bitten platy

Question
Hi Karen,
Two days ago we added 2 platies to our tank of a siamese fighter, a danio, 3 minnows, 5 guppies and tetras. Within hours the red platy has lost his tail and top fin although the dalmation one is fine. We have placed it in our breeding net with 2 baby balloon mollies (mother gave birth days after we bought her, unfortunately she has since died). We hope that the platy will eventually recover its tail and fin (it is not happy at the moment) but wonder about its chances of being attacked again when it returns to the main area. Are some fish particularly susceptible to being attacked (bearing in mind that the other platy has settled in well)or is it just chance? We'd be grateful for your thoughts.
Thanks, Sally

Answer
Hi Sally,
Sorry to hear that.

I can bet that it was your Siamese Fighter that did the damage to the platy. He probably looked at the platies as a 'threat' to his territory and their shape/color somewhat resembles another betta like a female betta (who have short fins) so he attacked. Fortunately the fin will heal and regrow with time and good care-- clean water and healthy food. Keeping him in the breeding net may help the siamese fighter and other fish get use to him. I'm not sure why he was singled out from the other platy but we just can't ever know what's going on in our fishes little minds.

I hope all goes well and hope this helps!
Karen~