[svkr2k]

I have platys and neon-swordTails and zebra danios in my tank currently. I can see the male fishes are all fighting among themselves.

Platys: 2 male, 3 females -> 2 males fight with each other and visible injuries in scales.
Swordtails: had 3 male, 4 females -> 2 males dead, now with 1 male, the swordtails became peaceful.
Zebra danio : 2 (not sure if they are male or female) - bigger one was chasing all every other fishes whoever comes on its way. as a result, a female platy and the other danio has damaged fins.

The only worrying factor in my tank right now is fish aggression. Any help to solve this?

(not sure if this info helps: ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 10ppm. low light, low tech, lots of plants.)

 

[Oceangirl]

this is a lot of fish, what size tank is this?

 

[Oceangirl]

Swords need lots of horizontal space, and Danios are VERY active. You need LOTS of objects in there, so when fights happen the victim can escape. Also you need lots of room, you would need a 30 or more gallon for all these guys!!

 

[Grah the great]

Oh, yes, and the danios need to be upped to 8 or more, or else the inter-danio violence will continue. Schooling/shoaling fish often turn on each other if kept in excessively small groups.

 

[svkr2k]

this is a lot of fish, what size tank is this?

Swords need lots of horizontal space, and Danios are VERY active. You need LOTS of objects in there, so when fights happen the victim can escape. Also you need lots of room, you would need a 30 or more gallon for all these guys!!

oceangirl, thanks for suggestions
the tank is 44 gallons, 4 feet, densely planted.

 

[svkr2k]

Oh, yes, and the danios need to be upped to 8 or more, or else the inter-danio violence will continue. Schooling/shoaling fish often turn on each other if kept in excessively small groups.

probably, i should return the danios to the lfs. i think the other fishes cant compete with danios during feeding if i get 8 of them :-(

 

[Kitsune_Gem]

You should have at least 2 females per male for the live bearing fish.

The males will harass the females.

 

[haterr]

What size if your tank? You have a bad ratio of males/females for the livebearers as the males will be constantly harassing the females and especially other males. The danios are very active fish and although they seem like they are constantly chasing each other it usually does not end with any damage. Adding additional danios would be beneficial assuming the size of your aquarium is sufficient in size to house them. Good luck!

 

[frog111]

+1 on the livebearer sex ratio. I have two males in a 55 with about 8 females, heavily planted, and still see small skirmishes. You may want to only keep 1 male sword in your tank. The platies in my experience are less aggressive, but you will still see male vs male for the platies as well. I shoot for 1 male per three females minimum.

The danios, don't worry about them. More the better. They will not outcompete the swords and paties for food.

 

[svkr2k]

Hello everybody, thank you so much for the suggestions.

When researching on adding more fishes for aquarium, based on the forum member's and my daughter's advice:
1. Add more female platies (may be 2 more?).
2. No changes to neon swordtails population - the battles are over now and are peaceful with just one male and 4 females ;-)
3. Give away zebra danios to my daughter's friend who likes them very much.
4. Add 6-8 lemon tetras.

Pls give your opinion on #4 (adding lemon tetras). Not sure if they can compete for food with other platies and swordtails. Although i have seen in few videos that they can feed on the surface, i'm not sure if that would be possible if there are lots of platies and swordtails competing for food on the surface.

Also, is it okay to add guppies "in future" to the tank that has lots of lemon tetras?
Thanks in advance for advice.

(tank size if 44 gallons, 4 ft wide. i'm sure theres plenty of space for more fish, but i want to increase population slowly.)

 

[n25philly]

Zebra danios should be in a group of at least 6 or they are prone to causing trouble.

 

[svkr2k]

any suggestions on lemon tetra? (pls refer to post #10 above). thanks.

 

[roadmaster]

Lemon tetra's also like to be in group's of at least eight in my view,(dozen would be better), and I have found them to be fairly hardy unless water hardness is over 12 DGH.and temp not much higher than 78 degrees F

Hard to keep male swordtails' from fighting over breeding right's in all but largest tank's, and they will frequently eliminate the competition.
I would give the danio's to your daughter for their ain't much that swim's, faster at grabbing the lion's share of food than the danio's.