choochiegirl

I think a male snuck in. I got 2 red platys and 2 blue coral platys. The tanks were listed as female platys but I think one of the blue corals is male. His anal fin looks kinda shrivelled (sorry guys!!) compared to the other platys. And this one is quite aggressive. It chases the 2 red platys like crazy but leaves the other blue coral alone. Should I bring him(?) back or hope they all settle in ok

Chief_waterchanger

Look closely at the top 2 fish on the left side of this link.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/galle...maculatus.html

The white one has the pencil shaped protrusion (gonapodium) (sp?) coming from just behind his anal fin.

The orange one on top left has a fan shaped anal fin. Between the two fins on the bottom (anal and pelvic ) is the vent. It is where poo comes out as well as where she is impregnated. Do all four of your fish look exactly like the female orange platy or does one or more of them look like they have a pencil shaped protrusion "aka. modified anal fin, aka. gonapodium (sp?)"

choochiegirl

oh yay mine does look like the white one on that link, so a male did sneak in He leaves the other 2 alone, but the large red one he chases so she is hiding constantly

Chief_waterchanger

Sounds like they are behaving normally, enjoy your fish. And the experience of learning to sex them will help you next time you buy platies.

choochiegirl

so it's normal for one to get chased so she cowers in the plants?? Wow I'd hate to be a fish

Chief_waterchanger

She is hiding from the male in order to avoid his extremely high libedo. That is done, kinda like it is in mammals. How many guys get slapped a year for their deeply rooted urge to procreate.