male platy aggression

[fishme]

i have a 10-gallon curently stocking 2 male platys ,one is tuxedo
and the other is a mickey mouse platy ,with two females the males
were holding there fins erect and they were all puffed up,and they started
fighting,they stopped now.. the tuxedo is busy eating by himself,while
the other male is trying to breed,is this a ranking thing,between the group,
or do i need to add 2 more females. and i have a breeder net stocked with 12
one week old platy fry,from the female tuxedo i had but she passed of stress
from giving birth,

[Lady Hobbs]

They are trying to lay claim to the female.

[jbeining75]

you need to set the tank like 1 male three females. They are gonna fight over her and someones gonna end up hurt. Alot of the times it the female who just happens to be the one who dies

[Tolley]

IMO ratios dont work for platy males. its the tank size. I say 1 per 10g. If i were you i'd take one male back. My platies do this all the time no matter how many females are with them.

[Sasquatch]

It's aggression between the males for territory and the females. In a 10g you can't really add a whole lot more fish, not without causing other problems. Ideally you'd need 2-3 females per males and at least a 20g to give each of the males enough territory to leave each other alone.

As for the female that died, try feeding higher protein foods (at least 50% protein). Blood worms are good. Give it to them every other day or every three days. It'll keep the pregnant females in top shape and should help a lot with the stress of giving birth.

[NickFish]

All of the above posts are very true.
In a 10 gallon there should only be 1 platy male, with 2 or 3 females, see if you can take one back or exchange it.

I like to feed brine shrimp, fairly high in proteina nd fish love itm platies should also be given some fresh veggies to though like zucchini and romaine lettuce.