Hello From Brisbane

[SarahE]

Hello All

I am new to the forum and to tropical fish keeping too!

We were given a 20ltr tank with 13 Platties included for christmas and have a few questions to ask if I can find the right place to ask them.

Looking forward to learning as I go.

Cheers

Sarah

 

[SarahE]

Hi All

Sorry if this is in the wrong place but I have just typed this all out twice and cant post it in the Livebearers section for some reason.

I wanted to ask some advice please.
We were given a 20ltr tank with all the accesories for christmas and also 13 Platties of different colours.
I was told that the large female was pregnant and had about 2 weeks to go.
I was monitering her and read up a bit on the net and was watching for the black spot to appear on her but it never did.
4 weeks passed and no babies arrived and she never changed shape or size, then suddenly about a week ago he scales started to stick out and she appeared to look fuzzy. She was swimming around and eating as usual until yesterday when she just sat in the corner at the bottom of the tank and looked very ill, sadly she passed away.
I am wondering if she had dropsy and what caused it and if the others are likely to go the same way.
Or did she retain the fry due to the stress of being moved and then that made her sick?
The rest of them including a couple of small fry and two small catfish are all completley fine.
I dont think any of them are fully grown yet.

I have done 2 25% water changes since we got the tank one was as directed by our friend who gave us the tank and the second which I did on Tuesday this week was because the big fish was sick.
I have had problems maintaining the temp in the tank below 26 and have had some days where it has gone up to 29-30 degrees despite the aircon being on and icebricks in the tank (We live in Brisbane)
Also I have just looked in the tank this evening and found 6 baby snails which I have never seen before and think may have come in on some plants that I bought from the petshop 2 weeks ago.
What should I do with the snails? Do I need to get rid of them? Will they harm the other fish?

How do I identify what type of platties I have and would I be able to put any Neons or any other fish in my tank with them?

Sorry for the long post

Thanks for reading any help would be appreciated.

Sarah

 

[OldMan47]

I found your stranded posts in the species index Sarah. That is not a suitable place for corresponding with other members because the posts stay hidden until individually approved by a MOD. The intent is for that section to be used for reference material. I moved this thread to the common livebearers discussion area so that other people can see and respond to it.

The female having scales sticking out in a pine cone fashion is typical of a case of dropsy and may well have been her problem. Platies are much like other livebearers that we encounter, they change shape as they progress from early fry development to being ready to drop fry. There is a post at the top of the common livebearers section, where this thread is now located, that will help you understand the stages of a platy development. I have a similar thread that I made using a female molly to help people judge their own fish's stage. I have a link to my thread in my signature area.

 

[BigC]

Hi Sarah,
First may I say a warm welcome to TFF forum boards.
The symptoms you describe sound very much like Dropsy to me.
This is a internal bacterial problem which caused the fish to bloat, Can be caused by stress, poor water quality or diet.
Removing the dead fish and performing a waterchange was an ideal way of trying to combat any spread of the disease. Gladly Dropsy is not very contagious, so if the rest of your fish look healthy enough then the chances are it was just an isolated case. The temperature highs and lows will stress fish a little, and maybe this contributed to the onset of Dropsy in an already stressed fish, the block of ice method of cooling isn't really going to solve much as it would take an aweful lot of ice to manage a small drop in temp. The only way to get the temps down and stabilize the tank would be to employ an aquarium cooler, but these can be an expensive piece of kit and my add considerably to your electricity bill. But they do the job. Something to think about though.
I see your from Brissie,
I will be in your neck of the woods for a holiday at the end of March and I hope the weather holds up till then.
Been over the last 3 years and hunted down a few aquarist shops.
Regards
C

 

[SarahE]

Thanks for the info

I am hoping that the weather is going to cool down soon 35 degrees with high humidity everyday for the last 4 weeks is enough for me lol.

Should still be nice in march and I am sure the sun will still be out.

Thankfully the others do look fine and dont seem at all stressed.

Still not sure what to do with the snails or if they will cause any probs to the fish.
I didnt think anything of it when I saw them but my friend said I should get them out of the tank.
Any sugestions would be great.

Cheers

Sarah

 

[OldMan47]

If you keep your feeding under control, the snail population will not completely overwhelm the tank. Snails can be a pest in large numbers but can also be a help in eating algae on the tank's glass and decor. Many people have mixed feelings about whether or not to control snails by other means than simply holding down their food supply. I crush some with my fingertips when I see to many in a tank and just let the fish eat the dead snails. I consider them a cheap source of fresh protein for the fish.

 

[SarahE]

Excellent thanks for the advice!
The snails will stay for now.

At what age/size do Platties start breeding?

I love these fish they are so inquisitive and social!

I might try and be adventurous and put some pis on here if I can manage it.

Thanks

 

[freddybadger]

I`m a newbie from Brisbane too

 

[SarahE]

Hello Fellow Brisbanite!

How do you keep your tank cool?

I have just had a a dramatic experience with my new platties!
Had a moment of joy in realising that we had a fry in the tank poss from fish that died last week followed by horror as I watched one of the others (not even a big one) swallow said fry whole!!!

Guess I will just put that down to experience, if I hadnt looked in the tank at the right moment I wouldnt have even seen the fry.
I had only just fed them too!
Will be investing in a birthing suite me thinks!!!