Platy attacking Pleco!

[EkizUCLA]

Hi, i have a 10 gallon set up with 5 harlequins, 4 head and tail light tetras, 1 platy, and 1 small common pleco.

It's been running for a while, but I just added the platy a couple of weeks ago.

I noticed that my platy keeps slowly swimming to the pleco and nipping on his body near his face. It doesn't seem extremley aggresive, but is that bad? Should I take the platy out?

 

[sylvia]

I hope this is a cycled tank. You are rather over-stocked (or at least will be very very soon)... First off, to answer your question; If the pleco is not showing any sign of being bothered by this behaviour and the platy isn't aggressive, you probably need not worry but should provide him with some more hiding places (rockwork/caves) as plecos are mainly nocturnal and need to rest peacefuly during the day and do keep an eye on all your fish to ensure no serious problems arise. Now to your stocking problem - the 5 harlequin rasboras will grow to 1.5 inches, the 4 head and tail-light tetras will grow to be 2 inches, the platy will grow to around 2 inches... and that tiny pleco is going to be over 12 inches long and *very* messy. Even if the pleco is a bristlenose (5.5 inches), you are still over-stocked with just the other fish. Now, unless you plan to get a larger tank (55 gallons for now for the pleco) very soon, I would seriously consider returning him/her and also the platy. Stick to those tetras and rasboras and add a peace of driftwood and plant the tank and you'll have a nice little set-up that wont result in stunted or dead fish. Even these fish are a few too many, IMO, but you should be able to deal with it with regular maintainance and vigilant water testing.