# Male Platy fighting...one is injured...suggestions???



## whtroze (Oct 2, 2008)

Hi all...today I came home to find a sad site. Not counting my other fish (all of which are live bearers) I have 3 platys. (2 males, 1 female). One male...larger is a blue painted Mickey. The female is a young blue painted Mickey. And the other male is a moderately sized red wag tail. 
About 2 weeks ago, I noticed breeding behavior. Since my tank is purely recreational I let the fishies be. Both males appeared interested in the female, but the female seemed to show preference for the blue painted male. The wag tail male tried to get near the female on occassion, but often gave up quickly like he got the hint that she wasn't interested in him. However, the blue painted male apparently claimed the female as his only. He would chase the wag tail all the way to the other side of the tank. It all seemed fairly innocent as the wag tail easily gave up every time and the blue painted male backed off once the wag tail was far enough away from "his" female.
I have not noticed the breeding behavior for about a week now and all seemed fine. I'm not sure if the female is pregnant or not since it is too early to tell.
Tonight when I got home and went to take care of everyone...I saw the sad site. The wag tail has abrasions all over his head. They literately look like bite marks. His energy seems less and he was hiding. It appeared was doing everything he could to avoid the other male platy who was swiming around the tank like he was a god or something. I of course immediately too my poor injured boy out of my tank and put in a hosp. tank. When I offered him food...he ate like he was starving to death. He appears ok for now, and now he is safe from the evil male.
My concern....to my knowledge this has never happened before and my friend who gave these fish to me had them for a year before she gave them to me. I fear I may have to find a new home for the wag tail if the other male is going to do this to him it they are in the same tank. Any suggestions on how I could possibly keep these fish together or avoid this from happening again?
Second...some of the abrasions look pretty nasty. Scales are ripped up in patches. Any suggestions for treating his injuries or to help him heal? Any advise would be wonderful. Thanks.

Tank info: 20g w/20 Whisper filter. Nitrite/Nitrate 0.00ppm, pH 7.2, Temp ave 75 F (testing by liquid kit once a week). Lighting timed 12 hours on/12 off. Many rocks to hide around. Several plants..both plastic and natural. H2O change every 2 weeks..15%. Food..premium flakes once a day, substituted freeze-dried bloodworm once a week. Other fish (other than the 3 platys mentioned)..about 8 guppies varing ages and types, 4 neons (used to have 6, but 2 died about a month ago and just haven't replaced them yet), 2 cherry barbs.


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## mollies (Mar 27, 2009)

u should have 3 females to 1 male they are fighting over her


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## Tyyrlym (Jun 1, 2008)

I agree. With one female and two males the males are going to be in competition for her. Also, the winner is likely to hound the poor girl into an early grave. You need multiple females to try and spread out the male's attention and keep him from stressing them too much.

Your options are limited. Either you have to remove the female and hope the males settle down or you need to add another four to five females to give them enough skirt to chase so they ignore one another. If you do that expect to have a lot of platy fry on your hands though.


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## whtroze (Oct 2, 2008)

I've had the males separated now (the injured one is in a hosp tank) and all seems to be going well. I may just have to keep them separate. I don't think my tank could handle more fish without getting overstocked, so adding a few more females might be unwise at this time. So far the "dominate" male doesn't seem to bother the female to any point that she shows any stress...he just seemed to really have issues with the other male.
(none of the other fish seem to bother him either).
Thats ok, I'm thinking maybe a smaller tank for a different room. The injured male can have a new home with new "nicer" friends once he's better.
As for my injured male...his injuries still look pretty bad....I know that they will take time to heal. However, I noticed tonight that he may be developing possibly fungus or an infection at some of the abrasions. Any suggestions??? Currently he is in a hosp tank that is 5 gallons and a disposable noncarbon filter is used. He is still eating good, but still seems depressed. The tank is plain with no decor and is kept in a quiet area so that the fish isn't exposed to things that could scare or stress it.


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