Platy Help

[willowstwin]

Hey all

I've just had my friend on the phone in tears as she bought a platy from Pets at Home, after going through their ridiculously long interview process for the wheres whys and hows of your current set up... they sold her this platy, out of the coldwater section, as a tank mate for her 2 orandas...

Now, her tank has been around 21 - 23 degrees c, so from what I've read, this is fine, but I worry about it for many reasons... temperature perameters for both fish in the tank, are platys meant to be kept in schools, etc... What advice should I give her? She's really broken hearted about it.

Would a steady temp of 21degrees C be ok? as this is the lower end of platy temp and usually the room temperature of the water that the goldfish are used to. I'm just at a loss at what to do for the good of the fish

 

[comocrayfish5]

hello...

they usually say to keep the temp about 22-25 degrees c. 21c will be fine
for tank mates you can get:
other platys,mollies, swordtails, guppies, other live bearers, etc.
or egg layer for that mater. the new fish should be tropical community.

i know it was with goldies but dont do the same thing... goldfish produce more waste than a platy ( even same size),
so that could be dangerous for the platy

You're

 

[fishykeepah]

I'd turn it up a notch to 22c..

Platies don't need to be in schools, however tend to be more vibrant and active when kept in groups. She may or may not be able to get some more, depending on the tank size. For a group of Platies and two Orandas, about 160 litres will be OK.

 

[OldMan47]

Temperature is not a real issue when it comes to keeping a goldfish and a platy together. At 21 to 23C, both the goldfish and the platy should do just fine. An adult goldfish can be quite large compared to that platy though. The high vegetable content of goldfish food should also be fine for the platy.