captaincrunch

I recently purchased several platies (5 red and 3 mickey mouse) and a few zebra danio's (3 of them) in a new aquarium which i just setup. I did a fishless cycle with some bacteria products for about 7 days, and brought the water over to petsmart to be tested. Everything was fine, so i bought these fishes.

My question is this, the zebra danio's are fine and active, however, the platies are lethargic for the most part and just stick together at the bottom of the aquarium in a shaded area, and on occasion, one or two of them will venture out. Is this normal also, i noticed that 2 days after i purchased the fishes, one of the platies has fin damage, it looks like either a fish took a bit out of it, or perhaps the dreaded fin rot. My temperature in the aquarium is around 23-24C.

Any advice or replies?

miker

That is a lot of fish you have added that soon. Please test the water again and do a partial water change if there is ammonia spike. Stop feeding the Fish for couple of days. And regarding the fin damage - a picture would help!

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore.

I'd recommend an API master freshwater kit for testing your water. I'm pretty sure the tank isn't cycled - only BioSpira would do the trick so quickly but it would need fish in the tank.

Zebra Danios can be nippers in groups lower than 6, so they may be picking on the platys.

I'd also recommend aeration for the tank if you don't have some in already.

captaincrunch

Hi all,

I just checked my water and all my results were good (0 nitrates and nitrites), except ammonia, which was pretty high. I did a partial 1/4 water change last night, and added amquel, to remove ammonia from the water, i also added water conditioner (for the amount of water i put back into the tank), and cycle (also for the amount of water i put back into the tank). My pH is nuetral, alkalinity is moderate, and water hardness shows i have soft water, 75mg/l.

Overall, the platies are much more active now, however, the water is still kinda of cloudy. Its been about 2-3 weeks since i setup the aquarium. Also, i noticed a lot of food debris underneath the gravel. I tried cleaning as much of it as i could without draining more then 1/4 of the water. I am going to do another 1/4 change in a week.

Any one else have similar problems?

Shawnie

the tank isnt cycled yet...first it gets amonia, then nitrites, then nitrates..to have zero of the last two, and some amonia, its just beginning the cycle...see if you can get the bio-spira asap that cobetta talked about...daily water changes of at least 50% if you cant is required...im dealing with the same problems in my 75 gallon...I didnt know about the cycle until this site..goodluck!

COBettaCouple

Cycle will unfortunately keep your tank from developing the right kind of nitrifying bacteria, instead it will create bacteria dependent on a never-ending supply of Cycle. It also creates mini-cycles which are hard on your fish. I'd recommend not using it, but starting a plan to cycle the tank with fish. Use a product called Prime to treat your tap water with, it will help protect the fish from toxins and do 25-40% water changes every 1-2 days. Test before each water change.

fishrule101

i had that same problem. One of my platy got fin rot like a day or two after i bought him but he seems to recover really fast. i think that happen because of the differnet water at petsmart. I think they are just shy.

susitna-flower

HI, WELCOME TO FISHLORE!


ADVICE? Don't trust that petsmart store! If you will read the link at the top of this page under "ARTICLES", on the nitrogen cycle, you will find out what a "fishless cycle" is, MOST importantly what the Nitrogen cycle is.....what the st ore told you is so bad you didn't even know you weren't even doing a cycle......THEY also told you the water was OK....It just can't be OK unless it is completely through the cycle....which takes 6-8 weeks without adding filter media from an established tank, or using bio-spira.....

So now you have a fully stocked tank that ISN'T cycled, and you have to do the water changes for weeks and weeks just to keep your fish alive! THERE SHOULD BE A LAW!

As suggested, if you can find bio-spira, you can put it in your tank, and it will help.

You also need to be doing your own water tests, and THAT tells you when to do a water change, and how much....use the API Master test kit for freshwater (liquid).

Any time your ammonia or nitrite are over 0, change 25-50% of the water every day! Both are extremely toxic to your fish, and since you are fully stocked a small water change every other day just won't do enough!

After your tank is cycled and the nitrates go up and both ammonia and nitrite go all the way back down to 0, then do a 25-50% water change when the nitrates go up over 10.... This is the only way you will be able to have a healthy stress free tank. Good Luck....