How Can I...

[piratedninja]

how can i make my platies more active?
right now they just stay in one spot all the time and will occasionally move around to a different spot

 

[mcdanielnc89]

How big id your tank?

 

[piratedninja]

10gallons
i only have 3 platies and 1 otto in there right now

 

[mcdanielnc89]

well your tnak is big enough for them..... hmmm....... Mine are over active... ROFL.. and my tank is overstocked.. LOL...

I'm not sure what to tell you.. this is bumbfumbling...

 

[smooth_bourbon]

What kind of decor do you have? And have you tried a bubble wand or something of the sort? I have found lots of short finned fish love the extra air and will even play in the bubble. Just dont get anything to strong for such a small tank dont want to shove them around.

 

[piratedninja]

i already have an air stone and they will play in it in the mornings but late in the afternoon they seem to kinda play dead
as for other decor have a look at this pic
mcdanielInc89- wana trade some of your active fish for my non active fish? haha j/k

 

[mcdanielnc89]

rofllllllllllllll.

 

[piratedninja]

have a look at this pic to see what the tank looks like

 

[smooth_bourbon]

oh that is your problem they need some plants. What kind of filter is that?

 

[piratedninja]

i'll add a few plants soon,
as for the filter its a Whisper (10 or 20) gallon HOB/HOT, does its job very well and has been doing it for almost 2 years now
you just have to rinse the media in some tank water every few weeks since it gets clogged up very quickly

i dont remember the exact filter model, but i'll check tomorrow

 

[mcdanielnc89]

yep that'll be your problem...

 

[piratedninja]

what kind of plants do you recomend?
i have some bamboo plants that i could put in there- would those help?

 

[smooth_bourbon]

I think bamboo is toxic in a fish tank. I would say go to wall mart and buy a package of bulbs the lily ones are fun, and then get some Java Fern( which is just a super good starter plant very low light).

edit
dont buy the java fern from wall mart if they have it I dont think anything alive or growing should ever be bought there. sorry didnt want any confusion.

 

[mcdanielnc89]

lol, i bought a live plant from wal0mart and it takes forever for them to grow!!!!

 

[piratedninja]

i refuse to buy anything for my fish from walmart, i took a look in their fish section and it was the dirtiest place ive seen in years, about 75% of their fish where dead and the water was very dirty

i'll take a look at petsmart tomorrow

bamboo=toxic for fish tanks? not trying to prove you wrong or anything but ive seen bamboo used in a lot of freshwater fish tanks
you could be right though

do the plants have to be live plants? or can i just stick with artificial?
id rather just use fake plants, that way i dont have to worry about light and they will stay the same forever