Overstocked Platies!

[thad1]

Hi Guys,

I will try to keep this short and sweet. I have a 60 litre tank with too many Platies! I have about 14 mature ones and 6 teenagers along with 4 cories.

I do not have a LFS that will take the fish as they stopped selling them when pets at home opened up, I cannot take the fish to PAH because they will probably
die judging by the state of the other ones there.

I have just got a 160 litre tank to transfer them to and have put some mature media in the filter and some gravel as well. the tank is not full it probably has 40 litres in it, I just wanted to get it started while I figure out how to transfer them (I have read the guides on here so thanks for that!)

The problem I have is two mature females are constantly being harrased by the males in the tank, they both seem stressed now and are spending most of their time in a corner hiding, they are both still eating for now but I am not sure how long they will continue!

My questions are this, when I have moved them will the extra space (extra 100 litres) help with the hassling situation or will I still have to get rid of some male platties as well?

If it will help then how long can I leave it till I move all the fish, there are about 30 inches of fish in total I guess. I don't want to lose any fish at all as it has been at least 6 months since my last casualty I would like to keep it this way!

Thanks in advance

 

[the_lock_man]

It's recommended to keep them in a ratio of 1m:2/3f, in order to minimise the stress to the females - how many males have you got?

 

[thad1]

I dont know exactly how many males there are as they are still quite young and it's hard to tell!

I would guess at about 8 or 9 out of 16 Platties (i just counted them, there are 16 in total the others are still fry really!)

some are still only 1 1/2 inch long but they still chase the girls all the time!

The oldest female is quite big compared to the rest at about 3 inches and she is not so stressed as the other one that is about 2 inches!

 

[the_lock_man]

So, about a 1:1 ratio.

To answer your question, the extra space won't help really, you would need to rehome the males. They are rather persistent, and the females just can't get away.

You could try posting in the Classifieds Section here offering them for free, or on Aquarist Classifieds. You could also see if any other LFS, perhaps not quite so local, would take them.

 

[thad1]

ok that's good advice thanks!

 

[Tizer]

you could use some tank dividers and put the males on one side and the females the other just to give them a break while you decide what to do with the fish.

 

[Louiseness]

You could also try advertising them on Gumtree/Freeycyle/Preloved etc as free on collection. It worked for me when I needed to rehome some fish.

 

[Tizer]

Or have them with your Saturday morning full English breakfast. I like mine poached and wrapped in bacon, nom nom.

 

[phill60212]

If have free tropical fish of you can post them

 

[PlatyQueen]

Or have them with your Saturday morning full English breakfast. I like mine poached and wrapped in bacon, nom nom.

lol!

 

[thad1]

Well I have moved all the females to the new 160 litre tank that has been up and running for a few day's, i started it off with most of the media from the old tank and a fluval u4 with fresh carbon. So far all of the fish seem very happy, she spent most of yesterday milling around and came out of hiding and was swimming happily against the current of the filter. My only concern now is she is spending quite a lot of time near the surface gasping. I dont have an air stone in there so I have raised the filter so it is agitating the water and making lot's of bubbles when it squirts back into the tank!

The rest of the fish seem fine (ther are 6 mature platties and 4 youngsters at the moment. The trouble making boys are in the old tank woth the cory catfish.

I would like to know if the filter is ok as it creates quite a current and there are only a couple of places they can get away from it!

Also should I be expecting a mini cycle at some point? I am testing the water daily and all seems ok for now, I only had the test strips for the old tank but have bought an API liquid test kit that should arrive tomorror so I can test it properly!

Any advice welcome!!

thanks in advance

 

[the_lock_man]

Well I have moved all the females to the new 160 litre tank that has been up and running for a few day's, i started it off with most of the media from the old tank and a fluval u4 with fresh carbon. So far all of the fish seem very happy, she spent most of yesterday milling around and came out of hiding and was swimming happily against the current of the filter. My only concern now is she is spending quite a lot of time near the surface gasping. I dont have an air stone in there so I have raised the filter so it is agitating the water and making lot's of bubbles when it squirts back into the tank!

The rest of the fish seem fine (ther are 6 mature platties and 4 youngsters at the moment. The trouble making boys are in the old tank woth the cory catfish.

I would like to know if the filter is ok as it creates quite a current and there are only a couple of places they can get away from it!

Also should I be expecting a mini cycle at some point? I am testing the water daily and all seems ok for now, I only had the test strips for the old tank but have bought an API liquid test kit that should arrive tomorror so I can test it properly!

Any advice welcome!!

thanks in advance

The gasping could easily be ammonia or nitrite problems.

You said you took most of the media from the old tank - that's the one with the boys still in, yes? I think you'll probably be getting mini-cycles in both tanks, tbh. Do a quick test in both tanks, and see what the strips say - it's better than nothing. If either tank is showing anything, do a water change.

Test again when you get the API.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Or have them with your Saturday morning full English breakfast. I like mine poached and wrapped in bacon, nom nom.

Can you taste the fish through all the bacon? Seems like the bacon would dwarf such a small fish..

I don't even have to eat my fish for population control on my platys.....I have cats

Just kidding.

 

[thad1]

ok thanks, I teted both and nitrates and nitrites were showing zero or white on the strip, exactly the same in both tanks at the moment, and thats the same result i have allways had, infact i am going to stick one under the tap and see if i get anything different!!

Thanks again

 

[Dieses Madchen]

i would nix the strips and try to invest in a liquid test kit (Api Master kit or something similar) The strips are notoriously innacurate.