Bully Platys

[izabeau]

HELP!!!
I have a 7 gallon tank with 5 platy's. I have just had 2 remove my 2 red platy's for bullying my sunset platy to the point where she now has fin rot. Here's my question....What do I do, I still really new to this, so I dont know how to handle it. I have put the 2 red platys in a breeder net in my brothers 20 gallon tiger barb tank for now, where let me tell you they are not happy and have even begun to attack each other. I'm afrid to put them back into my tank and I can't put them in with the barb (tried that last night and it was less than 2 minutes before they were being nipped and harrassed by the tigers) I don't want to "put them down" if I don't have to, but I have no one to give them too and the store won't take them back at this point, I've had them too long. All my stats are fine, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, temp and ph are all 0-safe. Any help would be appriciated!!!

 

[Coyote]

Is your tank planted? Any decoration for your fish to hide?

My male swordtails peck each other sometimes. Usually, the weaker one backs down and hides behind plants or rocks. Out of sight, out of mind. The stronger one just leaves the weaker one alone.

 

[izabeau]

yes, there are 3 plants 1 tall, 1 medium and 1 small, I have a moulded cave that my rubber pleco seems to hog most of the time as well as a big chunk of driftwood. I do not have live plants at the moment, I'm afraid to kill them or the fish ;P at the moment my sunset platy spends most of her time cowering in the corner of the tank behind the heater or the filter. even now that I've taken out the oppresive fish...she still hides and is very shy.

 

[agpoel]

I have had a problem with my platies too. I have about 8 males in one tank with no fem's (I dont want babies) and they are constantly chasing each other around. No nipping yet, but it sure is irritating!

 

[izabeau]

all of mine are female, except my guppy. This behaviour has just started in the last week or so, I don't know what happened. I don't want babies either, but I liked the look of the females more than the males. I just don't know what to do about my 2 rogue red platy's, they won't fit in either tank and I'm sorry I am not getting a new tank just to house them. I'm going to try & re-arrange the decoration and see if that helps at all.

 

[Coyote]

Yeah, try re-arranging the decoration in order to screen your sunset.

 

[izabeau]

I just feel horrible, I mean she's lost all her colour, her tail is all mossy and full of holes now and all she does is cower in the corner. I don't want to euthanize (is that right??) my other two, but if I have to (last resort) I will. I would rather give up 2 fish for the sake of 7 others. Does that make me a horrible person that should not have an aquarium?!?!?!

 

[Coyote]

Oh, as for rot fin, I think you should isolate your sunset and give her treatment first. Then think about how to keep all of them in one tank after she recovers. If I were you, I wouldn't kill the other two. Try giving them away or selling to LFS if there's no way to keep them together.

 

[izabeau]

I've been treating the whole tank for the fin rot, cuz I think my blue platy has the start of it too, not nearly as badly though. I'm going to see if I can just give my platy's back to the LFS. I have a friend who works there, so I'm going to talk to her and find out what thier policy is. I have already tried to give them to friends but they either can't or won't take them.

 

[izabeau]

ohhh Joy I think I found a friend that will take them!!! She has a 35 gallon with very few community fish!!! I hope, i hope, i hope!!!

 

[Doomhed]

SAVE YER FISH!

um...you are way overstocked. this is why your fish acted agressive. you have approx 14 inches (basically 15-20 gallons) worth of fishes in a 7 gallon tank (this is after taking out the 2 platies, who would have added another 3 gallons to your needs). the nitrogen cycle cannot handle that for too long. get rid of some fish or get a bigger tank. thats why their fins are rotting. your nitites or nitrates must be through the roof let alone your amonia and PH. you got to lose like 3-5 fish. i am sorry, but someone shoulda told you when you bought the tank how many fishes it can support. read my tanks listed on my signature. other than the baby tank (w/ a redesigned pump for alot of lil babies), all of my tanks are correctly stocked. NEVER more than one inch of fish body length per gallon (max size for the fish). fish do not grow to the size of the tank. for bigger fish you need more than the 1 gallon per inch (20 inches of oscars? 55 gallon tank...etc). any further questions, email me.

 

[Brobro]

agree with doomhead, your tank was WAY overstocked, that is why they are sick. think out room, along with 6 of your friends, in your room, that is basicly what it was like for them. you really didnt have to remove all of them, just 3.

 

[izabeau]

well unfortunatly, no one at my LFS, I am discovering, really know's what the hell they are talking about, so for someone like me who is just starting out and doesn't have a clue, I am trusting them to give me this information and the correct information when I ask detailed questions. no one ever told me about overstocking, but I now know that. I've had to lose 2 platy's to my friends' tank, until I get a bigger one, and my pleco has died for me to find out about overstocking. I was just told that if I did regular weekly water changes and vacuuming, I'd be fine...not so I'm finding out...so now I have 3 platy's & 2 guppies left. Surprisingly though, God's honest truth, my nitrates, nitrites have stayed at 0.0, my ph is about 7.6-7.8, and my ammonia has only now spiked a bit since I found my pleco dead, it's between 0.25 - 0.5. All my stats are essentially where they should be, I think thats about the only thing I was doing right, was making sure all my levels were good or at least within range. Thanks for the advise guys.