My Platies are doing some weird stuff!

[Tayles]

Okay, I have 2 male mickey mouse platies (one is orange one is silver but tinted blue when he swims in the light) and I have 2 yellow female platies. My questions are the following...

#1) the silver male used to chase the females and nip at them all the time, he seems to have slowed this down, but I was wondering if that's common behavior?

#2) Now that the silver male has slowed down chasing and nipping, whenever he gets near a yellow female he contorts his body into this weird shape and his anal fin (not sure of the correct term for it) sticks straight out. He almost twists his body, while going almost absolutely vertical. Is this courting? Or mating? or what, if anything?

#3) When the silver male does the said above things in #2, the yellow female will nip at the side of his body. Is this receptive to his behavior? Or is she merely ticked off at him? LOL

#4) Before all of this started happening (I have a Betta in the tank with them as well) the silver male would "rub" on the Betta, and the Betta would get angry, puff out and chase him away. Was he trying to mate with the Betta?

Okay that's all, thanks alot for any help you can give me =)

[Somonas]

Sounds like they are about to breed, just leave them alone.

[tetra girl]

yea my red way is constanly chasing and nipping my sunset platties. im thinking about getting another female to help tire him out so he stops chasing. if that doesnt work i might have to isolate him as hes totally streesing out my females and im starting to really dislike him

[Tayles]

Well if mine are trying to mate then they aren't succeeding, unless they did it overnight and I didn't see them. All I saw was them apparently trying and when the male did his little contorting act the female bit him a couple times then swam away to be chased by him and nipped again. My orange male seems to be having trouble with something, he started rubbing so I did a partial water change and thought that had balanced out the pH again because he seemed to slow down, but he's back at it again, and he's got tail rot... keeping fish is a hard job, at least for the inexperienced.

[theeyrietrainer]

Ah, they'll become easier over time! Once you have fish for at least half a year, they seem to be easier then. This is just a small struggling moment you have, so just wait. Have fun "fishing"! lmao!

[Tayles]

Golly I sure hope so, keep feeling like I'm not cut out for this job. My Danio has dropsy, all the platies in the 10 gal tank are rubbing on the little "cave houses" or whatever you'd call them, oi... and in my girlfriend's tank, oi... glass worms all over the place, need to get something in there to help eat the brine shrimp that the flounder apparently doesn't eat enough of lol

Thanks for all the help and support... I'm glad I decided to join this board.

One other question... I've noticed my yellow female platy sitting in the back near the top, not moving very much, she just sits there and poops or flaps her little fins, she comes out to eat and all, she sits by a plant. Could this one be pregnant? And how would I know, being the stupid inexperienced non-good "fisher-woman" (lol) that I am?

[tetra girl]

the rubbing is a sign of a parastie in their skin - add some salt immediately to combat the problem! your female sounds stressed not pregnant. one of mine always hid and it because of the vicious male. i got another female platty and took the male out and they are all now swimming happilly

[izabeau]

keep in mind that you should always keep your male/female fish at a ratio of at least 2:1, 2 females for every male. It sound like your femail it stressed out from being chased all the time, and don't worry, Playt's mate like there is no tomorrow, you will soon have more babies than you know what to do with, this is why for the moment I only have females, I would have no where to put all the babies!! lol