# Hello All! New Guy and some ?'s !



## jroe275 (Apr 1, 2014)

Hello, my name is John and I have been following your forums for a month or so now. Decided to make a post  . I am a beginner at aquariums and fish, however I have a 10 gallon tank with 3 platy's, 1 swordtail, and 1 glowfish tetra (believe that is the correct name). The tank was a little high in ammonia in the beginning, however I did some water changes and got it to normal. My question is, which are male and female? :help: :mrgreen: I have researched online about it but I can't be too sure. I will include some pictures with this post, hope they are visible enough to tell.


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## Angelinawad (Mar 23, 2014)

It is hard to tell sometimes definitely! Tetra, I have no idea. The swordtail looks to be female because the males are the ones with the actual sword in the tail, resulting in a tail about as long as the body itself. Platy females usually have a bigger belly overall, all the time, and a lot of times are bigger than the males. The lighter platy May be female but I can't tell for sure. I like your tank though, it's pretty


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## jroe275 (Apr 1, 2014)

Thanks, this is the tank in it's entirety 









I'm hoping someday that I will get some fry in there! Swordtail likes to hide in the castle, the rest just swim about all day haha. They are very active fish and when I feed them they even break water or jump right up to the food.


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## Angelinawad (Mar 23, 2014)

Love it! Platies reproduce pretty quickly but you will need some mat plants and floating ones for them to hide in. My babies survived in hornwort, it can be planted or float and lasts a long time. You have to get it past a "shedding stage" but then it kasts and lasts! Dwarf hairgrass is a good one too for the substrate. Babies are so fun


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## Angelinawad (Mar 23, 2014)

Oh and you can fill your water more too unless you don't have a hood (which is recommended!)


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

The platy in the 3rd pic is male, the 4th pic is female. See the 3 fins on the underside? See how they're different?


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## Angelinawad (Mar 23, 2014)

I can't see it lol but I'll look tomorrow at work! Or at mine. Good to know.


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## jroe275 (Apr 1, 2014)

Thanks all for the input  And yes, I know the water is supposed to be higher however the tap water around here is very bad (chlorine in very high amounts, I turn the shower on and I can smell it lol ) so I use poland spring water to fill the tank. Did about a 20% water change and got it filled up now  Another question, is it normal for my swordtail to hide most of the time? She doesn't seem stressed but loves the castle, so I was curious.


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## Angelinawad (Mar 23, 2014)

Yeah she probably just loves the castle and that's the extent of it! Ha. You could always get another swordtail and see if they socialize.


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## jroe275 (Apr 1, 2014)

Thanks again guys for the advice, I'm going to post another pic up. This is a fish bowl with 3 goldfish, my mom got them as is and is going to buy them a bigger tank ASAP. I wanted to know if anyone could discern if they are male or female?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

they are way to young to be sexed....it usually take a couple of years..i would suggest the new tank be about 75 gallons....no heater....but extra filtration and aeration...
and make sure they get a "proper" diet...and don't use floating foods...
do you notice how they are up at the surface...they are gasping for air..


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