Unhappy Platty's

[Nicholas Rosindale]

I have just recently set-up a new temperate tank for my mum. It's a sperical type 30l and I introduced about 8 Plattys from my tank of varying age. They were happy and quite bold fish in my tank but in my mums they hide away within the foliage and are shy of any light except simply still near the bottom rarely coming out to feed! Has anyone experienced similar and how to sort it? Would appreciate any input. To confirm the local pet shop have tested the water which was fine - i've introduced live foliage & checked temperature? Thanks in advance
Nick

 

[eaglesaquarium]

What's the lighting situation in the tank? It might be too bright for them. Maybe a bit of floating plants would help.

 

[Nicholas Rosindale]

I've tried quite intense / dimly lit / not lit at all - no difference albeit they preferred not too bright! Thanks for the reply and any other ideas - I was thinking of changing the tank type and introducing another breed say Mountain minnows? Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[Guppylover3x]

I have just recently set-up a new temperate tank for my mum. It's a sperical type 30l and I introduced about 8 Plattys from my tank of varying age. They were happy and quite bold fish in my tank but in my mums they hide away within the foliage and are shy of any light except simply still near the bottom rarely coming out to feed! Has anyone experienced similar and how to sort it? Would appreciate any input. To confirm the local pet shop have tested the water which was fine - i've introduced live foliage & checked temperature? Thanks in advance
Nick

If the tank has just been set up it will be cycling. Test the water everyday and when ammonia or nitrites are above 0 perform a water change. I have also been told that platies need at least 20g of water as I wanted to add them into my 10g also (38 litres) with guppies. After seeking advice I was told they need double the size of tank. If you add anymore fish into your tank it will be extremly overstocked. I would definitely look into buying a bigger tank. Best of luck.

 

[Essjay]

In addition to what the others have said -

30 litres is too small for platies. They really need a tank with at least 24 inches/60 cm swimming room. They are probably stressed from being in too small a space.
You can't really attach a background to a cylindrical tank, and being exposed on all sides won't help the fish feel secure so they'll hide more.

Do you mean you'll move the platies to another tank then put white clouds in the spherical tank? 30 litres is also too small for white clouds.

Or move the platies to another tank and add white clouds to the other tank as well? You need a tank at least 60 cm long for both platies and white clouds. And platies & white clouds need different temperatures. Platies need 20 to 26 deg C while white clouds need 14 to 22 deg C. It is better to keep fish in the middle of their preferred ranges. White clouds would cope in the hard water needed by platies but would do better in softer water.

 

[Guppylover3x]

I agree with the above advice. You can find out if your water is generally soft or hard through your local water suppliers. Good luck.

 

[Nicholas Rosindale]

Thanks for the post comments noted I think the best approach will be to get a larger tank cica 60cm long which will also make the tank less populated. It is disappointing that this advice was not given from where I obtained the tank whom confirmed all was fine. I shall look into a larger 2nd hand tank and appreciate everyone whom commented on this issue!

 

[Essjay]

If you bought the tank from a shop, they have a bad reputation for advice. They either don't know or don't care, and will often make something up to get a sale.

The best place for advice is here. No-one is trying to sell anything and we all have the fish's best interests in mind.