hey, all. I have always been under the impression that livebearers are schooling fishes. is this true? if not, I guess I can get a lone platy for my aquarium.
can I keep a single platy?
- Thread starter fishcatch22
- Start date
Platys do live in communities, but they are not typical shoaling/schooling fish. I prefer to keep them in groups, but I do not think it is necessary. What other fish would it be housed with?
Sure you could add one platty to your 10, but like jennypenny said they are more community fish and do better in larger tanks with more of their own. How's your betta with other fish? It could go either way with a platty but if he's cool with the shrimp, chances are ge'd get along with a platty.
yeah, my betta is a saint. he even feeds my other fish. i'm not kidding! he eats a pellet, then spits it out right in front of my pleco, who then proceeds to eat it. he also won't eat live food. I think he wants to be a vegitarian, like me.
When I was starting out, I had several fish die during a fishy cycle leaving me with 1 platy, 1 guppy, and 1 oto. I put them in a 5 gallon plastic bin while I did a fishless cycle on the 10 gallon they had been in before to prevent further deaths. The 3 did well in the smaller tank, but when I put them back in the 10 gallon, the guppy and platy hid in opposite corners and more or less refused to eat or come out into open water until I added more fish (2 platies and 2 marble mollies). So in response to your question, in a small tank, 1 platy may do well, but they are going to need the security of a group if you ever go larger.
I had my male betta with 6 of my platies in a 20 gallon tank for a few days...now there are only 5 platies...
I just got my little male firewag sunset platy, ember. he is very skiddish right now, and is hiding with my pleco in the plastic cave. mostly from me, and from the betta. when ember went into the tank, the betta flared at him and chased him, then tolerated him, then chased him again, as if he couldn't decide if ember was another betta, or something else. in the end, blue (my betta) decided that ember was not another male betta. he is still very nervous, though, and I think later i'm going to get 2 female platies to keep him company...