Hdoubleu Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Hello, we are just a little bit new here. We have a tropical tank at home with some tetras (neon and rummynose), Gouramis (Moonlight and Dwarf blues), Platys, Glas cats, a couple of bristle noses and harlequin Rasboras. I also have a tropical tank in my classroom with Platys, a bristlenose and a Siamese Fighting fish. This morning we found one dead Platy in our tank at home and two in the tank at school. Does anyone have suggestions as to why these guys are dropping like flies? The ones at school looked like they had been sucked on by the bristlenose but I can't be sure if that was before or after they were dead. Is there anything that would make Mr Bris chow down on Platys while they are still alive? I thought maybe it could have been the two females who have recently had fry but it was a male and a female that died. Any thoughts would be appreciated (having to break news of dead fish to kiddie winks is a tad saddening - although we did have a moment of silence for Pattie and Paddie) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hdoubleu Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 No thoughts? I kind of just want to know if anyone thinks it is Mr Bris (the bristlenose) who is the problem. All the 'experts' at work are telling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Hi I'm not to sure but is your tank cycled? And did you add water treatments? Water parameters? This will help to identify the problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 that's really odd that you've had platy die in two different locations. They're usually pretty hardy fish and I would ahve thought other fish would have suffered firsdt if there were water problems. I got a rid of a birstlenose because it was terrorizing and dominating my kuhli loaches but it never bothered the platy or other fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hdoubleu Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Yeah - it is cycled. The fish have only been in a week. The test strips are all coming out in the safe zone. What information do I need to give you as I am not sure what specifics you need. :roey: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Hmm if all your water parameters are fine umm did the fish have any sign of disease ie spots ripped fins? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zayne Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 no i dont think a bristlenose would have killed it but it would have had a good snack after it was dead, did the fish seem fine before it died? eg swimming fine, eating?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zayne Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 what did your test show ammonia at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 are you saying you put all the fish in to the tanks in one go? it might have been a bit much. Do you have ammonia and nitrite readings? or even nitrates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hdoubleu Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 We have a female bristlenose at home (a brown one and a gold one) - we have has the brown one since our beginner tank and she is fine. When we added the male Bristlenose she beat him up and ripped up his tail which is why we moved him to the school tank. I think the platy at home may have died after giving birth as there are fry hanging around that we haven't seen before. The bristlenose at school is a male - does this make them more agressive? I just don't want him to hurt the Siamese fighter as my class are well attached to him (and he cost me $25) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Yup it may be territorial issues how big is your tanks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 another thought is if the platy all came from one source and were already diseased or with parasites , it could explain why they died even though they weren't sharing the same tanks. Livebearers particularly seem susceptible to worms .. especially in some petshops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zayne Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 bristlenose dont usually attack fish and kill may chase them off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hdoubleu Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 are you saying you put all the fish in to the tanks in one go? it might have been a bit much. Do you have ammonia and nitrite readings? or even nitrates We put the Siamese fighter in first and then the Bristlenose and platys. I have on of those ammonia monitor on the tank and it was on caution for the whole week but now is lower (this morning when the tank was fill of dead fish) I will go into school tomorrow and check up on them again. I was thinking of getting a female Fighter if my other platy doesn't make it. Would I need to get two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zayne Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 i would sort you ammonia first, did you do a water change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hdoubleu Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 The platys we put in the school tank came from our big tank at home. The were tuxedo platys that we had had for about three months. The day we moved them into the school tank we also bought six new platys (3 sunset and 3 red wagg) and put them in our home tank. The next day one of the red waggs was dead and the pet shop gave us another. The dead one this morning was a red wagg also. The school tank is 16l and the home one is 185l. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 yeah I wouldn't put anything else in until the ammonia is reading zero And I don't think a female in the same tank as the male would be a good idea either. Some of the more experienced breeders would be able to advise on that but my two fighters went crazy just seeing each other through glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hdoubleu Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 i would sort you ammonia first, did you do a water change? The ammonia is coming down - Water change will happen tomorrow when I go to check on the little guys (and hope that my platy is still alive) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 . The school tank is 16l and the home one is 185l. to be honest 16L is a bit small to be keeping a fighter, BN AND platys. Remember that BNs and platys can be quite messey. I kept a fighter and two platy in a 20L tank and even then I had to do decent water changes every week. I have now swapped the platy for 2 guppies because they're a little smaller and a little less messey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 to be honest 16L is a bit small to be keeping a fighter, BN AND platys. Remember that BNs and platys can be quite messey. I kept a fighter and two platy in a 20L tank and even then I had to do decent water changes every week. I have now swapped the platy for 2 guppies because they're a little smaller and a little less messey. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hdoubleu Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 When I got the tank I thought it was bigger in literage than I just got told it was. We had 8 guppies, 6 tetras and a bristlenose in it for 6 months without a problem. It will just be for The fighter if my last Platys dies (I thought it was a 30l tank but my partner tells me it is not) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 in the meantime you could add some salt to the tank while it's cycling. Nitrite will follow the ammonia and the salt helps with gill function during this process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zayne Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 yeah I wouldn't put anything else in until the ammonia is reading zero agreed dont add any more fish till amonia is reading zero, keep doing regular water changes till its at zero. how oftern do you usually do water changes? eg every week or two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hdoubleu Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 agreed dont add any more fish till amonia is reading zero, keep doing regular water changes till its at zero. how oftern do you usually do water changes? eg every week or two? The tank has only been set up for two weeks and as about 10 days was cycling this will be the first water change over the weekend. Our home tank gets cleaned once a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hdoubleu Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 And by cleaned I mean water change. How big should my water change be? Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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