Tracy10

hi,
i just added 3 platys to my tank...it has cycled & water been tested and is fine.

What does it mean when they put their fins up to each other & turn sideways abit...then one will ram other. I thought platies where gentle fish....are they fighting ??

Tracy

COBettaCouple

It could be males picking on a female if you don't have 2 females for each male or a pregnant female being grumpy. How many males & females do you have?

lisa987

My platies have occasional "chasing off" between them (and by occasional I mean every day, but I don't think they physicallly ram each other and it doesn't hurt any of them). And they are very specific about who they chase: the little sunset always chases my bigger Mickey Mouse, and the red wag chases only the sunset, but the Mickey Mouse doesn't chase anyone. But I haven't seen them turn sideways and ram another... Do you mean they hit one another with the side of their bodies instead of chasing them head first?

Tracy10

They are all males,no females as i didn,t want babies...hard to explain what they do,its like who can raise their fins the highest & then turning their bodies at an angle to each other. They do this for awhile then either go their separate ways or one will shove the other quite hard...dont know if it is a display thing or if they are fighting...maybe to sort out who,s boss.

Do they actually bite each other ?? was told ok at lfs that all males is fine...worried now!

Tracy

COBettaCouple

It does sound like they might be establishing a pecking order. Our females did that at first but were a little different at it than your males.. could just be the difference in the sexes. As long as you don't see any nipped fins or bites, etc.. that's probably what they're up to. Would you say they're all equally as aggressive in shoving each other?

Neville

hi tracy, r u sure u've got platies? cause i have 4 male and 8 female platies, though males sometimes chase the females but i've never seen the males to fight each other. what is your tank size?

Tracy10

hi,
yes they are definatly platies...they have settled down abit now.No particular one getting picked on they all do it.But alot better than yesterday,2 of them will allow each other to touch...just 2 red wagtails that are still abit grumpy.
I have a 2ft tank...19 gallon (UK) i know its not big but am new to this and wanted to see how i got on first before getting bigger one.

water Ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 5
Tracy

Neville

hi tracy, yeah 19 gallon tank is fine for a beginner. i started with a 10 gallon tank. happy to hear about your platies

LetDiceFly

I have had platies do exactly what you are saying, by turning sideways they are trying to look bigger and tougher. And they do bite at each other but I've never seen one harmed by this. Once they develop a pecking order they should calm down. The only problem I've seen from this is if there are only 2 males, because it seems one is always badgering the other.