Fighting Sunburst wag

Question
So I have gotten a little despite with trying to find some help with my tank. Blaze, my Sunburt wag., has been chasing one of my guppies around for a few months now. He seems to bolt at her every chance he gets. He did this with a few of my neons before they died, but it was never as bad as this. I'm very scared for her life. I have a 20 gallon tank with 3 guppies, 1 sunburst wag., 2 ghost catfish, and an algae eater. There are many plants inside, as I was told that the fighting might be becuase there wasn't enough plants. I have also been told it might be becuase he was trying to mate, but it seemed a little odd to me for they are a very different looking species of fish and just the way he storms out at her makes me believe it's not about mating. Please help us. Thanks in advance.

Answer
Hi there,
Your situation is common. Livebearing fish like platies as well as guppies, swordtails and mollies have a very high breeding drive, and male fish (if there are no females around) will chase other fish species around in their frustration to mate. The darting is normal and part of a male platies natural aggressive courtship/breeding instinct. Male platies can also be very dominating so that just adds to the problem unfortunately.

It can be a problem to remedy. You can try adding some female platies. You must add a small group and not just one or two because he will overwhelm just a couple. Five or six females is a good number.

Offering plenty of sight blocks to prevent the platy's 'target fish' from being always in view can help diffuse some of the chasing. Tall plants (real or fake) work well for example. You could even try rearranging the plants around the aquarium.

Basically here, you have two options. Try adding a group of female platies. Or remove the male from the aquarium into a separate tank..or if you must--give him away to a friend or the petstore.

I do hope all works out well and I hope this helps!
Karen~