Cruel Platy

[Bluesand1313]

My Red Wag Platy has been cruel to a new baby I just got.
I got my Red Wag, Whoa, to be friends with another I had, but he died. Whoa's been alone (as in, the only red wag) in my 10gal for about two months now.
I think that's the reason why he's being so mean to my new baby I just bought, Squee. He'll chase Squee around until Squee just lies at the bottom of the tank or hides in the ornament. And even then sometimes he's not safe. I think it's territorial, but the main reason I'm posting this is because, well, how do I get him to stop?
 
I'm hoping that Squee will just grow and then he'll be able to 'take on' Whoa, because Squee is just a baby. Also, Squee will eat, but only is Whoa isn't around. If Whoa is around, then he doesn't eat. He's too afraid.
I'm worried that I've sent this little guy to his death. Is there any way I can get Whoa to stop?

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Since Squee is still a new fish to the tank you could put Whoa in a breeders net (or similar) until Squee has settled in more.Then when you think its ready after a few days you could let Whoa out and see how he gets on with Squee and if any bullying arises then you could maybe separate them again.
Always separate the bully and almost never the victim.
Hope this has helped

 

[TallTree01]

Is squee a female? Perhaps she's getting sexually harassed by whoa?

 

[the_lock_man]

TallTree could quite easily be right. Even if he's not (in terms of that they are both the same gender) then it's a dominance issue. Either way, the only solution is to get more platies, so that the agression or harassment is spread between a number of fish.
 
You are correct in that it could lead to the new fish being bullied to death.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

If Whoa and Squee are both males that could also be the problem.
 
That said... I had a female like that and ended up moving her to the community tank and the guppies have been a very calming influence on her... she now lives with 4 juveniles in there as well and doesn't hate them (it has been several months of her being without her own kind before she has been chilled enough to have others of her kind).

 

[Bluesand1313]

They are both definitely males, I made sure the guy at the Pet Store got a male and not a female. He tried giving me a female, actually, but I told him it wasn't a male and so he got Squee for me.
 
The only problem I'm facing here now is that if I do get more, I'd be overstocking my tank by quite a lot. There are already other fish in there (6 neons and 4 Black Skirts that my mom bought for the tank to have more 'diversity') I had an aggressive gourami once and put him in the community tank and he calmed down too, but these guys are already there, I'm not sure what to do.
 
He won't even let him off the gravel. He stands over him and every time he tries to swim he goes and nips at him. I feel just horrible :s

 

[Paradise3]

I'd say re-home the Black Skirts... They get bigger than people realize. Two male platies isn't a problem, I have 2 males in my tank and they hang around each other more than the Threadfins.If they are definitely both male then it's most likely just that Squee is new and Whoa wants to show his dominance. That's why I added my two males at the same time.

 

[TallTree01]

IMO Neons need a 15 gallon. The skirts need better too.

 

[Paradise3]

IMO Neons need a 15 gallon. The skirts need better too.

 
Agreed.

 

[Kellene]

IMO Neons need a 15 gallon. The skirts need better too.

Yup^^
Sometimes when dealing with aggression/territorial issues, I take the fish out for a bit, move the tank decor around, and then put them back in (or something like that). Then it's like a completely new tank (to the fish), and then it's kind of like a fresh start... It's worked for me in the past, anyways.

 
Good luck

 

[Bluesand1313]

Thank you for the tip, I will try it out
 
And I didn't post this to be told that my fish need better, not trying to pick an argument here but I KNOW that my fish tank is overstocked, I'm waiting for them to die down and I'm going to get rid of my 10gal starting now. Not wanting them to die, but if and when they do, I'm not getting any more. But I don't trust selling fish to other people online (other then to you guys or such, but I can't do shipping so...) because I don't know how they deal with their tanks and nobody in my real life has tanks either so.. They're kinda stuck with me. Honestly the tank is cycled well and we haven't had ANY problems with it for 5 years, other then the occasional sickness of a fish, but the majority of our fish die of old age and not illness. Yes, I know it's overstocked and yes I know that they deserve better. But like I said, I don't have anywhere to bring them. And they're quite happy, most of the time. The neons are happy, the black skirts are *usually* happy, they occasionally will chase each other when it comes to food. The only ones who I've had problems with are my ... well, my platy's.
 
So yes, thank you for the information on my platy problems and thanks for the info on the overstocking, but I know everything you're going to say already, and I've dealt with this many times in the past. I've looked over every possible outcome, and there just isn't any.

 

[the_lock_man]

Didn't note the size of the tank. Not wishing to have a go, but the size of the tank will be making things worse. An overstocked tank is a stressful place to live. Consider a rush-hour bus, packed with commuters - you'd be stressed if you lived 24/7 on one of those.
 
As you've realised by now, there is only one solution, and that is to thin out the stocking. Good luck.

 

[TallTree01]

Thank you for the tip, I will try it out
 
And I didn't post this to be told that my fish need better, not trying to pick an argument here but I KNOW that my fish tank is overstocked, I'm waiting for them to die down and I'm going to get rid of my 10gal starting now. Not wanting them to die, but if and when they do, I'm not getting any more. But I don't trust selling fish to other people online (other then to you guys or such, but I can't do shipping so...) because I don't know how they deal with their tanks and nobody in my real life has tanks either so.. They're kinda stuck with me. Honestly the tank is cycled well and we haven't had ANY problems with it for 5 years, other then the occasional sickness of a fish, but the majority of our fish die of old age and not illness. Yes, I know it's overstocked and yes I know that they deserve better. But like I said, I don't have anywhere to bring them. And they're quite happy, most of the time. The neons are happy, the black skirts are *usually* happy, they occasionally will chase each other when it comes to food. The only ones who I've had problems with are my ... well, my platy's.
 
So yes, thank you for the information on my platy problems and thanks for the info on the overstocking, but I know everything you're going to say already, and I've dealt with this many times in the past. I've looked over every possible outcome, and there just isn't any.

Please rethink this, returning fish to LFS would be much better option then waiting for them to ' die off ' .

 

[TallTree01]

Also, if you knew the tank was overstocked, why in the blazes did you get this new platy!?!

 

[Bluesand1313]

Well don't platy's need to be in groups of at least two? I had only one, for all I knew that was bad, like keeping one neon tetra or something. I've never kept platy's before.
 
Anyways, now he's going crazy and trying to dominate all the other fish in the tank. He's chasing anything he can set his eye on.
I would and am definitely thinking about returning some fish back to the pet store.
Probably Whoa. I know he's my baby and I know he was there first, but with him just becoming overly aggressive to the OTHER fish, well, I don't see another option. Then I'd have to get rid of my other fish and just keep one aggressive platy in my tank. No thanks.
I'm just worried that he's going to die in the pet store. Or not be bought, or be bought by somebody who doesn't know what they are doing.
I'm taking in your suggestions, I really am. But I do get close to my fish, and I'm having conflicting emotions right now. There are pros and cons, and there are too many to count on each side.
Should I do it? Return Whoa? I still have the warranty for Squee, I can say that Whoa was actually Squee and just return Whoa and I don't know what I'd do then, get another platy? But then that just causes the same problem, an overstocked tank and a platy that is all alone that will turn aggressive if I get another one.
 
I don't know why my mom made me get rid of my 20gal, the people I sold it to just took out my Hermit Crabs and didn't even use it. >.> I could have used it for a fish tank, like I was planning on doing. I was planning on making it so the tank WASN'T overstocked but no, the tank goes with the hermit crabs. And I don't have enough money for another tank, let alone a 20gal or something. Plus my mom would flip out.
'We're downsizing our animal collection? Do you hear? Downsizing!!'
'But mom, we're getting rid of the awful 10gal and getting a better 20gal. We aren't getting any more animals, we're upsizing exisiting ones'
'Oh... well it won't fit on the table! *rage*'
'That's why I'm going to put it on the dresser, it can hold 20gals.'
'But what about your gerbils??'
'We'll just put them back on the bunny cage'
'Noooo. I don't want that to happen. End of story no discussion.'
 
*sigh*. I was also planning on using my babysitting money, which is going to be $120 for a new tank, but nope, need it for the dog shots a MONTH LATER.
 
Sorry for the huge rant, it felt good to write that all down. But now you see my situation. I'd like help on what I should do.
 
I will not, despite it being overstocked, get rid of my neons or my black skirts. I raised those black skirts from babies, I don't want them ending up in some pet store that'll take poor care of them and have them die there. No way.
If I absolutely have to, I'll return both platy's. But I really would like to keep Squee. He's really cute, has little black spots on his head.