Question about adding in new fish

[BeckaMo]

Hello. First of all a little about my tank. I currently have a ten gallon tank. We have had this tank going for about a month now. We started with albino pleco. Less than a week ago we added two female mickey platys. We gave them time to adjust and get used to the tank. We have one that is a bit bigger than the other. The smaller one hid a lot a first but they seemed to be getting along fine after a couple of days. Yesterday we added two female gold panda mollies. Was a bit scary at first cause my two female platys were fin nipping them and seemed like a battle going on between them. However then the bigger of the platys seemed to turn on the smaller platy and started defending the mollies. Now this morning the bigger platy keeps chasing away the other platy anytime they get near each other, but when the mollies or the pleco go nearby it fine. They all seem to be kinda chasing and bullying the smaller platy. But yet the bigger platy and mollies will swim around and hang together with no issues. Mind you the smaller platy is the one that initiated the initial fighting and bullying when the mollies were first introduced to the tank.

Was trying to go for all females due to having only a ten gallon and didn't want massive fry issues since they are all livebearers. The tank is running with a 20 gallon aqua clear filtration system. We are still in the early cycling stages, but starting adding hardy fish to help everything along. Feeling bad for the smaller orange platy cause all the other fish are swimming around just doing their thing, and this fish just stays hidden behind the heater and occasionally comes out to try to nibble on stuff. Fed them flakes this morning and that was ok, they all seemed to get along and eat . Now they are back to bullying. This fish can come out of its corner but once it starts trying to intermingle it gets chased away or the other platy seems to stare it down while it backs away.

Not sure what to do with my tank that has seemed to turned into a high school and an episode of mean girls. LOL Feeling bad for my poor little orange platy. **Pleco doesn't care about any of them, just doing it's thing. Not sure if it's male or female yet.

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

One thing I'd like to start off with is that bristlenose plecos should be in a tank that's at least 20-25 gallons. What are the tank's dimensions? They need lots of space to swim around, lots of caves, hides, and some driftwood. They also require "special" dietary requirements (a couple algae wafers in the bottom of the tank should do the trick), and can be very greedy.

You can usually tell the sex of a bristlenose pleco by the placement/amount of bristles on its face. Females will only have relatively short bristles around their mouths, whereas males will have them all over their head. You can also tell by the body shape, but I never remember which way round it is. I feel like @Slaphppy7 knows that one.

Platys aren't typically known to be aggressive fish, but may become aggressive depending on a few factors including overcrowding; not enough space in the tank; an improper ratio of males to females or stress caused by sudden changes to their environment. I'm not too well versed in livebearers, but it could be down to any of these factors.

 

[BeckaMo]

One thing I'd like to start off with is that bristlenose plecos should be in a tank that's at least 20-25 gallons. What are the tank's dimensions? They need lots of space to swim around, lots of caves, hides, and some driftwood. They also require "special" dietary requirements (a couple algae wafers in the bottom of the tank should do the trick), and can be very greedy.

You can usually tell the sex of a bristlenose pleco by the placement/amount of bristles on its face. Females will only have relatively short bristles around their mouths, whereas males will have them all over their head. You can also tell by the body shape, but I never remember which way round it is. I feel like @Slaphppy7 knows that one.

Platys aren't typically known to be aggressive fish, but may become aggressive depending on a few factors including overcrowding; not enough space in the tank; an improper ratio of males to females or stress caused by sudden changes to their environment. I'm not too well versed in livebearers, but it could be down to any of these factors.

 

[BeckaMo]

Hi there. Let me add a little more info for clarification. I have top fin corner 10 gallon tank with 5 fish. We didn't add any fish at all for like 10 days. Each one is only about an inch maybe an inch an half long. There is plenty of space for them. We do plan to get a 20 gallon in the future. Our albino BN was a baby and is growing, but max size of it is going to be 4 to 5 inches. At that time we will probably rehome it to the 20 gallon once it's set up. However right now, our tank is adequate for what we have. I've been obsessed with researching compatible fish and sizes for a 10 gallon. LOL Our pleco is awesome and a little crazy. LOL WE have added each fish gradually. Pleco was the only one for the first part of it all. Both platys are female along and the 2 mollies are also female.

I have been boiling a piece of driftwood since yesterday to prepare it for the tank, and plan on adding some java fern to it. We check the water daily for any issues, as it is still cycling but getting there , and we have been making sure to get hardy fish to help it all along. All fish are eating and have places to swim and hide.

Main problem is just trying to figure out why I have one fish that is now being singled out. It's like my bigger platy all of sudden decided it was a molly and they are singling out the oddball. I literally just watched the two mollies and the platy file together in a line, and they all charged at the other platy. They will even occasionally pal around the tank together. Feeling bad for the poor little platy getting chased around by everyone. All but the pleco just going around doing its thing without a care in the world. The smaller platy hid a lot when we first put them in the tank , so I'm wondering if the other one was bullying already then.

My pleco has two very small little pointers coming up under it's eyes. Based on what i have read and pictures I think it may be a female. It has the more slender body and I have read that the boys are more plump.