Platies Activity

[NewAtThis]

Not sure what's considered normal activity for platies fish. I have two females and recently I've noticed that they were hanging out at the top of the tank alot. So, I check the temp which was within the normal zone and then I made sure they were fed and this morning I noticed one of them has been pretty much laying on the rocks and hanging out at the bottom of the tank. What could this mean or is it just normal.......

thanks for any advice!
K

 

[aquarius]

is your tank cycled? what is the ammonia, nitrite?

 

[BettaBoyz]

ahh, Platties, funky little fish ^^ they can cause a lot of insanity due to stress by their keepers

my own Platties do the same things yours do; float along the top of the tank with their foreheads on the waterline, lie on the bottom, pick at rocks, harvest algae, play in the current, watch their babies through the breeder, and 'scratch' themselves on the caves. it's all quite normal to the Platties, even though it seems to be sign of disease or illness in other fish, Platties just seem to like doing it.

 

[Cate]

My Platies do the exact same thing. They like the left top of the tank the most. Sounds like yours are just doing the norm.

 

[MAM]

first things first, check your water parameters and be sure its all good.

 

[NewAtThis]

Don't scream, but what exactly does a "cycled tank" mean? My tank has a bio-wheel which is a wet/dry biological filter, it's a 3-stage filteration system,(a mechanical, chemical and biological filteration system). When I said I was new at this, I meant it. I just changed the filter last week and did a 30% water change.........and I don't have any testing stuff yet. I just got this thing together a couple of weeks ago.

I just got home from running an errand and the fish that was hanging around the bottom of the tank is now kinda on it's side near the intake strainer/tube near an artificial plant and it's not moving. That seems bad. If it was dead, wouldn't it float? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MAM]

go to the beginners section of the forum. there is a pinned article on cycling (hopefully its still there). will tell you all you need to know

 

[Bol]

NewAtThis,

A short (and maybe not completely accurate) explanation of cycling: Fish produce ammonia. Ammonia kills fish. Certain bacteria will change ammonia into nitrites, which are also toxic, and then change the nitrites into nitrates, which aren't toxic, unless their concentration is too high (one of the reasons for regular water changes in an established tank is to remove some of the nitrates). So, there's the 'cycle'; ammonia -> nitrites -> nitrates.

'Cycling a tank' means establishing a bacteria colony that will be able to cycle the ammonia your fish produce into nitrates. There are a few ways of doing this, the two basic ones are called "cycling with fish" and "fishless cycling". There are pros and cons to all methods, and I think it comes down to researching them and making your own decision. I'd recommend searching for "cycling", "fishless cycling", and "new tank syndrome".

Sorry to say this, but it sounds like it may be bad news for your platys. With a new tank, I'm sure everyone will recommend getting testing kits (especially for Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates), and keeping an eye on these parameters for a while.

Oh, and I can say from experience dead fish don't always float.