Tank Size

[Luzi]

How big would a tank need to be to house 6 platies (2 male 4 female) and 2 sucking loaches? My tank's overstocked so I'm thinking of getting a bigger one. Would 5 litres per fish (40L) be enough? It needs to be as small as possible

 

[meguro]

a 2ft tank for the platies will be fine. but for the loaches (undoubtedly chinese algae eaters) u would need a 3ft tank minimum just for one, and obviously bigger for both

 

[Assaye]

A 40 litre would be fine for the platies but you'll need some way of dealing with the babies they produce. 40 litres will get overcrowded with platy babies very quickly and given that they need to be a certain size and age before you move them to a new home, you'll need space to grow them out. Honestly, I'd recommend exchanging the girls for boys if you want a small tank.

Sucking loaches (get them from P@H by any chance?) are actually chinese algae eaters. They are cute when small but can reach 8 inches or more and need a 4 foot tank for a pair, and even then you could get fighting as when they grow up they become very stroppy and territorial.

Whoever recommended them needs a basic lesson in fishkeeping.

 

[Luzi]

Absolutely right about P@H, we had no clue intil it was far too late. So far (2 months, 5cm long) they seem to be fine although they chase each other. If they start getting vicious we'll have to rehome them, but they're nice fish so they'll be with us as long as possible. P@H refuse to take them back.

Our platies are coldwater fish so they don't breed too much (though we've has 2 batches of fry) and the fry grow up in the adult tank to make sure it doesn't get too crowded. We'll upgraded for the surviving fry which have overcrowded the small tank but 40L is the biggest size we'll go, so i guess any fry will be given away

 

[drobbyb]

Platies are not coldwater fish.

 

[kelly528]

Platies are not coldwater fish.

Agreed. Apparently that is just BS marketing by Pets at Home, who clearly understand that you will be spending far more money down the road on meds and an air pump when your fish succumb to illness due to an immune system suppressed by cold than you ever will on a 50W heater.

Buy a heater. Not only will it up the water to optimal temperatures (thus preventing disease and keeping that $35 for Maracyn and an air pump in your wallet) it will also prevent temperature inconsistencies (your temperature swings quite significantly when heatin in your house goes on or off) which is another really good way to get your fish sick.

 

[Assaye]

I've always wondered about those "coldwater platies" that P@H sell. Had a chat with my manager and he assured me they were specially bred and adapted for cold water. They looked just like a species of wild platy that you get in some tropical waters, though, so I was fairly confused.