Advice Please On Platys

Hi all,   I have five Cherry Barbs in my tank, and want to introduce more colour.  I am thinking of getting a few Platys.  I would like to know if I could have two or three male platys, or would they fight if there is no females.   I couldn't take more than four, and the females I believe are not so colourful.  Grateful for any advice, thank you.

Thank you Sue, that's very helpful.   I will take a look at the difference now you have told me which is which.  Perhaps I will go for the females then.   People say fish are relaxing, but I get quite stressed watching my male cherry barbs chasing the females.  I have two males and three females.  Wish I had only one male now!!!

Hi Colin,    Thanks for that.   There is a bit of chasing going on with my barbs, but they have the place to themselves.  I have lots of weed and hiding places, plus some plastic weed, a rock with holes and a cave, so I think most of it is just playful.  Perhaps if I get something else like platys that will give them something else to think about !  Probably going to get a couple of ottos as well.

Ha Ha.    Aah, just memories now then Colin.   Jealousy will get you nowhere.  Chance would be a fine thing in my case now methinks.

OK Sue,  thank you, I will remember that.  Hopefully going tomorrow to see what is on offer.

Your new platies sound nice 

The ones with black fins, especially tails, are wags. The kind with a large black blob with 2 attached smaller blobs near the tail (the one you call a panda?) are officially Mickey Mouse platies because if you turn your head sideways, the three blobs look like a silhouette of Mickey Mouse's head 

Keep an eye on the otos because it is quite common for them to just die shortly after purchase. It's nothing you do, it's the way they are caught and transported. But if it does happen, you need to remove them from the tank as soon as you see them.

Thanks Sue,  two of them are definitely wagtails, the lemony coloured that they told me was a panda only has black on its head.  It has a lemony tail.  Definitely not micky mouse.  Quite pretty.  The ottos seem fine at the moment, I was told how to acclimatise them, as they had been in RO water, so I took a while to do that, adding a little tank water every five minutes to get them used to it, and they seem fine.    I put in an algae wafer a few minutes ago for them, but the platies are going mad for it and won't let the others near.  Do you think I should feed them some more of their own food.

Thanks Colin, will keep you informed.

Oooh I see what you mean by the panda! I've never seen that pattern before.

Nice looking fish 

Platies are greedy fish, they will eat anyhting you put in the tank.

Otos may or may not eat algae wafers. You could try putting one in just before you turn the room lights out for the night. If they won't eat the flakes, I've read reports they will eat sushi nori. Or failing that, put a stone in a jar of water on a sunny widowsill and wait for it to grow algae. If you use several stones, roraing them between the jar and the tank, you should in theory have a constant supply of algae.

Hi Cinders....and welcome,

Sorry for the late input but I have been offline for a while due to rustic phonelines and divine intervention!
Anyway, I see you now have your platys...and very pretty they are too I have blue marble platys and have been very happy with them although my tank has had loads of new additions in the form of their many, many babies! they breed ALL of the time...and then the babies start too I have been lucky and have a local shop that takes the babies off of me, but I don't think that happens often.
I like the look of your panda platys, I think I might have a look for some of those myself.

I also have otos....aren't they lovely? Sue is right, (she usually is) otos do have a tendancy to suddenly die on you for no apparent reason. It's to do with how they are handled after capture. If they are not fed properly before they reach the fish shop, they reach a point where no matter what food is offered to them, they are unable to start eating again. you need to choose nice plump looking ones or ask at the shop how long they have had them in stock in the hopes that they have had a few weeks in the shops tank and are eating ok. Obviously, this is not a guarantee as they may still last a few weeks longer once you get them home. I lost one of mine about a month after I got them. My others have since got very plump
By the way, you should also not have less than six of them....what a good reason to go out fishy shopping again
I have a nice supply of algae in my tank now, which they munch on all the time, but I also feed algae wafers, mind you the platys and corys love those too.
They also like some courgette now and then. Take a couple of slices and put them in the microwave for 20 seconds or so to soften them, make sure they have cooled and drop them in to the tank. If they float, weigh them down with something, perhaps a small rock if you have any in your tank or a stainless steel fork.

Anyway, good luck with your tank, keep the piccies coming, please.

Resa
 

Hi Cinders,

Yep...just when you thought it was safe to go back on the forum...there I am! Our internet connection is pretty flaky at the best of times and storms usually finish it off....and this was one humdinger of a storm! We have some really dramatic storms in the summer, usually at night then the next morning is beautifully hot and sunny again.

You will probably see babies in just a few days, and then again, and again....and again.... I wouldn't worry about not being able to save all the babies, I know it sounds harsh but you will end up with so many and if you can't rehome them somewhere they will seriously over populate your tank. Also, the babies are still very small and young when they start breeding as well!
If you can find anywhere that has the blue marbled platys, have a look at them, they are really pretty. I will try and get a reasonable piccie of mine and attempt to post it. Incidentally, the males and females of these are identical in colour with both being equally striking. It's just their shape that is slightly different, with the males being more streamlined and a bit smaller. I started off with one male and two females. I only have one female left of these three but I currently have around a dozen or so with the babies. I am taking some more to my LFS this week and will keep just a few. It won't be long before there are more popping out anyway. It's a shame I'm so far away, you could have had some of mine.

All the best
Resa