battle of the sexes

[amoon01]

I just bought two Mickey Mouse Platties, which I love dearly, but I seem to be the only one. I have one male and one female, and even though they've been together for about a week, they still want nothing to do with each other. Although it goes both ways sometimes, the male is usually the more aggressive one and will chase the female all over the tank and I've even seen him biting at her.

I've had koi before and have seen the males gradually following the females around when it's time to breed, but I don't think that this is the case with my Platties. His actions are very quick and aggressive and the female does her best to stay out of his way at all costs.

Am I wrong and is this a sign of attraction? Will they eventually settle down and get along? Or do I need to think about changing some things?

 

[rich311k]

You might try a couple of more females to divert his attention and give her a break.

 

[Menagerie]

Welcome to AA, amoon01!

The male may want to mate, and since the female is not cooperating, he's become nasty. Female live bearers store sperm and can have fry even when no male is present. You're best bet is to add some more females, but you may quickly be over run by platties.

 

[studmaster]

I agree, if you can, add another female or two to take the attention away. Some males get very aggressive when they want to mate, and the females can get hurt. In my tank of mollies, there are two males, the smaller but dominant male is very aggressive with mating. The larger less dominant male will mate, but it's not the only thing on his mind. I have 3 adult female mollies and a few 6 month old ones that divide the males attention up and they all seem to be doing better because of it.