Platty Eating Habits

Will a Platy eat until its full or will it eat until the foods gone?  I am noticing my 2 platties may be overeating today.  I fed them this morning and some of the chunks are still in the tank.  The 2 platties are pretty much staying in that area and every 20 min or so, taking a few bites.  Is this ok?    They are also nipping at eachother a bit.  I'm planning on getting 2 more after I put them in my big tank.  Do they do better in larger groups?  I got them to be friends but if they are gonna fight... ???  My Betta is being nicer to them, than they are being to eachother!! :-[

 

As far as I know, all livebearers (guppys, plats, mollys etc) will eat all day every day even to the point of it being unhealthy.
It is so hard not to overfeed them, they look so starving all the time!

--R

 

Platies like to school. I have 5 Platies and they are practically inseparable. I would say a minimum of five Platies for optimum happiness .

As far as eating, my Platies are absolute pigs! You know how they say tropical fish won't eat for a day or so after putting them in a new tank? Mine were eating anything and everything I dropped in the tank ever since the first 5 minutes I had them... Flakes, cichlid pellets, algae wafers, bloodworms, freeze dried shrimp, cucumbers.. you name it, they've eaten it. Every time I get within ten feet of their tank, all five are watching my every move with their noses pressed up against the glass. No matter how much they've eaten or how long ago they ate, they ALWAYS act as though they're starving to death. I feed them about 3 times a day... if it were up to them, it would be more like 3 times an hour.

 

For our platies, it's RARE for there to be any food left over unless it falls down into the substrata out of reach. that only happened one time with us and it was when we first got cory cats and I put algae wafers in for them (not knowing to put less in).. while we were out, the platies ate so much they were all pooping green for a while and they couldn't finish but they'd keep nibbling every so often. So they will stop before they explode, but not much before. we feed them a little pinch of food in the AM & PM with no food on sundays. and they do eat almost anything like sick-lid boy says.. i've never seen ours refuse to eat something other than diced carrot. we call them stomachs with fins and they gladly suck-up to ANYONE near the tank, hoping for more food.

Having just 2 fish often leads to a pecking order where 1 fish is always picked on.. the 2 additional ones will help that out.. are they all males?

 

Having just 2 fish often leads to a pecking order where 1 fish is always picked on.. the 2 additional ones will help that out.. are they all males?

You know... I'm having a hard time telling them apart.  I read somewhere that Males have a smaller analfin?  I think my Red Wag may be Male, Sunburst may be female.  Also, I think she looks pregnant (her/ his belly is large and looks whitish through the transparent orange scales.) sigh...  but how can I be sure??  I'll be adding those 2 extra platties in about 1 month when the new tank is ready so I'd like to be able to recognize the difference at the store.

The platties eating/ pooping habits yesterday actually became a joke at the office (that's where the tank is right now)... they were either eating, pooping or BOTH... ALL DAY LONG!!  Much less food today... little buggers...

 

- this post might help with sexing your fish.

If she's pregnant should should have a black gravid spot on her belly and when she's getting close, you'll see little black dots in her tummy looking back at you. Her back end will square off when she's about to drop and she'll probably look for a calm, quiet area to have her babies.

lol.. yea, it's VERY common to see our platys pooping while they eat voraciously.. or to see them chomp up poop (theirs or others) before spitting it out - then chomp on it again! crazy little fish! we love them - they're a great laugh and cute fish.

 

According to those pictures, I have a Male Sunburst Wag (good thing he's named Frank Zappa!) & a Female Red Wag (not yet named) Frank is nipping at the one I haven't named yet. I'm pretty sure Frank isn't pregnant, like I thought... being male & all... I'll have to watch out for the other one, I guess. If I'm lucky! I won't be having babies anytime soon! I haven't even filled my new tank yet! :

So, I need 2 more females to stop the nipping??

 

According to those pictures, I have a Male Sunburst Wag (good thing he's named Frank Zappa!) & a Female Red Wag (not yet named) Frank is nipping at the one I haven't named yet. I'm pretty sure Frank isn't pregnant, like I thought... being male & all... I'll have to watch out for the other one, I guess. If I'm lucky! I won't be having babies anytime soon! I haven't even filled my new tank yet! :

So, I need 2 more females to stop the nipping??

yes, at least one more female to get the male/female balance - every female will get pregnant. Pregnant females are picked on more by males - trying to force the female to abort the fry and drop them as snacks. More plants/caves to hide in could help.. or even seperating them.

 

yes, at least one more female to get the male/female balance - every female will get pregnant. Pregnant females are picked on more by males - trying to force the female to abort the fry and drop them as snacks. More plants/caves to hide in could help.. or even seperating them.

Ok, that's just so wrong... Picking on the pregnant ones so he can eat the babies... Makes me glad we're at the top of the food chain!

Will Reg Wags & Sunburst Wags mate? The male is a Sunburst Wag, so I'm thinking if I get 2 more Red Wag females, they'll never get pregnant! Seem logical to anyone else?? ???

 

Yeah, all platys will breed with other platys. I have found that the female platys and mollys I have were already pregnant when I got them.

Good thing is that my local pet store will take juvies, so I have a place for all the baby fish when they grow up

--R

 

yea, it doesn't matter what variety - if there's at least 1 male in the tank, all the females will be pregnant.

 

Yeah, the different colors of Platys are all the same species, so they'll all interbreed.

Of all the fish I've had, Platys are definitely the most passionate about eating--anything, everything, and all the time--so be very careful not to overfeed. Remember their stomach is about the size of their eye.

 

The size of their eye?? Sheesh, mine eat so much that you would guess their tummy was bigger than their entire body!

Wow, that is a tiny tummy, might be time to cut back even more on the food...

--R

 

If a Platy could, they'd just be a big stomach with eyes and fins, the way they LOVE food!

 

If a Platy could, they'd just be a big stomach with eyes and fins, the way they LOVE food!

What, you mean they aren't??

 

If a Platy could, they'd just be a big stomach with eyes and fins, the way they LOVE food!

What, you mean they aren't??

Mine certainly seem under the impression that they are!

--R

 

If a Platy could, they'd just be a big stomach with eyes and fins, the way they LOVE food!

What, you mean they aren't??

Mine certainly seem under the impression that they are!

--R

lol, exactly.. they way they attack their food! it's a good thing they're not carnivorous!

 

- this post might help with sexing your fish.

If she's pregnant should should have a black gravid spot on her belly and when she's getting close, you'll see little black dots in her tummy looking back at you. Her back end will square off when she's about to drop and she'll probably look for a calm, quiet area to have her babies.

I thought I had their sexes right but a few days ago, I noticed the 'male's' black spot starting to separate and the back part is becoming little black dots. It almost looks like my fish has pores! The large black spot is between his body & tail. I thought it was just his coloring. Is this normal? Is my he a she? ??? Sigh... I thought I had it down... I'm *so* confused! Would you mind explaining the term 'back end squaring off'? The tail? The body? I appreciate your help!

 

The fin is the way to tell.. the analfin on the female is like a triangle and on the male it looks more like a tube. The analfin is the fin underneath and behind the set of 2 fins.

when a female 'squares-off', it's pretty much what happens.. the back end of her almost turns into a corner of a square in looks. that area where you're seeing little black dots sounds like you're seeing fry eyes in her belly.. do you have pics?

 

The fin is the way to tell.. the analfin on the female is like a triangle and on the male it looks more like a tube. The analfin is the fin underneath and behind the set of 2 fins.

when a female 'squares-off', it's pretty much what happens.. the back end of her almost turns into a corner of a square in looks. that area where you're seeing little black dots sounds like you're seeing fry eyes in her belly.. do you have pics?

I took some pics this afternoon. I hope they are not too difficult to decipher. The black spot on the 'male' looks like little dots, close-up. It is separating, I think (it used to be one big black dot, now it has shape & is bi-colored), and the front part, nearest the body, is becoming less black, more grey... am I crazy? (Please don't comment on that... )

My 'Male' - Frank Zappa:



My 'Female' - Camarillo:



Our Aquarium:

 

well as best as I can tell from the pics, you've identified the male and female correctly.. your male has a wag pattern and it may be developing still as he's fairly young is my guess on him but i'm not totally sure. if you could get a closeup of that area it would be great.. and I know that's tough with those little active stomachs with fins. That female doesn't look too pregnant in that pic, but with a male around she must be, so i'd just keep an eye on her belly area and watch for changes in her behavior.

 

...if you could get a closeup of that area it would be great.. and I know that's tough with those little active stomachs with fins...

I actually got a good one! Here you go:

I hope you can see the dots: (Frank Zappa, male?)



Camarillo, female? (side view): (I don't see any black spots in her belly...)



What do you think??? No babies for me??

 

Frank Zappa is probably just growing, and it hard to tell but I don't think Camarillo is pregnant. Nice fish.

 

Frank Zappa is probably just growing, and it hard to tell but I don't think Camarillo is pregnant. Nice fish.

Sweet. I keep holding off putting 2 new fish in cuz I'm afraid they're gonna have babies and overload the tank. Hopefully, these two will remain 'just friends' :. *giggle*

 

Frank Zappa is definitely a male and camarillo is a female. she doesn't look pregnant in that pic, but watch for any behavior changes. the first sign we had (even though we didn't know it at the time) of our Daisy being pregnant was when she started to get a bit testy with the other females.