How To Tell If Your Platies Are Trying To Breed ?

[pumpkinnose]

I was looking at my aquarium tonight and noticed my male panda platy "Jerry" was underneath one of my female panda platies "Po". He then lost interest in her and went to my other female platy "Butterfly" and started the same stunt. Is this a process of breeding? Or is it a sign of something else? Thanks.

(Please excuse the names. My spouse named our first panda "Po" not knowing it was female and my son wouldn't allow me to change it. My 4 yr old named the other two after we got them.

Plus will a 3 or 5 gallon tank work for a nursery? I don't really have room for another 10 gallon or bigger tank but if need be I'll find a way to fit it into the house some how. Thanks.

 

[the_lock_man]

Jerry is a male platy. He is trying to breed. Male platies only do two things. And the other one is eat.

If you have a reasonable level of cover in your tank, you may well have some fry survive to adulthood.

 

[Staxx]

yeah my male platys literally stalked the females all day, everyday.

they eat, breed and poo. thats it lol

 

[pumpkinnose]

I just hope Po don't abort her pregnancy. Jerry won't leave her alone. And she looks like she will be popping any time but I am probably wrong there since I've had the fish for two weeks and all the fish looked thin when I brought them home.

 

[FishBlast]

I just hope Po don't abort her pregnancy. Jerry won't leave her alone. And she looks like she will be popping any time but I am probably wrong there since I've had the fish for two weeks and all the fish looked thin when I brought them home.

In the beginning, my first female swordtail had the male after her the whole time, even when pregnant and nearing birth.
Now, the male isn't interested in any female, but he will just sit next to his favorite female. He hasn't harassed any of the 3 females I have, in fact, 2 of them beat the stuffing out of him.

 

[pumpkinnose]

Thanks fish that gives me hope that jerry will settle down.

 

[FishBlast]

Thanks fish that gives me hope that jerry will settle down.

Not sure if it happens with all, but mine just seems to get bored too easy of the females. He has 3 of them and no interest, he just wants to hang around with his "wife" and sometimes defend her from the other 2 ladies.

 

[pumpkinnose]

My sunburst doesn't seem as interest and im not even sure he is even worried about breeding at this time or he's just a little more easy going lol

 

[OldMan47]

Pumpkinnose, the male platy is doing what he must. All common livebearers urinate constantly to maintain their water balance. A method adopted by most common livebearer males is to smell, for lack of a better word, the urine produced by other fish to determine whether or not the particular fish is female and of the right species for mating. If he finds her both as female and of the right species, he will enter into more extensive mating behaviors. If your male is "sniffing" at the vent of another fish, he is trying to decide whether or not to try to mate with that fish. If he follows up with typical mating behavior, he has decided that it is indeed a female and is close enough genetically to be worth his attentions.

 

[FishBlast]

Pumpkinnose, the male platy is doing what he must. All common livebearers urinate constantly to maintain their water balance. A method adopted by most common livebearer males is to smell, for lack of a better word, the urine produced by other fish to determine whether or not the particular fish is female and of the right species for mating. If he finds her both as female and of the right species, he will enter into more extensive mating behaviors. If your male is "sniffing" at the vent of another fish, he is trying to decide whether or not to try to mate with that fish. If he follows up with typical mating behavior, he has decided that it is indeed a female and is close enough genetically to be worth his attentions.

So that is why a swordtail will try to mate with a guppy or vice versa? They are quite closely related, but unable to breed though.

 

[OldMan47]

It ordinarily requires a bit closer relationship than swordtail/guppy fishblast but that is essentially correct. Once a male decides that a particular fish is close enough to mate with, he will do what he can to mate with that fish. He may be completely wrong but something about that female has triggered his response.