Bullying and Spasms?

[JemZ]

Sounds good. I'm looking into places nearby me that take back fish.

 

[Tez_20]

Sounds good. I'm looking into places nearby me that take back fish.

He's the only place that does it but good if you can find one

 

[Colin_T]

Yep, you have a male swordtail and a female platy.

Male livebearers like swordtails have a long thin anal (bottom) fin, and females have a triangle or fan shaped anal fin.

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Add a heap of plants and ornaments to the tank. this will give the female more places to hide and if the male can't see her, he will be less inclined to harassing her.

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If you can get rid of the swordtail, get a few female platies to go with your current one. having a group of females will reduce the stress on them.

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Your tank water looks a little bit milky cloudy. Is that normal or the pictures?

Milky cloudy is caused by a bacterial bloom and is usually associated with uneaten food rotting in the tank.

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You need a picture on the back of the tank to make the fish feel more secure.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I feel kinda bad now because I wasn't aware that all of this stuff was happening. I never really knew much about fish until I joined this forum and am now learning a lot. The reason for my poor aquarium choices is that I never really researched before getting a tank and getting new fish, instead just went into the store, bought a tank, and some fish. I am learning though. I take responsibility for not doing more research and will definitely do more in the future. But I'm happier now that I know what is happening, and would prefer the guilt I have to not knowing and assuming everything is going great. Now that my emotional confession is over, I think it is time for me to make some decisions. I obviously would hate to get rid of any fish, but I do want what's best for them so I probably will return the platy and swordtail. I wouldn't mind keeping the algae eater, but I assume if I were to do that I wouldn't be able to get much more fish if any at all due to his size and future character. I'll also look into more suitable fish for a 10 gallon. Since I'm not able to return them at the moment, is there any way I can help the situation until I am able to return them?

You're not the first nor the last to make mistakes when starting, we've all made them! The important part is what you do once you know

 

[AilyNC]

Rough start but you're not alone in that. That Platy looks pregnant so you might have more in the gang soon.

Already good advice regarding tank size and fish. Your best bet is to either re-home fish for ones suited to your water hardness or get a bigger tank. With my own situation I worked at stabilising wager first, getting through the cycle and then focus on rehoming and fixing stock issues.

Can not recommend a bigger second tank enough. Having a tank to plan properly abd build slowly is so enjoyable.

 

[AilyNC]

Sorry typos are my signature

 

[JemZ]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I've found a marine warehouse who is willing to take her in, but when I go there I am going to first see where they would put her, what they would do when she's about to give birth. I'm actually wondering if I could make them a deal where I could get her back after she gives birth, and they would in turn get to keep the fry so they could sell them in the future. That way, she has a stress-free pregnancy, and I have the chance to get my beloved fish back. If they were willing to do that I would then redo my tank and make it as comfortable and liveable as possible until I have an opportunity to upgrade my tank to a bigger size. I would also return the swordtail in that case too.

 

[JemZ]

Colin, you are probably, no, definitely right about the milky cloudy. A lot of food does go uneaten and since I lost my Albino Corydoras to fin rot and what I now think was anchor worm, nobody is really cleaning up except for the algae eater who goes to work well after the food has been in and rarely comes to the front to clean as well as the right side, and those are the two spots where most of the food ends up.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I've found a marine warehouse who is willing to take her in, but when I go there I am going to first see where they would put her, what they would do when she's about to give birth. I'm actually wondering if I could make them a deal where I could get her back after she gives birth, and they would in turn get to keep the fry so they could sell them in the future. That way, she has a stress-free pregnancy, and I have the chance to get my beloved fish back. If they were willing to do that I would then redo my tank and make it as comfortable and liveable as possible until I have an opportunity to upgrade my tank to a bigger size. I would also return the swordtail in that case too.

This is a really sweet idea
Sadly, female livebearers store sperm, it isn't just the one pregnancy, she will likely keep having fry every month for up to a year.

If you've rehomed the swordtail though, you could keep the platy, get another tank to grow out the fry, then keep another couple of young females to keep her company, upgrading their tank size when you can. You'd want to sort the sexes of the fry as early as possible to prevent the young boys mating the young females, and the cycle repeating endlessly!

The algae eater might present a problem sooner I'm afraid, I'm sorry. More info on them from a reliable source:

Gyrinocheilus aymonieri – Sucking ‘Loach’ (Gyrinocheilus kaznakovi, Gyrinocheilus monchadskii) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com