Female Swordtail bully

[glorifiedfisher]

Hi all,

I recently added 2 Platy, 2 Male Swordtail and two female Swordtail to my 80l planted tank (Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm and Nitrate 10ppm). One of the female Swordtails is persistent in her chasing of the other female. No other fish seems interested in the victim. I have recently become aware that the male to female ratio may be inadequate and am wondering if adding an additional female or two would help this? Neither female is pregnant, or there are no signs of pregnancy.
I have recently increased the temperature in the tank due to a suspected case of itch. Gathered from information on this site, among others, the temp is now at 30 with increased aeration.
Just wondering if there are any thoughts as to the cause? I suspected the victim may be unwell, but as no other resident is attacking her then my only conclusion is ratio, but I would have expected the males to be fighting.
Any help/input greatly appreciated!

 

[Caliban07]

Hi all,



I recently added 2 Platy, 2 Male Swordtail and two female Swordtail to my 80l planted tank (Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm and Nitrate 10ppm). One of the female Swordtails is persistent in her chasing of the other female. No other fish seems interested in the victim. I have recently become aware that the male to female ratio may be inadequate and am wondering if adding an additional female or two would help this? Neither female is pregnant, or there are no signs of pregnancy.

I have recently increased the temperature in the tank due to a suspected case of itch. Gathered from information on this site, among others, the temp is now at 30 with increased aeration.

Just wondering if there are any thoughts as to the cause? I suspected the victim may be unwell, but as no other resident is attacking her then my only conclusion is ratio, but I would have expected the males to be fighting.

Any help/input greatly appreciated!

I think it's true to say that the females will also try to establish a pecking order.
Adding another may split aggression or could stop it all together. I have one sword male and two female too but haven't seen a problem yet. I think I would remove the bullied fish though if it were me.

 

[glorifiedfisher]

Thank you for that. I have considered removal and if the problem persists than thats definitely the course of action to take. It may well be the establishment of hierarchy too, so I think Ill monitor and see where it leads.
Thanks for the reply.