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Platy displaying odd behaviour


Southerrrngirrl

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Not sure if this should go here or in the disease section, but I noticed yesterday one of my blue platys displaying some rather odd behaviour. I think its a male but can't be 100% sure on that. Anyway, he/she is swimming around fine, then all of a sudden sort of, floats on his/her side and briefly has what looks like a seizure! Then the moment passes and he/she is back to swimming around normally. There is nothing abnormal that I can see, none of the other fish are doing it, he/she is eating and otherwise behaving normally. I'm wondering if this is perhaps platy mating behaviour?? Because I have seen other platys swim up beside him/her..

Any ideas?

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If it swims up to another platy it might be flaring at another male in the tank. Mine would go on their side when flaring as they couldn't keep their balance and then they'd swim away fine. they never had a seizure though

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Oh OK. Males have a "stick" like thing under them which looks like this.

A0346-sexing-livebearers-2.jpg

And females have a triangle fin under them which look like this.

A0345-sexing-livebearers-1.jpg

The "stick" thing and the triangle fin will be here on them

250px-PlatyGonopodium.jpg

Also if you look this one is a male.

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The "stick thing" is called the gonopodium :wink:

3 males and 2 females is not good. You need 2 or more females for every male or the females will eventually be harassed to death.

As to the spasms of your male, it is not breeding behaviour. Sounds like a neurological problem to me (perhaps he got knocked on the head at some point?).

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*sigh* the fishy in question died last night. :(

I think he was the victim of a severe bullying. I caught my betta giving him a couple of nudges last night. He also had a sizeable chunk taken out of his tail by culprits unknown. Several of the other platys also have chunks out of their tails. Either I'm underfeeding or I've got the male:female ratio very wrong. (I now think there was only one female to four males! :o )

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