Unusual Platty Behaviour

[Fred37]

Hi All,

I have a 64L planted tank that's well established. My current stock is as follows:

4 Harlequins.
9 Tetra's
2 Plattys
1 Otocinclus.

My issue is that my 2 Plattys (both females) have suddently taken to spending all their time either at, or resting on the bottom corner of the tank. There are no external signs of illness and I have seen no incidents of harrasment. I feed my fish every other day with Tetra Pro crisp and every now and again with bloodworm.

I'm running an Eheim 2213 pump/filter and change the water every 2 weeks with RO (due to do this again tomorrow) and my current stats are as follow (these are consistent):

Nitrate: 10ppm
Nitrate: 0
Ammonia: 0
PH: 7.4
Temp: 68

I'd be grateful for any thoughts as to what might be disturbing my Plattys.

Thanks,
Fred.

 

[phoenix2081]

Is the corner planted? If so they may be hiding there to give birth.
Do you have any males in the tank? Do they look squared off around the stomach area?

Mitch

 

[Akasha72]

the temp could do with raising to 23/24 (73/75) as that's a bit cold for platies. The only other thing I would say is it could be ammonia. Are you testing with a drip test or strips?

How long have you had the platies? They can hold sperm for up to 6 months so if you've got them recently they could be pregnant. Mine go to the bottom of the tank when they are ready to give birth - platy babies tend to hide in the substrate



Just a note to add aswell. Oto's like to be in a group. I'd be looking at increasing the numbers by 1 or 2 asap.

 

[Fred37]

Hi Folks,

thanks for the info so far. I've had these fish for about 6 months and there have been no males in the tank during that time.
I've noticed this afternoon that the larger of the 2 plattys is now firmly planted on the bottom of the tank and her tail has now gone to a point.....doesn't look good

Any ideas before it's too late?

Thanks,
Fred

 

[Akasha72]

I would change a large amount (75% maybe) of water - remembering to de-chlorinate and temp match with some boiled water. Sitting on the bottom with clamped fins is a sign of ammonia.

Do that and let us know how things are looking

Good luck
Akasha

 

[Fred37]

Ok, I've completed a 30L water change (this is my normal 2 weekly cycle anyway). I've also raised the temperature and so we'll see how things are tomorrow. Ref the Oci....if I raise the number to 2 should I have a male and female, two females etc?
Thanks,
Fred.

 

[OldMan47]

Stop using RO water. It is killing your platies. The other fish in your tank come from places where almost pure water exists because it is mostly rain water over a muddy bottom. Platies are derived from fish, swordtails and platies, that come from areas where the water runs over rocks instead of a muddy bottom. That means their water is quite full of minerals compared to the tetras and rasboras water. Since you have been diluting your tank water with pure water, it is causing the platies stress long before it affects the other fish. Eventually, that will harm the other fish too. By then the platies will be long gone.

 

[Akasha72]

oldman47 is far more experienced than I am and I have no experience of RO water so I would listen to his advice 100%

 

[Fred37]

wow, thanks oldman...that's certainly news to me. I do have added minerals in my RO water, but I only do this about every 4th change (so every 8 weeks). However, the tap water isn't great here and so I think I'll carry on using the RO but have minerals added every time. Do you think this will work OK?

Thanks again,
Fred.

 

[OldMan47]

If you must use RO, like I sometimes do in one of my tanks, definitely use the added minerals every time. One brand available around here is called RO Right, but I am sure the are others. Add plenty of the minerals, not the light dose they usually recommend for tetras. The tetras will tolerate more minerals but the effect of low mineral content on typical livebearers is what you are seeing. If you have water that is safe to drink from your faucet, it is probably fine for most fish too.