punkrockviolet5

COBettaCouple

welcome to fishlore.

it's hard to feed the betta and platys the same thing - we used to have a betta with 3 platys, but we put them in seperate tanks to make it easier to give them food and keep the betta from over-eating. i'm really surprised your platys don't eat the bloodworms or pellets -- our platys eat anything and everything we've ever put in the tank, other than carrots.

i'd recommend a 2nd tank - you've got 6.5" of fish in a 1.5g tank and the bioload guideline is 1" (adult size) of fish per gallon. this is a major factor in the water cloudiness that you mention.

We feed our bettas a variety of foods to give them a balanced diet: betta pellets, color pellets, vitamin pellets, betta flakes, soft krill-based food pellets, bloodworms, daphnia, frozen peas (thawed, peeled and torn into pellet sized pieces). They usually get 3 pieces of food am and pm with fasting on sundays.

We feed our platys: tropical flakes, color pellets, soft krill-based food pellets, daphina, frozen peas (thawed, peeled and torn into pellet sized pieces).

perhaps this will give you some food ideas for the platys.

punkrockviolet5

Thank you! After reading this forum a bit, I realized I had a tank that was too small, so I actually went and bought a 10 gal tank this afternoon. It is running with nothing but the filter right now and will be for about another 3 days, then I'll add rocks, plants, etc and let it sit for another 3-4 days. I just bought a very small water heater, too (7.5 watt). When its all ready, I'll transfer my little beauties into it, slowly. That should give them enough room to be healthy and happy in. I'm going to do partial water changes every other day until then. I'm hoping this will keep the water livable. I bought them frozen food today, too. It seems to have everything (meat, fish & plants). I put one square in and it was GONE in about 15 min. I tried the flake food first but it clouds the water so badly, I can't stand looking at it! I'm kind of a perfectionist (sigh...), so this will take me some time. I'm sure the fish will be happier with their environment, before I will be. LOL!

This is really neat! I love caring for fish!

sgould

Welcome to the site!

COBettaCouple

if you want to help the tank cycle, you can feed it fish flakes every 12 hours .. and clean them out when you're ready to add the fish.. I'd recommend Prime for your water conditioner as it will help the fish while the tank cycles.. the frozen cubes are best dropped in a container with tank water to thaw the food, then fed to them in small meals 2x a day.. it can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.

susitna-flower

Hi Amethyst! Welcome to fishlore! I currently have two kinds of platys also, Sunset Fire Wagtail, and Rainbow Platys. I feed tropical flakes twice a day, and frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp once a day. They seem to love the bloodworms especially, and the water doesn't cloud if you don't overfeed. Feed just small amounts that they clean up right away. I usually hold a frozen cube of blood worms that they feed from, after 5 or 6 fall to the bottom I move this cube over to a different community tank that has bottom feeders to clean up any leftovers. The platys follow the dropped bloodworms down and clean them up. I agree with FLBettaCouple that one day off a week is good for their health, also helps keep water parameters stable. When you can post pictures of your lovelies.

Fish in the Frozen North 8)

lolagurl

hi ameythest.
whata good fishkeeper you are going to be researching and changing to help the needs of your fish. i cant beleive your betta gets along with your platys. no fighting? my suggestion though..if they do fight: maybe when the tank is cycled put the platys in the 10 gallon (maybe add a cory to help eat algae..less work for you) and keep the betta in the 1.5 gallon. because usually bettas dont get along with livebearers and they try to fight them.

Stradius011

Welcome to Fishlore!

P.S. Sorry i couldn't give you advice, but it's because they said it all!

Sabi

Welcome to fishlore!

punkrockviolet5

WoW, oh WoW! Thanks guys!! I will take some pictures as soon as my babies are in their new environment!

Regarding the Betta/ Platy mixture. I put the platys in slowly... added them in the bag to get the temp right first... and the Betta puffed up at first but seemed to get used to them right away. I left them like that for a couple of hours. I think Chopstick (my Betta) got used to them being there but not being able to get to them. Once they were in the tank, I don't think he cared anymore. I read somewhere that Danio? and Platys are not as threatening as other fish, say with larger fins, etc. He seems to like having pals! I also have a lot of hiding places for them, though, and I watched them very closely the first day. Now, I'm starting the think he'd be lonely without them!

COBettaCouple

platys and a betta can work out sometimes.. it didn't work for us with our 1st betta, he took 3 fins off of them. one of the personality things.. your betta is more tolerant of tankmates it sounds like. i'm glad it's working well.

Sabi

I'm glad its working too! I like to try and let bettas live with other fish.

punkrockviolet5

I have found a food that everyone enjoys!! And boy do they!! It is frozen chunks of spinach, bloodworms, shrimp/ krill. I just break off a piece and drop it in. It melts almost instantly and they dive after the falling food! Today Chopstick, my Betta, ate the bloodworms and thought it was the bestest thing he'd ever eaten! He kept circling to find more, passing the spinach on his way. It wasn't until all the worms were gone that he went for his veggies. My 2 Platties, Frank Zappa & Unnamed, have gotten their fill today as well! I think they like the spinach best, though. Seems to be working like a charm! Thank you, everyone!!

COBettaCouple

did you buy or make that food? it sounds like a homemade mix.

punkrockviolet5

I bought it at a great pet store, called Wild's Animal Supplies in Laguna Niguel, CA. It comes in small, frozen chunks... 45, 120... count and larger. It is called The Original Floating Fish Food, "McDonald's Frozen Mini-Chunks - Variety "5". The contents are :

Filtered Water, Brine Shrimp, Beef Heart, Spinach, Gelatin, Bloodworms, Daphnia, & Shrimp Meat. I got the 120 count, which is WAY too much for 3 fish. I'll go for 45 next time. You can leave it in the fridge for up to a week. It becomes like soup, but they still eat it.

Apparently, it is made by a small company out of Canoga Park, CA and does not have many retailers. I only found one place that carries it and may ship. Here's the link: http://www.bio-aquatics.com/frozen4.html Scroll down to the "McDonald's" section. It's cheaper here, than where I get it!

COBettaCouple

cool.. that's really interesting - i didn't think that there might be smaller companies making products for a mostly local market but it makes sense.

sirdarksol

Welcome. I'm so glad that you're doing research unlike all of those people who are offered a tank stocked with fish, take it, tear it down, clean it, start it up, and don't bother asking any questions until one of the fish gets ammonia poisoning... Ahem... 'Scuse me... just described myself there I guess.
Anyway, it sounds like you've got a wonderful family of fish there, and it really is great that people are doing research before getting involved in keeping fish.
I would move some of the plants over to the new tank right away to help "seed" the bacteria colonies. The more surface area the better (if it's something frilly, or with little hair-like leaves, that's perfect. Also, when you move your fish, you may want to put some of the filter media from their old tank into their new tank.
I'd say good luck, but I don't think you really need it. Knowledge and intelligence is way better than luck.

BettaBuddy ~ Miley