janiskfp

I'm not sure how advanced fish social psychology is, but I thought I'd put this out there for some experts to answer.

I have a female platy in a hospital tank (tiny). I have 2 males in the regular tank (6 gal). I've found a good home elsewhere for one of the males. (I plan to have a couple for a month, an then keep one of the females from the ensuing brood.) Hand-off is on Tuesday

When would be the best time to move the female from the hospital tank?

A. Right away, she doesn't have room to swim around and needs it badly (not to mention with no bio-media she's tolerating ammonia/um, and the water changes will be a hassle)

B. It doesn't matter too much, but give them a chance to readjust to the pre-hospitalization arrangement before making a big social change like someone moving out.

C. Wait until you take the male out, and put her in right then. Keep all the change in one event.

D. I have a better idea (describe):

Thanks!

Jaysee

My vote is for A - the fish won't last long in a tiny, uncycled tank.

peacemaker92

I agree with Jaysee on option A. Because you don't have proper filtration for the hospital tank and I can't do everyday water changes, it's safer to move her right away. You could probably get a breeder net to keep her in your 6 gal away from the males until one of them is off to a new owner.

Jaysee

I'm gonna change my answer to D. - get a 10 gallon tank and put the filter cartridge from the 6 in the filter for the 10. Put the 2 you're keeping in the 10 and leave the one you're giving up in the 6 (makes it easy to catch). The biowheel will maintain the cycle in the 6 while the media from the 6 will instantly cycle the 10. Then you can use the 6 as a QT for the new fish you'll get for the 10.

janiskfp

I really like the 10 gal idea. And very clever answer!

We live in a 6, or maybe 3, gallon space ourselves, though. It's a long story, but I was told "fish will be the easiest pet", then duped/LED into 3 platies in a two gallon tank and left to flounder. Somehow I managed, sold the vested parties on a 6 gal, lost one female to, uh, physical damage, the remaining two reproduced, and here we are.

I refuse to buy any more fish (there are enough needing homes). If DD wants them she can earn her own money for them, and even then not until we are well established in our own, new, larger space. Until then, I hope to retain one fry female to complete the trio, and maybe while we're giving fish away, we give away all the males.

The six gallon is manageable as long as I get accurate test results. QuickDip strips were way, way off. Nitrates were actually 60-80, not 15 or so. That's why I'm dealing with all this.

The fish answered the question:

I'm keeping the API ammonia reading under (API) .25 with 25% changes twice a day. I'm also making sure there's about a double dose of Prime (but if I'm not mistaken, the more waste there is, the more ammonia-to-ammonium conversion there is, the lower the pH in the tank, so I'm adding it cup by cup). It's still easier than a questionable dog, or medicating a sick guinea pig.

After what I thought was healthy/she de-pine coned, she came up with what looks like some scale damage that morphed of a day into fleshy bumps that turned white. I've got both tanks up to 86-87 degrees, upped the salt, and am re-treating with Maracyn and Maracyn 2 and CopperSafe in the hosp, tank (keeping consistent concentration of medication is a whee-fun math problem). I'll probably keep up with this for a week, until Thu. working the copper and antibiotics out in the last 6 water changes at 50%. I'll check her when she's been in med-fee water for day or so.

I I know I should leave 16 days with the copper, but both tanks are 87 degrees and have close to 1t salt/gal. She's bump-free now, and the boys never got anything... no illnesses, that is.

Call me nuts, but she seems OK. She spends some of her time chasing and popping the bubbles on the surface (the maracyn makes them stay on the surface for a few seconds), maybe 5-15 minutes stints. She swims in circles, sniffs the heater, then rests for a while. I need to watch her scales, though, they still look iffy, light/whitish/divided in spots, so if that doesn't clear up under this barrage of treatment. Well... huh.... Snail-friendly treatments in the 6 gallon tank, I guess.

EDIT: The hospital tank has an Azoo OxygenPlus Bio-Filter in it, it's not the best, but it seems to be working.

Oops. I got bleeped. Sorry.