Moving Platys To Larger Tank, And Adding More Fish

[Nightstar99]

We've had 3 platys swimming around a 17 litre Toy Story tank from Pets at Home for the last few months, which we got for our little boy. They started off as one platy and one danio but the danio tried to murder the platy. P@H told us to get 4 more danios and 2 more platys, but that seemed way too many for the tank so the danio went back to the shop and we added 2 more platys. Platy #1 seemed quite relieved to see them and be rid of her danio tormentor.

Our boy has lost interest in them though and I have begun to feel guilty about keeping them in the tank, which doesnt really go with our living room, so yesterday I bought a 54 litre tank for them which is cycling up now, we'll put the fish in there next week.

Question 1: Pets at Home sold us the platys as cold water fish so they have no heater in the 17 litre tank, the new tank comes with a heater and we would like to use it to add some other warm water fish. I asked Pets at Home about this and they said it should be fine to heat our platys up as they are both cold and warm water, but they might die. (!) Can we heat them up?

Question 2: What other small fish might go well with them?

Question 3: Alongside the fish can we add a prawn and a snail?

Thanks.

 

[ShinySideUp]

I despair of some of these shops. Platys should have a temperature of about 21 - 26 degrees C, they aren't coldwater fish. Tropical fish, it's in the name.

 

[fluttermoth]

As long as you warm the platies up slowly, they won't die!

You can't properly cycle a tank in a week, but luckily you shouldn't need to.

Take all the media from your old filter (that's the sponges, ceramic rings or whatever is in your filter) and put it into the new one. As long as you haven't been washing the filter out under the tap, or replacing a lot of the media, it should already have enough bacteria to eat all your current fish's ammonia.

Then move the fish at the same time as the media, switch your heater on; adjust it to three or four degrees above the current temperature and run it like that for a couple of days, then turn it up a bit more, until you've got it at about 24°C/76°F.

There are loads of other small fish that would go well with platies; what are the dimensions of the new tank (as some fish like more length to swim in than others) and is your water hard or soft?

Freshwater shrimps should make good tank mates; there are lots of different ones to choose from (but avoid bamboo/rock shrimp as they grow large and are difficult to look after in small tanks). Snails are usually no problem either, although some can grow quite big.

 

[Nightstar99]

As long as you warm the platies up slowly, they won't die!

You can't properly cycle a tank in a week, but luckily you shouldn't need to.

Take all the media from your old filter (that's the sponges, ceramic rings or whatever is in your filter) and put it into the new one. As long as you haven't been washing the filter out under the tap, or replacing a lot of the media, it should already have enough bacteria to eat all your current fish's ammonia.

Then move the fish at the same time as the media, switch your heater on; adjust it to three or four degrees above the current temperature and run it like that for a couple of days, then turn it up a bit more, until you've got it at about 24°C/76°F.

There are loads of other small fish that would go well with platies; what are the dimensions of the new tank (as some fish like more length to swim in than others) and is your water hard or soft?

Freshwater shrimps should make good tank mates; there are lots of different ones to choose from (but avoid bamboo/rock shrimp as they grow large and are difficult to look after in small tanks). Snails are usually no problem either, although some can grow quite big.

Thanks, its 60 x 30 and 30 high. I think my wife would like to get some bettas but they look very slow and might not hold their own if the platys nip.

The old filter is just a basic square one, whereas the new filter takes these oddly shaped sponges:

http/www.petsathome.com/shop/stingray-5-10-and-15-replacement-filter-foam-by-elite-25648

I was thinking I would just move the old filter in and have them both going for a while?

 

[fluttermoth]

If your new filter is a Stingray, then just don't bother with it. They're a gimmick and really not suitable for sustaining fish.

The trouble with running two filters in tandem is that each will grow only half the bacteria you need; when you remove the old filter, you're also removing half your bacteria, which can lead to dangerously high levels of ammonia and nitrite.

Platies don't generally nip so you could have one male or a few female battas.

 

[Nightstar99]

If your new filter is a Stingray, then just don't bother with it. They're a gimmick and really not suitable for sustaining fish.

The trouble with running two filters in tandem is that each will grow only half the bacteria you need; when you remove the old filter, you're also removing half your bacteria, which can lead to dangerously high levels of ammonia and nitrite.

Platies don't generally nip so you could have one male or a few female battas.

Thanks, I'll stick to the one filter!

 

[Nightstar99]

The platys are now happily in their new tank, which is about half full with some of their previous water and some new treated water. I'll add some more treated water later in the week unless I should wait longer?

I just did a Ph and nitrate test and all seems to be well. Clearly the fish are enjoying their new environment as they have much more space to swim around in. Its much more enjoyable watching as well and I also dont now feel perpetually guilty about keeping them in the small tank, which is nice.

When the water level is high enough we'll add the heater.

Currently they have an Angkor Wat Buddha head, and a live plant. Eventually we want to put a mixture of fake and live plants at the back of the tank as a backdrop, and my wife wants to add an ornamental rock.

They sell rocks in the pet shop for £12. They aren't made of rock, they are made of something else. I can pick up a rock that looks looks like a rock and is actually made of rock at the beach for nothing.

Is there any reason why I shouldnt do this apart from the saltiness?