a beauty mark or something? The "gravid spot" is inside of her, so is it possible that she is?
<<I'd say this is not only possible but probable. On a sidenote, females close to giving birth won't be very tolerant of other fish, particularly the males. They prefer solitude and quiet (understandably) while the males have only one thing - besides eating - in mind, if you see where I'm going with this. Boys will be boys... :)>>
Thank you for your time.
Please respond as soon as possible this is very urgent for my fish.
-Susan
<<Keep in mind that all of your fish may look a lot alike but, won't necessarily behave alike. A dominant female may be showing the others, male and female alike, that she's going to "rule the roost" especially where mating is concerned. Usually, it's the males who pester the females practically non-stop but you might just have a couple of ladies who don't "play that game". Not at all uncommon, really. Keep an eye on them. If you have one that seems to pick on the others just because she likes to, she might have to be isolated. In the meantime, I wouldn't be too concerned. Best regards. Tom>>

Sunset Platy, bumpy   6/11/06
My sunset platy has little red bumps all over him/her. Is this normal?
<Mmm... just color is fine...>
I have not figured out its sex yet. There was another, but then it died. The surviving one showed no signs of pregnancy until now.
<... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/platydisfaqs.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Sluggish Platy 5/29/06
I have a red high finned platy and for the past couple of days now she has been laying on the bottom of the tank and leaning on rocks. The other platies in the tank appear fine swimming around, but she is not swimming around. I also have noticed some of her scales are missing. We have tested the water in the tank and everything seems fine. Do you have any suggestions in what could be wrong with her?
Jennifer Campbell
<Could be a couple of things.  She might be getting picked on, pregnant, or sick.  If you see here getting picked on she may need to be separated from the others and given a chance to recover.  If sick there is not enough evidence of the illness to treat properly, but keep an eye on her for more specific signs.  And lastly if pregnant it will pass after birth.>
<Chris>

Normal platy behaviour?  - 05/09/06
Hi, Tom
<<Hi, Julia.>>
Thanks again for all your advice.
<<My pleasure.>>
Quick update to say that my pregnancy guess was correct and seven days in and we have our first, exceedingly tiny, sunset platy baby.
<<Beautiful. Glad to hear it!>>
The advice on this site about putting them in the breeding net to save worry is spot on. Having finally caught up with him it's nice to know where he is!
<<The little rascals are "devilishly" hard to keep track of unless you do this.>>
Here's hoping he survives okay.
<<Trusting he'll do just fine.>>
Thanks again
Julia
<<Any time, Julia. Tom>>

Platy Blowing Bubbles - 05/05/2006
I have a female platy who is blowing bubbles at the top of the tank like crazy. Do you know why she might be doing this? I have 3 females and 2 males, and only 1 female is doing it.  
Jennifer Campbell
<Jennifer, how long has this behavior been going on? Is the fish you described otherwise acting normal (e.g., eating, swimming, etc.)? I've read about people claiming their platies do this, but haven't ever seen mine do it.  Having said that, there are a couple of mine that love just hanging right below the surface.  As long as the rest of her behavior is normal and the water parameters are all good (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate), I don't see any problems.  If you haven't recently checked these parameters, however, do so, because it could be a sign of her gasping due to low O2 content, etc.  If all is well environmentally, I'd chalk it up to bizarre fish behavior - they all seem to have one "quirk" or another...they really are quite pet-like!  Good luck, Jorie>

Normal platy behaviour?   4/30/06
Hi there,
<<Hello, Julia. Tom here.>>
I'm struggling to find a concise explanation of normal platy behaviour.
<<There are variables involved, Julia.>>
Yesterday, after five weeks of setting up an aquarium with plants only and preparing the water etc. I introduced my first four fish: one male red platy and three females (of which two are sunset). The tank is 80cm x 35cm x 45 deep. My nitrates are 0, pH 7.5, ammonia is, I think, 0 or very close and nitrates vary a lot between 5 and 20. I already accidentally overfed them this morning so had to hoover out the gravel to remove some of the food.
<<Oops...>>
For the most part the fish seem to be happy. They are rotating between hanging out together, or dividing into a red camp and a yellow camp. I have two concerns. Every now and then they scoot up and down the side tank at high speed, which looking at other edits here, appears as though this might be cause for concern. It lasts for a few minutes at a time before they wander off and nibble algae or chase each other about the tank.
<<Simply adjusting at this point. New "confines", etc.>>
The second concern is that one of the sunset females hides quite a bit. She is frequently sociable but periodically goes and hides in a bogwood 'cave' or at the back of the tank at the base of one of the plants. Again, should I be worried?
<<No. She's adjusting, too. Without knowing how mature your Platys are, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of pregnancy.>>
The male seems quite lively varying between keeping the females company or chasing them around.
<<Now, this, I would categorize as "typical". (No offense, guys.) :)>>
I've only see one female give him a bit of a warning peck but it didn't look too aggressive.
<<Not at all unusual.>>
Lastly, all of the fish have at some point developed a small white spot only for it to clear up again within an hour or so.
<<Can't rule out Ich but I wouldn't jump all over this. Keep a close eye on your fish, though. Good water conditions and healthy, stress-free fish are far less likely to be susceptible.>>
I haven't even had them for 24 hours yet so had put this down to new environment stress. Is that likely or, do I need to do some emergency work now?
<<It's too soon, Julia. The "ideal", of course, is that our new pets become, immediately, "at home" in their new environment. We forget the stress of netting and transporting them, not to mention putting them in an aquarium that is foreign to them. Give them, and yourself, a little more time. Your concern is understandable, however, I think you're putting pressure on yourself somewhat prematurely.>>
Many thanks,
Julia (UK)
<<You're welcome. Tom (USA)>>

Re: Normal platy behaviour?  - 5/2/2006
Dear Tom
<<Hi, Julia.>>
Thanks for taking the time to answer this. I had thought it most likely that as the fish are new, they just have some settling down to do, but I didn't want to make an assumption and accidentally kill the poor little fellas within a few days of moving them in!
<<Best to wait and observe during the first few days. The sooner the fish are stress-free, the less likely things are to go wrong.>>
All the ich-like spots have gone and the female is still hiding out about 50% of the time but is  feeding well. There is every possibility that she could be pregnant as she is likely to be at least four months old and was living in a mixed sex tank when I purchased her.
<<We can try to bring them up responsibly but kids these days... :)>>
One last question - how long do they live on average?
<<Three to five years is the "average". My experience with these fish is between three and four years. Interestingly, and ironically, at higher water temperatures, the immune systems in fish are stronger, leading to healthier/happier pets but their metabolisms are also increased which tends to shorten their lives somewhat. I, personally, think the trade-off is worth it.>>
Many thanks again,
Julia
<<My best to you and your new friends, Julia. Tom>>

Male platy attacking female    3/24/06
<Tom with you this morning>
I have one male platy and two female platies in a 10 gallon tank. <Okay> The male platy has been chasing and bothering the two females. The male has caused a little damage to one of the female's fins. Is this a sign of attraction or is it just aggression? <Most likely establishing dominance. Interestingly, a dominant female can/will do the same to males> The aggression had just started yesterday. I've had the male for six days now. <Keep an eye on the male and be prepared to separate him if need be. A possibility, among others, would be to purchase a divider and seclude the male in a small section of the tank away from the females for a time. Can take a little of the "starch" out of an overly assertive fish. Tom>

Blue platy turned orange?    3/2/06
Hello.  I purchased 2 blue platies back in September.  They seem happy and healthy.  My concern is that one of the platies has turned orange, what's that all about?  I would very much appreciate it if you could solve this mystery for me.
Thank You
<Ah, many platy (and other live-bearing toothed carps, family Poeciliidae) have less than "fixed" strains... Yours is exhibiting a bit of "throw back" legacy genetically. Not to worry. Bob Fenner>

Odd Platy Behavior   1/14/06
Hey guys,
<Daria>
I've looked all over your website but haven't been able to find an answer to my question.  I'm not sure whether its much of a problem but more of an odd
behavior with one of my Mickey mouse platies. I have four male platies in a 10 gallon tank, ammonia, nitrite at 0 and nitrate between 5 and 10ppm.
One of the Mickey mouse platies likes following the smallest one of the four and rubs up against it, making me almost think he's trying to mate, but the
other fish is also a male, so I was hoping you could explain the behavior to me.
<Mmm, just "friendly" or perhaps "searching" behavior. Not unusual>
He is not the dominant male in the group and is often the most skittish one, even though he is the largest and seems to have some kind of attraction to the smallest platy. Sorry to take up much of your time, since this really is not a live or death situation, but the Stevie (the smallest fish) seems to be bothered by this and spends a lot of time hiding behind the plants, although there are no other visible problems with him.
thanks for your time, Daria.
<I might place a bit more "cover", decor, or live floating plant in here to give all a bit more space to hide in, to. Bob Fenner>

Platy problems... actually normal behavior  - 01/12/2006
Hi, my name is Andy. I am new to the aquarium thing, and I have purchased three platy's, two female, and one male. the male tends to  follow the females around but not bite at them.
<Normal...>
but they run from him , he keeps following and it seems the females are afraid of him. What should I do?
<Mmm, nothing>
or is he just trying to mate?
<Yep>
Please give all the info you have to give. thanks dearly     Andy
<No worries Andy. Bob Fenner>

Platy fry colors  12/14/05
Hello!
I have A LOT of platy fry in my tank, two of which are about 2 months old, and about 15ish that are about 2 weeks old. I was wondering how long it takes for the fry to get the same vibrant colors as the adults?
<Two to three months generally>
The female that gave birth to these guys is orange. The two older fry are kinda light brown with a vertical black stripe down the middle and some of the young ones are really pale, almost white and some are brown. They look so plain compared to all the other fishies. They are all growing fine and all look really happy. They are such brave little guys to swim around with the adults.
Thanks for your help!
Shelley
<Feeding small amounts more frequently, being diligent re water changes, using foods with carotenoids, Spirulina can help "speed up" the coloring wait time. Bob Fenner>

Unusual Platy Behavior  11/11/05
In my 9 gallon tank I have 1 male Red-tailed Albino Platy, 1 female Twin Goldbar Platy, and 1 female Sunset Fire Platy. These are the only fish in my tank. For the past 2 and a half weeks my Sunset Fire Platy is acting very unusual, she spends all of her time lying on the bottom of the tank, unless it's feeding time and then she eats just like the other fish. She has a long, almost transparent trail of slime coming from her anal fin that trails
behind her when she swims during feeding. I have tested the water and the results read that my water is perfect. I figured if this was Dropsy she would have died by now. What should I do? Thank you for your time and patience.                                                              
Sincerely,
Jonathan
<Mmm, "perfect" is a subjective evaluation... non-informative (like the prez). I would do the "usual" remedial efforts of changing water, adding a level teaspoon of "aquarium salt" per five gallons of system water, replacing the activated carbon in your filter. Bob Fenner>

The Super-productive Capabilities of the Platy 10/22/05
New tank owner was left with the house we just purchased. 
<What?> 
I went out and bought 2 gold platies, and I did not know they were live bearers (did not tell me this when I purchased them). So now I have 3 half inch new ones, 4 smaller than that, and now I just found 3 more little ones under grass and rock I have in tank. I went to the pet store where I purchased these platies and they told me to lower temp in tank or shut off thermometer? Is this correct? I just want them to quit breeding. They were also surprised they all survived! They have survived. And I only have a 10 gallon tank and that is all that I want. Help! What should I do to stop them from having any more fry?
<If you don't want babies, don't have livebearers. Sorry, I know that's not very helpful. Honestly though, turning off the temperature may work, but only because you are making them stressed and sick. My suggestion is to work out a platy for something else exchange at your fish store. You could also keep males only, but they may pick on each other. Congrats on healthy fry -- it's a good sign your tank is healthy.>
Thank you for your time and help. 
<Sorry I can't prescribe platy birth control. Catherine> 

Red Platy A Loner? 7/22/05
Greetings. I have read your site with interest, and find it a tremendous
resource.
<Thanks, I've been reading it 5+ years, and the amount of info here never ceases to amaze me.  I'm just glad to add a bit to the pool, if I can>
After reading over the advice given previously to others about
Platy aggression, I returned one of my two males to the LFS, as I was unable
to add any females of the species to the tank for fear of overcrowding.
While this is not a pressing query, I would like your opinion about whether
the remaining Platy is happy: After I removed the aggressor, the Platy came
out from hiding, swims about the tank most of the day, mingles with the
White Clouds, is eating heartily, and seems to enjoy swimming past a small
plastic "imitation Platy" I placed in the tank.
Could a single Platy actually be content, or am I reading contentment into
his actions? Perhaps all the swimming and eating is actually unhappy
behavior. I've asked him if he's happy, but so far, no reply. *winks*
<While it would probably prefer some more platys, especially female platys *wink back at ya* it should live a long and happy life without company of the same species.  And yes, I do hate how platys give their owners "the silent treatment"; biting the hand that feeds it seems to me!>
Thank you.
<My pleasure>
Holly
<M. Maddox>

Platy behavior 7/16/05
Hello people one of my platies has been hovering over the gravel in my 20 gallon hexagon fish tank.  Can you tell me what is wrong?
    from, Joe
<Perhaps nothing... please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/platybehfaqs.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Lethargic Platy 7/5/05
I have read through some of your FAQs to find some answers to help my
lethargic platy. I have 5 sunset platys, 2 male and 3 female, they have been
happy in the tank for 3-4 months. I've done regular water changes over the
period and have had no other problems. The Platys share the tank with neon
tetras, clown loaches, plecs and Corydoras. A couple of days ago 1 of the
females began behaving in an odd manner, she seems to be resting atop the
filter for most of the day, swimming at the top of the tank to eat but her
swimming seems to be a difficult task, also she has become very thin, whilst
the other platys seem perfectly happy. Any ideas?
<Perhaps an internal parasite, maybe a genetic pre-disposition... you do feed a mix of nutritious foods... with greenery included I take it, considering the other livestock you list... Perhaps the one platy is "just" old. Bob Fenner>

Baby Fries and a lonely Platy  07/02/05
I looked through the FAQ and I didn't see these questions
answered. Sorry for the lengthy e-mail.
<No worries>
My first question pertains to a lonely Platy. I set up my
tank last Tuesday and added 3 platys to it. 2 of the
platies have died since (the latest this morning). The two
platies that died looked sick and I knew they were going
to go. My last platy looks healthy, but stays at the top
of the tank in the corner. It isn't gulping for breath so
I wonder if it is staying there because it is lonely. I am
hesitant to add anymore fish into the tank until the water
cycles through in about 3 1/2 weeks. I  have a sucker in
the tank but I highly doubt this is the type of
companionship the platy wants. Should I add more fish?
<... no... please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm>
My second question is about platy fries (sorry if this was
already answered!)
<Just fry... fries are made from potatoes>
2 days after setting the tank up I had
about 12 baby platies and spent all of Friday removing
them from the tank into a plastic bowl (about 1.5 gallons)
with an aeration tube. Should I buy in a bigger tank and
how often should I do water changes?
Thanks!
Andrea
<These questions are all answered as well as several other important related matters... on WWM... Please read there. Bob Fenner>

Aggressive Male Platies
Dear Crew, I was not aware of how to figure out the sex of my platies until I noticed the aggression that was taking place in my tank.  After a bit of research I discovered that the majority of them were male...a bad thing.  Of course, I should have known that Wal-Mart knows nothing about fish and done the research myself first.  Unfortunately, now I am stuck with too many male platies.  As far as I know they all get along except for one very aggressive male who picks on all of the others.  He is larger than the rest and seems to feel he is the dominant one.  Is there anything I can do to stop him from being aggressive?  If not how can I get rid of some of the males so that this does not continue to happen?  Wal-Mart will not take them back:(
Thanks, Frustrated
<You can try giving him a time out. If you have another tank you could put him in for a few days he may have a new attitude when he re enters as the new guy on the block. But I doubt it will work, long term. Best to find the extra males new homes. Maybe trade them at a different pet store. Don>

New Tank With Platies
I'm a new, though unofficial, fishkeeper.  My 9 year old son wanted fish so
we got a 20 gal tank, cycled it, and added 3 platys - one blue, one red Mickey
and a white platy with a red spot.  I think they're all girls, but the red one
nips at the others, is not as active, and stays on the bottom of the tank.  
She has no spots or discoloration, and a moderate appetite.  I was searching
the internet to find information on platy behavior and after a long time found
your sight.  You have been very helpful already.  Based on the information
here, we'll do a water test, and verify gender.  I'll be checking in often.  Thank
you. Cathy M.
<Good luck with your new tank and on behalf of the WWM Crew we thank you for your kind words.-Chuck>

New Tank Platy
I am new to aquariums. I have a twenty gallon tank which I have cycled for three days and added BioSpira. pH is normal around 6-7, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all low, temp sits at 78-79 so I added two platys and three phantom tetra today. One of my platy's, a female is sitting in the upper corner while the other, male, is swimming everywhere. It seems to have something brown hanging from under its tail fin. "Guessing fecal material of sort." Earlier in the day
she was swimming everywhere, now she's not. Any ideas?
Nick
<If you just added them today, that would seem normal. It takes some time for some new fish to adjust to their new conditions. It could also be that the male has been aggressively trying to breed, stressing her out. You should always have more females than males to spread out the aggression. But let's touch on water quality first. It is not good to have low ammonia and nitrites. Both MUST be at zero. If you are showing any at all, then water changes are in order. Do as many as are needed to keep both as low as possible. 
The BioSpira will add the bacteria needed to control both, but will need some time to adjust to your bio load. Do not add any more fish until both remain at zero without a water change. Also, to say your pH is "around 6-7" is like saying the water temp is between freezing and boiling. A 1.0 difference in pH is huge! But the important thing is to keep it steady, not hit a target number. Doing frequent partial water changes will correct any spikes in ammonia and nitrite, and later control nitrate, as well as keep your pH matched to your source water. Don>

New platy hiding
Hi--I am new to the platy world and have two questions about normal behavior and temperature. I have a new 3 gallon tank which ran for about 5 days before we added one male platy.
<Mmm, do you know about "cycling", establishing biological filtration in aquariums? Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm >
He has been in the tank for about two days. He hides most of the time (he has some good spots in which to hide) and only comes out to eat. He seems healthy and eats well. After he eats, he swims around a bit, then goes back into hiding, usually until the next feeding. Is this normal "new" fish behavior? Could he just be lonely?
<Normal to an extent, and Platies are indeed social creatures... but I suspect your tank is toxic due to not being cycled principally here>
Also, we moved his tank after one day because he was in a warm room and I was worried his tank might be getting too hot (don't want any boiled fish!). What is the temperature range for platys? (We don't have a heater in the tank right
now.) Thanks!
<Most anything in the high sixties to high seventies is ideal... more important that the temperature not vacillate much than it be an actual temp. A shame you have such a tiny, changeable world for you and your fish/es to deal with... I would save up and get a "real aquarium"... Do read re proper/adequate FW set-ups, maintenance on WWM... Your passion will drive your actions. Bob Fenner>