Platy advice

[CyprusSteve]

I currently have 4 male gold colour platy in my tank, with 20 neon tetras.
There is plenty more room for new fish - ( 100 litre tank with external filter ) - as I am slowly stocking the tank.
I would like to add 4 more platy - the ones I have are happy, peaceful, and playful, and love swimming in the air bubble pump.
I would be quite interested if they bred, although from memory, I suspect that females may have to be involved in this process - my concern is that if I added 4 female platy, would this alter the behaviour and interaction of the fish towards each other - and possibly upset the tetra if the platy became too active , or, even fighting over females ?
All advice welcomed.
Thanks,
Steve

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

I'm positive that 4 females would be nowhere near enough for 4 males. You'd want 3 for each of them. And they'd likely be a little more aggressive I'd imagine (having only two females I can't say from personal experience).
Perhaps someone with alot more experience can help enlighten you somewhat more then I have managed.
Hugs,
P.

 

[Annastasia]

Miss Dib Dabs is right. 4 female Platies are not going to be anywhere near enough. You need at least 2-3 females PER male. This is so you can cut down on aggression, and stress on one female. The males can have thier choice of girlies, so one female doesn't get all the chasing.

Yes, it will alter the behavior of the fish. The males may become more aggressive with each other. The girls will probably be okay.

I'd say, if you were to add that many girls, you'd be overstocked. Maybe keep 2 males, and get 4-6 Girls?

Oh yeah...and do you have a plan for the fry? If you have all those girlies, you are going to have a lot of fry. If you leave them in the tank, chances are some will get eaten...but not all. If you want to raise them, you'll probably need another fry tank. Just wondering what you are planning to do, so I can maybe help you more.

 

[CyprusSteve]

I think I will just stick with males , and support gay rights for fish )

 

[CyprusSteve]

Just a thought - what would be the situation if I had only females ? - I believe they are more colourful anyway.
The males get on fine on their own - would the girlies get on in isolation also ?

 

[Annastasia]

Just girlies would be absolutely fine. They are not nearly as aggressive as males, so they will be quite peaceful with each other. However, you will probably still have fry. They can store sperm from just one mating with a male, and have up to 7 pregnancies with it. So unfortunatly...it won't solve the fry problem.

 

[zig]

Just a word of warning put lots of females in there and you are going to be overrun with fry in no time at all.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

^Very true. I have only two females currently, both of whom are very peaceful and fun but one has already had one batch of fry, just 4 days after I got her home. Not suprisingly all were lost (The tank was still cycling then and there were next to no hiding places) but I fully suspect more to come. I don't mind, being that my tank is well understocked and can cope with babes. And I will soon be getting a good sized large tank(180litres+) and a very lil tank for quarrantine or fry. Seems MTS really does get us all in the end.
Hugs,
P.

 

[tuna]

I want to come back as a platy!

How can you tell the difference between the two?
I want some more for my tank but can't tell.