Separating the harassing Platy

[ravichr]

My Suntail Platy (male) is harassing all the other fishes in the tank especially the Blue Platy and the Silver Lyretail Molly. The poor molly, who is the smallest of all seems to be stressed out. I also have about 0.25 ppm ammonia. I thought adding another female platy but the LFS advised me to wait and watch before adding another platy because of the ammonia content. He also advised against doing a water change.

While I try to bring the water to a better quality, is it ok to put the aggressive Suntail Platy in a breeder net tank (inside the same tank)?

My wife loves the small Molly and he is very stressed out and is just hanging at the top near the surface near the heater. He ate very little food this morning. While I attend to him please let me know if I can put the Aggressive Platy in the breeder tank.

Also how can I bring the ammonia down without disturbing the bacterial colony.

Thanks.

Ravi

 

[pwrmacG4]

how big is the platy? I have heard nothing but bad things about the breeder nets. they just collect dirt and debris. I am not sure about seperating it in the same tank. it might just end up stressed too. I would see if you could take it back to the store. If you leave it in there and it is bullying all the other fish.. the stress will eventually kill the other fish. I had a gourami that was bullying the other fish and he had to go bye bye.. the other fish recovered quickly. this is just my opinion.

 

[pwrmacG4]

as for the ammonia.. good ole fashioned water change.

 

[HAAA]

i had the same problem but my male platy and male swordtale were harassing my female platy so i just kep the males and now their calm

 

[TabMorte]

Live bearers seem to be best kept in male or female only tanks in my very limited experience. Other wise inveribly what you're describing happens. Also over population becomes a huge issue.

 

[HAAA]

as long as u dt try to keep every fry alive their whont be any over population u should live the fry in the tank strongest of the fitest

 

[TabMorte]

This is not nessearily true. I know people who have started with three or four guppies and wound up with a hundred with out even trying to keep the buggers alive. In the relatively safe and stable environment that is a fish tank a lot of fry can survive, a LOT more then would in the wild particularly if they're kept with largely docile fish.

 

[HAAA]

damn that never happens in my tank i cant keep one single fry alive and i got lots of plant so they can hide in top

 

[brian1973]

Live bearers seem to be best kept in male or female only tanks in my very limited experience. Other wise inveribly what you're describing happens. Also over population becomes a huge issue.

right on the money Tab

Also male livebearers will harass females of other livebearer species, and after reading an article in aquarium USA i found out that most platy's are actually a hybrid, so they may be able to breed with swordtails.

 

[brian1973]

This is not nessearily true. I know people who have started with three or four guppies and wound up with a hundred with out even trying to keep the buggers alive. In the relatively safe and stable environment that is a fish tank a lot of fry can survive, a LOT more then would in the wild particularly if they're kept with largely docile fish.

Again right on the money. I was overstocked with 100 mollie fry in a community tank.

 

[TabMorte]

This is why when my daughter asks for mollies I keep saying NO! I finally relented and got her a guppy only after varifying three times over that they'd scooped me a male one!