Alia1074

Hi everyone. I'm new to the boards and new to the aquarium hobby. We have a goldfish that was given to my daughter and we recently went out and got a sunburst platy. I've noticed that the platy is constantly nipping at the goldfish. I thought they were supposed to be peaceful fish. The goldfish has little marks on his/her body so I removed the platy. Why do you think this is happening?

armadillo

Hello Allia. Welcome to Fishlore. I am sorry you are having trouble. Unfortunately, I have some bad news. Here you go:

Goldfish should be kept with only goldfish, to all intents and purposes, as goldfish are slow movers with long fins. They are too likely to end up being victimised by faster tankmates.

(sidenote) Goldfish have (contrary to popular belief) great volume requirements (20G for the first goldfish, an extra 10G per additional goldie).

(sidenote) Goldfish are temperate climate fish, whereas platys are tropical fish, so they are also incompatible tankmates for that reason too (difference in temperature requirements. Goldfish have 10 to 22C, and platys have 26C ideal temp).

Platys are best kept in groups of at least 3 platys the more the better (provided you can offer at least 1G of water per inch of platy), with at least 2 females per male if you want mixed-sex groups. This should keep them socialised and they should play nice.

I am afraid you are in a situation where you either need to return fish, or to buy a new tank to set up a platy tank.

I am sorry this is bad news, but I guess you're better off informed, rather than continually having problems.

I hope it turns out alright, and this is just hte beginning of yoru Multiple Tank Syndrome, as we call it here. Such beginnings is what's started most of us with several tanks.

Best of luck!

COBettaCouple

welcome to FishLore.

Laure-Anne has the situation covered it looks like. How big is your tank? What did you put the platy in?

Alia1074

Thanks for the advice. We have a small starter tank. Probably 2-3 gallons, I don't even remember for sure right now. She really wanted another fish and picked that one. I had no idea they were not compatible or how many should be in a tank.

Will the pet store really accept the platy??

0morrokh

That, unfortunately, is another problem. A tank of that size is to small for a Platy and way way way too small for a Goldie, let alone for both of them. Your Goldfish needs a 20 gallon tank at least. If you want two Goldfish, then you'll need a 29gal or larger. There are really no fish besides other Goldfish that can be kept with Goldfish. If you want to keep the Platy, you need a tank of at least 10 gals. In a 10 gal you could have several Platys. If you can't afford to get 2 new tanks, then unfortunately you'll have to take back either the Goldie or the Platy.