Platy's Inactive And Staying At The Bottom Of The Tank.

[xamy_valox]

Hi there,
I am new to keeping tropical fish, and have decided to set up my fluval edge tank with Platy's, Guppies and one male Beta.
I firstly put in 2 platys, I am not sure of their sex as I do not know how to determine this, but after a few days I noticed one would stay to the bottom of the tank and was not very active at all. The next morning it was dead. I therefore had one platy left and as I have been told that they are very social fish I bought 2 more to keep it company!
However, the same happened with the fish I bought with the one that died, and it died the day after. I am now left with the two platys that I bought to keep that one company and I am worried that the same will happen to them.
I have done water tests and all of the levels are fine, none of the other fish are experiencing any problems so I don't know why it is only my platys that are dying!
I havent had the tank long, I think its been roughly a month now, and I have done 2 water changes during this time.
I hope this makes sence and someone can determine what I may be doing wrong!
Thanks,
Amy.

 

[fishyfeet]

Did you cycle your tank before adding the platys, as it sounds as if they have been damaged from the ammonia. What filter have you got and how did you cycle the tank. di

 

[xamy_valox]

Did you cycle your tank before adding the platys, as it sounds as if they have been damaged from the ammonia. What filter have you got and how did you cycle the tank. di

Thanks for your reply.
The filter is a built in one with the fluval edge tank, and I tested the water for ammonia and it said my levels were fine.
When you say cycle do you mean when I do a water change? I do this with a syphon and get rid of 25% of the water then replace it with tap safe treated water.
If you mean something else I'm sorry, I'm new to all of this!
Thanks, Amy.

 

[ian]

hello and welcome, it sounds as though your tank is still cycling

give this a read

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/

I also think that you have overstocked your Edge. When it comes to putting fish into an edge, there are only the smaller fish you can put in it. You also have to limit the amount of fish you put in it.

 

[xamy_valox]

hello and welcome, it sounds as though your tank is still cycling

give this a read

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/

I also think that you have overstocked your Edge. When it comes to putting fish into an edge, there are only the smaller fish you can put in it. You also have to limit the amount of fish you put in it.

Hi there, thanks for your response.
I've had a read through that page and agree that my tank must still be cycling. I didn't trust the testing kit that I have at home so took a water sample to my local fish shop and they said I had a little too much ammonia. I was at 1 and it should be 0 I think he said?
I have been advised to treat the water with something called 'Sress Zyme' to help the filter increase the good bactieria in it more quickly. Touch wood, I havent had anymore fish die, and my platy's do seem to have perked up a little bit.
Obvisouly I wont be buying anymore fish anytime soon until my tank has fully cycled and the water has sorted itself out!
Do you think I have overstocked my tank too quickly or just in general? As all the fish I have are quite small and have plenty of room to swim around, I have been told I can have upto 15 small fish in there, but I was intending to only stick to about 9 or 10 so they still had plenty of room to move.
Thanks for your help.
Amy.

 

[roz568]

hello and welcome, it sounds as though your tank is still cycling

give this a read

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/

I also think that you have overstocked your Edge. When it comes to putting fish into an edge, there are only the smaller fish you can put in it. You also have to limit the amount of fish you put in it.

Hi there, thanks for your response.
I've had a read through that page and agree that my tank must still be cycling. I didn't trust the testing kit that I have at home so took a water sample to my local fish shop and they said I had a little too much ammonia. I was at 1 and it should be 0 I think he said?
I have been advised to treat the water with something called 'Sress Zyme' to help the filter increase the good bactieria in it more quickly. Touch wood, I havent had anymore fish die, and my platy's do seem to have perked up a little bit.
Obvisouly I wont be buying anymore fish anytime soon until my tank has fully cycled and the water has sorted itself out!
Do you think I have overstocked my tank too quickly or just in general? As all the fish I have are quite small and have plenty of room to swim around, I have been told I can have upto 15 small fish in there, but I was intending to only stick to about 9 or 10 so they still had plenty of room to move.
Thanks for your help.
Amy.

hi i have bin told that each fish should have the min of 2or3 litres of water.so if ur tank was say 10 litres u could have max of 3or4 small fish .

 

[ian]

although, the inch per gallon rule isn't fail safe, it isn't a bad rule for starters. 1 fish per 2-3 litres is not a good rule to go by.

With the fish you have in there already, i would class your tank as overstocked. Fluval Edges are only 23 litres, so 5 gallons give or take. The male Betta may attack the guppies, when it matures. The platys really need 10 gallons or more.

hope this helps and sorry to tell you this.

 

[xamy_valox]

I won't be adding anymore fish then if it's not going to be spacious enough for them.
I got the beta from a friend and he is already mature and gets along find with my guppies as I think he has sorted a pecking order and everyone knows he is the dominant fish of the tank.
It's a shame really, I thought I would be able to have more that just 7 fish as it looks really bare with just those in there, but obviously I want to do what is best for the fish.
Thanks, Amy.

P.S. Looking at my tank now, one of my guppies is yet again on the bottom of the tank looking rather dull. I have a funny feeling he wont last the night =[
Really hope my tank hurries up and stabalises, I don't want to lose anymore of my fishies =[

 

[Twinklecaz]

Can I ask, with the amount of fish thing. My book says (which is an RSPCA book) that you can have 1cm of fish per litre. Does that sound right to you?

 

[ian]

no thats not a good rule to go by at all. The inch per gallon is a little better, but still not a great rule. But when buying fish you need to take into account thier bioload (how much they impact on the filter). Say for eg a Tetra, you can get away with a few more of them on the inch per gallon rule as they don't have a big impact on the filter because they don't do big poo's. Now if you take a Cichlid, they are good poo'ers and have more of an impact on a filter...if you get me?

if you're asking a about how many fish you can put in your tank, then start a thread and one of us will guide you in the right direction.

cheers

 

[Twinklecaz]

no thats not a good rule to go by at all. The inch per gallon is a little better, but still not a great rule. But when buying fish you need to take into account thier bioload (how much they impact on the filter). Say for eg a Tetra, you can get away with a few more of them on the inch per gallon rule as they don't have a big impact on the filter because they don't do big poo's. Now if you take a Cichlid, they are good poo'ers and have more of an impact on a filter...if you get me?

if you're asking a about how many fish you can put in your tank, then start a thread and one of us will guide you in the right direction.

cheers

Cheers,will do.