Platys/Platies

[littlelouie]

Does anyone have pics/info on platies. I think I have a wagtail. He was in my original tank which I recently lost. He survived because he was banished from it for being too aggressive. He attacked and killed a white cloud and started on another prior to being moved.

He was placed into a small double betta style bowl, the hex type that has the removable divider in it. Well he is thriving in this sml. home and growing well. There is no filtration on his home only regular water changes are performed and he is doing really good.

Do aggressive fish remain aggressive or do they change? I would love to include him in my tropical tank but I don't think he would like the 26degC temp.

If he's doing fine where he's at, should I risk moving him?

Any info would be most appreciated.
Louise

 

[mendhigirl]

Hey,I thought platys weren't aggressive??? Great,I just got 2 wagtails to put in with my violet goby!They seem peaceful so far....
I looked online alot before I bought them,all of the info I found said they're not aggressive.Maybe it needs a mate.

 

[littlelouie]

Thanks mendhigirl. My guy was with 2 of his own as well as the other fish and attacked his own kind too. I have asked locally and have been told that these fish are not agressive but I have defineately got a wild one. I named him Little Lucifer

I hope you don't have any trouble with your guy's.

Louise

 

[mendhigirl]

Little more research,and no where can I find agressiveness in platys.You have an oddity!
Seems I have a guy and a girly! If they do okay for the week,I want to get 1 more boy and 3 more females.Maybe I will mix it up a little with some sunsets,and mickey mouses(mice?).
The goby didn't look too thrilled with them at first,but he got over it.He was used to having that big tank all to himself.
Did you ask the lfs if maybe they get agressive when they want to breed?

 

[littlelouie]

I asked the LFS why he would behave like this when he was first agressive and was told that it was unusual and to take him out of the tank. He (or she) is doing well on his own but I would like to get him back into the main tank. I am just not sure if it's too big a risk. My 5 little cardinal tetras might just be too much a temptation for him and they cost me quite a bit ($AU13.95 each, I have seen them at 1/2 the price although not as brightly coloured).

No one else seems to have had the negative experience as I have but do you think it's still a risky thing to do

Also, after looking around many aquariums I think he is actually a hybrid cross of a wag tail platy and a swordtail

Thanks for your input mendhigirl
Louise

 

[mendhigirl]

Okay,first thing I would do is figure out if you have a male or female.Really easy!Check out this link.

http://fish.orbust.net/livebearers.html

Because I read somewhere in my online travels today,that the males can be agressive if there are more than one courting the same female.Hmmmm....much like humans.LOL
If your wild one is a male,I would reintroduce him into the community if you have the recommended 1 male to 2or3 females ratio.
If your wild one is a female....I have no clue!
Hey,I have a question...do your other platys eat constantly??Mine do.They nibble on everthing in the tank,every bit of algae or slimy stuff they can find.Only had them one day now,so I'm pretty sure they are still hungry from the lfs,but I feel like they are starving!I feed them a tiny amount twice a day(since there are only 2 of them)Think that's enough?
Thanks
Mendhi

 

[littlelouie]

I only have this one left from my original tank from 12 to 18 mths ago but I know he/she loves to nibble on the algae on the plastic plant in with him/her. I also feed him/her flakes, bloodworm and tried brine shrimp last night and that seemed to go down well too! I feed all my fish AM and PM, flakes AM and frozen food or veges in PM.

I will check out your link, thanks for that mendhigirl

I will look to see if the smaller fish are a threat or easy to bully as well.

Thank you
Louise

 

[littlelouie]

I checked out your link and what a great one it is too...THANK YOU

My fish is a platy and a he

So I guess that my other's were male too but don't understand the attack on the white clouds. Maybe the fish was weak or sick and this would have happened in any tank, I don't know.

My current tank is home to 5 cardinal tetras and a clown loach. I expect the clown loach will be fine but I do have a concern for the smaller of the cardinals. The tank is in "cycle" mode at present, day 15, so I wouldn't be introducing any fish to them until well after the cycle is complete. The tank is only 6gal and I think it is almost at its capacity now, just thought that my platy could join in if he doesn't cause any trouble Will he be ok on his own or will a 2 little ladies mellow him out?

If i add him to the tank at the appropriate time as well as 2 females I will have a total of 9 fish in a 6gal tank. Pushing it I think. What is your opinion

Thanks again mendhigirl
Louise

 

[mendhigirl]

I think 9 fish,even small ones is pushing it in a 6gallon.Is there anyway you can put a girlie or 2 in where he is?I know you said there is no filter,that may be an issue.Hmmmm.....I know I've read that you can push the 1inch of fish per 1gallon of water with extra filtration.I don't know if you want to double up on filtration in your 6g. just for a fish who may, or may not misbehave.

I have my 2 wag platys with a violet goby,in a 55g.There are great fish...if you can find them in there!That's why I want to add 4 more this weekend.Lonely tank.
I just don't want to overcrowd or anything,always good to keep extra room,because you never know when the lfs will have something I just have to get!!

 

[littlelouie]

I know, it is tempting to fill an empty tank isn't it. I have a while until I can add him to the community and will think long and hard about it.

Once the cycle is up and the bacteria is controlling things, i plan to get some plants. Once they're in I will be able to tell if my tank still looks empty. Until then i'll be researching and asking questions.

Thanks for your help Mendhi, most appreciated
Louise

 

[mendhigirl]

I find it so hard to leave the pet store without one of those wonderful little bags of fish!! But I am trying to be a responsible pet owner!! Will power!!
Are fish pets...or a hobby?
I also find it hard not to fill my entire house with tanks!Waiting for them to cycle (fishless) takes the edge off for me.I get used to the tank being empty,and I fuss with the decorations,so it looks nice without fishies too.Keeps me from sending innocent fish to an untimely grave.
I really am looking forward to adding more platys this weekend!!!! In the past I never would have even considered them..too small..and less than a dollar each,I always thought of them as the 'cycle'fish.My husband brought them home for me on Sunday,he had no clue what they were,but he thought the goby would like company.Now I really love them.I could watch them nibble for hours!
I never realized how sweet a group of small schooling fish were!I have a 40g with 3 BIG fancy goldfish.They look simply monsterous compared to the platys!
Now I am hoping the platys will give me some 'grandkids'.I have an empty 20g,and 10g that are cycling.Just waiting for fry!
I haven't tried out the live plants yet...still going with plastic.Live ones are,of course,much nicer. I would love to try soon.There are lighting and fertilzer issues,I'm kind of wrapped up right now just learning how to keep the fish happy. Live plants would probably make them happy though.Hmmmm........ :?

 

[littlelouie]

It's an ever learning hobby this fish keeping and I consider my fish as pets.

I am learning patience too of which I wouldn't consider myself to be.

I would love for my cardinal tetras to breed. It would be such a thrill to think that I am maintaining their environment so well that they would breed. I am not sure how the clown loach would go with the fry, I hope to get a larger tank for him eventually and then the tetras can go for it.

While watching my ever growing platy Lucifer this morning I believe he is quite happy in his own tank/bowl. He hunts around the gravel and nibbles at the algae on the plants. He doesn't appear to be stressed to me. Actually, he is quite used to me that when I feed him bloodworms he eats them off the spoon. He is quite resillient.

Would love to hear if and when you think your getting those granfish.

Louise

 

[justDIY]

be carefull about buying male / female combos, buy females from one store and males from another, or from an LFS that keeps males separate from females

platies like to breed, and breed often (every 30 days!) ... plus most of the time their babies are ugly ... often white with patches of color here and there, probably because of problems related to inbreeding (the females get impregnated by their brothers at the lfs) and the offspring suffer because of it.

I've been lucky to get a few decent looking orange wag (orange body, black fins), as well as a few twinbar (two black bars on the tail), but the rest are just patchy white/orange

 

[littlelouie]

Thanks for your input glmclell

It is always good to get this kind of info from people who have experienced it. What other fish do you keep with the platys?

Louise

 

[justDIY]

Well, right now I have a general mish-mash of fish in my 'community' tank ... platies, mollies, various tetra, otos, a pleco and the 'star' of the tank is a big angelfish

The angel will eventually get moved to another tank, along with the tetras as they all like to eat the molly and platy fry ... I'm sure the steady diet of fry has contributed to the size and strength of the angel, he/she even consumed $15 worth of neon tetra by my mistake

I've never noticed any of my livebearers to be 'aggressive' in general, however, males of disimilar ages can be very aggressive to each other (I lost a good stud molly this way ...

Also, if you only have one female and several males, the males will harass the poor girl until she is very stressed.

I've also noticed that females like to tease other females that are 'pregnant' but haven't noticed any harm coming from it

right now I'm trying to breed a 24 caret molly with several black mollies ... it will be interesting what color combinations I get out of it

good luck and have fun!

 

[mendhigirl]

their babies are ugly ... often white with patches of color here and there, probably because of problems related to inbreeding (the females get impregnated by their brothers at the lfs) and the offspring suffer because of it.

Just great!! Fish incest!! Not what I wanted to hear! As I am almost positive my husband bought the male and female from the same lfs.They were in the same bag,so it's a safe bet!
And the male is very much bothering the female!! I went to a lfs yesterday and bought 2 more females,just to the first one would get a break!!She couldn't even stop to eat.I am sure she was stressed to the max.

 

[littlelouie]

I am interested in how your tank is going with the new girls in it, has the male calmed down any?

 

[platylover]

most of the time their babies are ugly ... often white with patches of color here and there, probably because of problems related to inbreeding (the females get impregnated by their brothers at the lfs)

Sometimes you do get lucky. I have a female sunset wag platy that was impregnated at the LFS and I now have 2 pretty good looking sunset wag juveniles in my tank. Granted most of her brood was eaten by hungry zebra danios and other platies, and one of the 2 doesn't have quite as black of fins as her sister or mother, but they are both beautiful looking platies.

I have another female that was pregnate when I got her, so I will wait and see what her fry look like and see if I can back your claim about the inbreeding thing.