Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just bought 3 Platies which I was sure were 2 females and 1 male but once I got home I realized I had 2 males!! What should I do? Also I cannot return them as the place is very far and not one I am able to go to often. Does it matter that they are all different colours (Red, orange, silver and black spotted)? One last question what do I do if I get babies and don't want them? Thank you!

If you don't want to breed, why would you want 2 females to 1 male? Males can live happily together as can females, and they live pretty happily all together. Color does not make a difference except to your eyes. They are the same fish on the insides, whether that be male or female. And for your final question, you have to intervene to have babies, so if you don't want babies just let the parents eat them as they would in nature. However, if you change your mind and you do want babies, you will need a breeding box/net and house the very pregnant female in it for 24 hours or less. You will need to see her gravid spot (a dark spot on her abdomen which may be difficult to locate with brilliant colored platies) before you place her in a box or net. Once she's had all her babies (she'll look very slender) you will need to remove her so she doesn't eat them.

Does this answer all your questions?
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Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Thank you very much. I had read everywhere that it was preferable to have 1 male and 2 females but I did not know that this was only if I wanted to breed them.

They seem very happy in their new tank and I love them already They are little poopers though aren't they? Perhaps I am feeding them too much? Or I'm used to my Tetra's.

The authors of the articles were mainly talking about breeding, but the males do tend to pick on the females, though I've had guppy ratios at like 5 males to 2 females, so it's really just breeding I would say. They are pretty easy going fish so I don't see any problems arising. Beware of the cycling process if you haven't already cycled. Here's an article just in case...
As for feeding, you are only supposed to feed them as much as they can consume in 2 minutes, although my guppies would just keep eating, so I recommend a pinch (less than 1/4 teaspoon) once a day. Trust me your fish would be able to survive 5 days without any food, so once a day is plenty. Don't feel like you are starving them because you aren't. Also, overfeeding can lead to problems such as swim bladder disorder where the food gets compacted in the gut messing with their buoyancy (swimming ability).
New Aquarium Setup

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Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."