Help with UGF and starter platies!

[Platiesowner]

Hello, I am excited to be a new member of this forum! Any help would be really appreciated. I have two questions:

1. I recently started cycling a 20 gallon tank. I started with a UGF, and a powerhead. However, I changed to a Penguin 125 Bio-wheel. I removed the powerhead and uplift tube. Do I also need to remove the plates under the gravel? I already have three platies in the tank and everything is all organized. Will it do any harm just to keep them there until my tank cycles and I do a regular maintainance or do I need to take them out now?

2. The three starter fish were one female and two males. One of the males has established dominance over the male, and they dont fight...but he chases the female relentlessly. Is this going to lead to her death as she becomes more and more stressed? I have great little hiding places for her. Should I add a couple of more females, to take the pressure off of her and then just do more frequent water changes to handle the bioload? Keep in mind the tank is only two weeks into cycling.

thank you thank you!!!!

 

[barbiya]

Oh, I see you did post it in here. I replied in "Tropical Chit Chat", but maybe I can paste it over here...

"As your only 2 weeks into cycling, I wouldn't hurry to add any more fish. But, you should definitely have more females than males. I finally separated my male platy from the females, as he tormented them relentlessly. Not to mention that I have about 14 more young platties. Take your time, but do up the female count, while keeping a good eye on your ammonia and nitrite levels.

Good luck! "

Hey, it worked!

 

[pacuman]

 

[tstenback]

You can leave the UGF in there for now if you want as it wont harm anything. However, this hobby is addictive and you may soon want to add more fish and plants and bogwood and.... so it may be easier to remove the plates now rather than later. Now you might almost be able to just lift them out and let the gravel slide off as there shouldnt be too much "stuff" in the gravel yet so there wont be a big mess. welcome to the forum hope you enjoy your stay. HTH

 

[Platiesowner]

Thanks everyone! I actually went ahead and removed the plates now because I fear I'm becoming addicted and will want to add more plants, and fish! There was a bit of "junk" in the rocks and a little under the plates and I can see how that might had just built up into a disaster. But I think I caught it early enough.

sincerely,
jason