Platys Attack!

[platyvstetra]

Hello everyone, I'm new here to the forums but am looking for a little advice.

My girlfriend and I recently bought a 5 gallon aquarium with all the fixin's and some tropical schooling fish (specifically platys and tetras) but we were given some ill advice from the pet store clerk. We were told that, with the size of the tank we could house up to 10 fish. So we did. =/

After the first tetra disappeared and he wasn't in the filter we got suspicious. We got a second opinion from another pet store and they said we should have about a gallon per inch of fish. Now we are down to 2 tetras - which we know isn't good for schooling fish - and the platys are dominating terribly.

We're going to get another tetra tomorrow and hopefully return some of the platys... is there any advice anyone could shed on this slightly disturbing case of Tropical cannibalism?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Platys will scavenge off the dead corpses of other fish (in fact many fish do this), but they aren't killers by nature, they simply don't have the tools to do any decent damage.

What is far more likely to have killed off the fish is water quality problems, even if the water looks clean it could still be suffering from things like ammonia and nitrites problems etc, especially if the tank has not being set up for that long. The first thing you need to do is to get an accurate water quality test kit/s for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph and test the water as soon as posible and post the results back here, this article in the link below may also be of much help in understanding how the water quality in aquariums works;

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=10099


What type of tetras do you have and do you know the genders of the platys (plus how many platys do you have)?

 

[xtraman122]

I'm really not totally sure about the disappearances, it seems strange for platys to completely consume the tetras, but you never know. The one inch of fish for every gallon is correct, but you definitely can't put a 10 inch in a 10 gallon tank. You might even be better off returning all of them and do some research.

Edit: After reading phoenix's response, I totally agree. High Ammonia will come before high nitrites and the ammonia is a bigger killer (never underestimate nitrites though). I would recommend the API Master Test Kit. To check your water daily.

 

[freshwaterfishlover]

I would say one Platy for a 5g and nothing else.

 

[platyvstetra]

Platys will scavenge off the dead corpses of other fish (in fact many fish do this), but they aren't killers by nature, they simply don't have the tools to do any decent damage.

What is far more likely to have killed off the fish is water quality problems, even if the water looks clean it could still be suffering from things like ammonia and nitrites problems etc, especially if the tank has not being set up for that long. The first thing you need to do is to get an accurate water quality test kit/s for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph and test the water as soon as posible and post the results back here, this article in the link below may also be of much help in understanding how the water quality in aquariums works;

[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/Tropical-Chat/10099/http-www-fishforums-net-index-php-showtopic-10099/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/Tropical...howtopic-10099/[/URL]


What type of tetras do you have and do you know the genders of the platys (plus how many platys do you have)?

right now we have 2 neon tetras and 6 mixed platys...one of the platys beats the crap out of all the othetr fish too...im going to head to the pet store this morning to get more testing supplies and im going to take the tetras and mean platy back as i dont want any more of the tetras dying and the platy is nipping at fins of all the other fish

 

[kribensis12]

I would say one Platy for a 5g and nothing else.

If you have good water quality, you might be able to keep 4.

 

[platyvstetra]

Platys will scavenge off the dead corpses of other fish (in fact many fish do this), but they aren't killers by nature, they simply don't have the tools to do any decent damage.

What is far more likely to have killed off the fish is water quality problems, even if the water looks clean it could still be suffering from things like ammonia and nitrites problems etc, especially if the tank has not being set up for that long. The first thing you need to do is to get an accurate water quality test kit/s for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph and test the water as soon as posible and post the results back here, this article in the link below may also be of much help in understanding how the water quality in aquariums works;

[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/Tropical-Chat/10099/http-www-fishforums-net-index-php-showtopic-10099/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/Tropical...howtopic-10099/[/URL]


What type of tetras do you have and do you know the genders of the platys (plus how many platys do you have)?

here are my water testing results:
pH 7.6 (too high?)
ammonia: 0-0.3 (lowest range)
nitrite: 0-0.1 (lowest range)
genral hardness: moderately hard
carbonate harndess: 90mg/l

also, i dont know the gender of my platys, but i now have 5 of them and they are doing fine, active and feeding well

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

If there is any ammonia or nitrites then it means the tank is cycling, how long has it been set up for and how do you go about cleaning the tank exactly in detail (like water changes, clean substrate and filter etc)?
If there are no nitrates then this could also mean the tank is cycling, since nitrates are the end product of the nitrogen cycle and are only present when it is complete or nearing completion, it is rare to have 0 nitrates in established tanks unless they are heavily planted (since plants absorb nitrates as a form of fertiliser) etc. Ph sounds fine though, platys are generally very adpatable fish when it comes to ph, although i can't say for the tetras until we know what type they are.


You need to find out the type of tetras you have, since there are many types of tetras that cannot fit in a 5gallon tank, although people generally associate tetras with being small fish, some types can grow to 3inches long or more. The fish species profile index on the forum in the main index may be of some help in ID'ing your tetras (tetras are in the characin family of fish) . Either that or you can describe their appearance or post some pics of them here for us to help ID them for you .


In a 5gallon tank, i would personally recommend no more than 3platys, but as helterskelter said you might be able to go for 4 if the water quality is very good, however i think this also depends on the exact measurements of the tank (since some 5gallons are longer than others).


Finding out the genders of your platys is important. Male platys are very highly sexed fish and if there are not enough females they may constantly harrass any one female too much and make her stressed out (which could then make her fall ill).
In all-male groups of platys you need to have at least 5males to help prevent the males picking on each other too much, since the more males you have, the more dispersed the agression is between them- however a 5gallon is too small for an all-male group of platys.
All-female groups of platys are usually no problem (since females are a lot more peaceful than the males), however because platys are sociable fish, it is good that you have at least 3 platys.

In mixed gender groups, it is recommended that you have at least 2-3females per male due to the above stated reasons. With female platys, regardless of whether you have male platys or not, it is likely that you will get fry at some point, since it is very easy to breed platys and females can store sperm in them for up to numerous pregnancies, and each pregnancy roughly lasts about 3-5weeks and a single female can give birth to over 20-30fry. However platys do eat each others fry, so most of the time you shouldn't have a problem with too many fry since depending on the platys, any fry in the tank will eventually all probably get eaten.


Can you measure the length, width and height of the tank and post the measurements here please ?

 

[platyvstetra]

If there is any ammonia or nitrites then it means the tank is cycling, how long has it been set up for and how do you go about cleaning the tank exactly in detail (like water changes, clean substrate and filter etc)?
If there are no nitrates then this could also mean the tank is cycling, since nitrates are the end product of the nitrogen cycle and are only present when it is complete or nearing completion, it is rare to have 0 nitrates in established tanks unless they are heavily planted (since plants absorb nitrates as a form of fertiliser) etc. Ph sounds fine though, platys are generally very adpatable fish when it comes to ph, although i can't say for the tetras until we know what type they are.


You need to find out the type of tetras you have, since there are many types of tetras that cannot fit in a 5gallon tank, although people generally associate tetras with being small fish, some types can grow to 3inches long or more. The fish species profile index on the forum in the main index may be of some help in ID'ing your tetras (tetras are in the characin family of fish) . Either that or you can describe their appearance or post some pics of them here for us to help ID them for you .


In a 5gallon tank, i would personally recommend no more than 3platys, but as helterskelter said you might be able to go for 4 if the water quality is very good, however i think this also depends on the exact measurements of the tank (since some 5gallons are longer than others).


Finding out the genders of your platys is important. Male platys are very highly sexed fish and if there are not enough females they may constantly harrass any one female too much and make her stressed out (which could then make her fall ill).
In all-male groups of platys you need to have at least 5males to help prevent the males picking on each other too much, since the more males you have, the more dispersed the agression is between them- however a 5gallon is too small for an all-male group of platys.
All-female groups of platys are usually no problem (since females are a lot more peaceful than the males), however because platys are sociable fish, it is good that you have at least 3 platys.

In mixed gender groups, it is recommended that you have at least 2-3females per male due to the above stated reasons. With female platys, regardless of whether you have male platys or not, it is likely that you will get fry at some point, since it is very easy to breed platys and females can store sperm in them for up to numerous pregnancies, and each pregnancy roughly lasts about 3-5weeks and a single female can give birth to over 20-30fry. However platys do eat each others fry, so most of the time you shouldn't have a problem with too many fry since depending on the platys, any fry in the tank will eventually all probably get eaten.


Can you measure the length, width and height of the tank and post the measurements here please ?

tank: 16''w x 8''d x 10''h

the tetras are gone now, only the platys remain.

edit: i THINK i have 3 females and 2 males but im honestly not too sure.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yeah you could probably have 4 platys in there (i recommend either having 1male and 2-3females, or just 3-4females), although wait a while until the tank is fully established to have 4 (it might be better to lower the platys numbers to 3 for now depending on how your water quality pans out over the next couple of weeks), in the mean time it would be definately best to rehome one of the male platys if you do have 2 males in the tank amoungst the females. The profile of platys in the link below tells you how to tell the sex of the platys;

<a href="http/www.fishforums.net/content/Common-L.../Platy-Profile/" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/content/Common-L.../Platy-Profile/</a>


Your tank is definately pretty much spot on 5 US gallons though;

Dimensions 41 x 20 x 25cm/16" x 8" x 10
Surface area 0.08 sqm/0.86 sq ft/ inches sq in
Volume 21 l./5 gal. (5.55 US gal.)
Probable volume 19 l./5 gal. (5 US gal.)

.



If you get the platy stocking sorted out, there quite a few other types of fish and critters you could put in it which will fit nicely in the tank- there are many small shrimp, large snails, various other small fish etc which could go in the tank as it becomes more established etc. Just make sure you research any potential new additions to the tank very thoroughly before you go down to the petshop, petshop staff in general are quite notorious for giving our poor, vague or only semi-correct advice so you should never rely on what they say completely, best to primarily rely on what you research yourself etc .

In an established tank, there should always be 0 ammonia and nitrites, and nitrates should preferably be between 1 and 40 but no more. If the tank suffers from ammonia or nitrite problems, or excessive levels of nitrates, then you should do a small to medium sized water change with dechlorinator to help lower them- avoid adding chemicals to the tank which lower these stats though, as these chemicals can really mess up the nitrogen cycle process in your tank and should only be used in a crisis (like a reading of 3 or 4 ammonia or more etc).
Water changes are by far the best way to keep the water quality of the tank stable and good. Generally speaking, it is adviseable to do a 30-60% water change once a week with dechlorinator .

 

[platyvstetra]

Yeah you could probably have 4 platys in there (i recommend either having 1male and 2-3females, or just 3-4females), although wait a while until the tank is fully established to have 4 (it might be better to lower the platys numbers to 3 for now depending on how your water quality pans out over the next couple of weeks), in the mean time it would be definately best to rehome one of the male platys if you do have 2 males in the tank amoungst the females. The profile of platys in the link below tells you how to tell the sex of the platys;

<a href="http/www.fishforums.net/content/Common-L.../Platy-Profile/" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/content/Common-L.../Platy-Profile/</a>


Your tank is definately pretty much spot on 5 US gallons though;

Dimensions 41 x 20 x 25cm/16" x 8" x 10
Surface area 0.08 sqm/0.86 sq ft/ inches sq in
Volume 21 l./5 gal. (5.55 US gal.)
Probable volume 19 l./5 gal. (5 US gal.)

.



If you get the platy stocking sorted out, there quite a few other types of fish and critters you could put in it which will fit nicely in the tank- there are many small shrimp, large snails, various other small fish etc which could go in the tank as it becomes more established etc. Just make sure you research any potential new additions to the tank very thoroughly before you go down to the petshop, petshop staff in general are quite notorious for giving our poor, vague or only semi-correct advice so you should never rely on what they say completely, best to primarily rely on what you research yourself etc .

In an established tank, there should always be 0 ammonia and nitrites, and nitrates should preferably be between 1 and 40 but no more. If the tank suffers from ammonia or nitrite problems, or excessive levels of nitrates, then you should do a small to medium sized water change with dechlorinator to help lower them- avoid adding chemicals to the tank which lower these stats though, as these chemicals can really mess up the nitrogen cycle process in your tank and should only be used in a crisis (like a reading of 3 or 4 ammonia or more etc).
Water changes are by far the best way to keep the water quality of the tank stable and good. Generally speaking, it is adviseable to do a 30-60% water change once a week with dechlorinator .

i don't really have the resources to re house the other male. would it be so terrible if i left them as is? they are doing fine so far...

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

i don't really have the resources to re house the other male. would it be so terrible if i left them as is? they are doing fine so far...

Hm it wouldn't be the end of the world terrible or anything like that, but it isn't really fair to have 2males to just 3females, for the time being they may seem ok, but when the females try to give birth the males often go nuts over them, chasing them everywhere, in such a small such with such a small percentage of females to help keep the males attentions off any female giving birth, the stress caused by the male platys could cause the female to die in labour or cause her to become ill (and if she gets a fish disease/parasite this could spread to the other fish) etc.

This is a worst case scenario but this sort of stuff does happen and isn't that rare/uncommon in tanks where there aren't enough females to males in livebearering fish like platys. When female platys die from non-disease/parasite causes it is almost always due to stress they experience while they are giving birth, although this is more likely to happen in older females which are already a couple of years old (platys can up to 4years old on average), its less likely to happen if there aren't lots of males harrassing her while she's stressed out giving birth to fry .

Basically it would be the best thing to do, if you upgraded the tank to a 10gallon tank you could have 2 male and 4-5 female platys, but otherwise it would be best to rehome the extra male- there is a buy/sell/swap section on the forum you can always try out, either that or take the fish back to the petshop etc .