Male platy sitting at the top of the tank.

[bcrowder11]

Hi, i just recently got a fish tank, and after doing a fishless cycle for a month, i decided to get platies. I first got 1 male to make sure my water was okay with him. Then i added 2 females the other day. Ever since getting the females, my male has been sitting at the top of the tank and only moving around when its time to eat. I tried changing the water because i thought that he wasn't getting enough oxygen in the water, but still not luck. Right now he is hiding in the castle in my aquarium. Could he be getting old? What could it be? Any answers would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! *GOLDFISH*

PS: i have a 10 gallon aquarium.

 

[OrangeCones]

What are your current readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

 

[littletankbigworld]

Did you add surfactant-free ammonia while doing the fishless cycle? Or did you just let the tank sit for a month with the filter on? If you did, then the tank didn't cycle.

 

[bcrowder11]

No i didn't put in the ammonia neutralizer stuff. I never knew that i needed to. But is it weird that the females are just fine and swimming around?

 

[Newman]

you didnt use Prime- I mean a water conditioner? always condition your water change water, shame on you, needs more research

joking aside, make sure you only used plain ammonia to do the cycle. if you used something that was more than $3 at the store or was labled as household ammonia cleaner and you found it in some walgreens, it probably was the wrong one. read the label carefully to make sure. that would be problem #1 if that happened.

As i already said always condition your water. even new water change water, condition it before you add it to the tank. tap water will kill everything in your filter and youll have to cycle all over again if not lose your fish from the chlorine/chloramine.
what are the tank readings that Orange asked from you? i hope you do have a test kit

 

[bcrowder11]

Actually i do have prime, and i have been using that. I don't have a test kit but i am planning on getting one in the next couple of days. Going up to the store to get my water tested is really getting on my nerves. Last time i got it tested they said my nitrate or nitrate was a little high. I don't remember which.

 

[bcrowder11]

And how would i condition it before i put it in? I use tap water, then put in the conditioner as soon as i get the water at the level i want it.

 

[lauraf]

Put your tap water in a bucket, add the Prime, let it sit for a minute or two, then pour into your tank.
Yeah, sounds like your tank never cycled, so your fish are probably suffering from ammonia/nitrite poisoning. Some fish will show the effects sooner than others. Can you take back all the fish and do a fishless cycle? Otherwise you'll need to do a fish-in cycle, which will require frequent (like, daily) water changes and definitely a test kit asap.

 

[Newman]

yes you must let the tap water sit overnight in a mixing bucket, preferably but not mandatory with a powerhead for circulation. add prime to it then wait a day and then use it for water changes. pH fluctuations thus will be avoided since the tap water from the faucet will have a different pH than water thats been aerating in a bucket or in your tank for a while. you need to use water of the same pH. pH shock is much more serious than most people realize.

 

[lauraf]

Newman, maybe I'm terrible, or maybe it's because our city water is good, but I don't let my water sit overnight . . . .

 

[Newman]

its not a huge deal but it helps the pH level out and CO2 to leave the water, making it slightly less acidic that it was out of the tap.

i recommend it to anyone who is new to aquariums.

 

[bcrowder11]

Okay thanks for the info! I am gonna try to keep cycling with the fish i have right now because i heard that platy are good and hardy starter fish. But from now on i won't put my water straight in the aquarium.

 

[littletankbigworld]

Platies may be hardier than more delicate species, but all fish react poorly to ammonia poisoning. Make sure you test the water every day and change the water or add Prime if there is too much ammonia. Read up on cycling tanks so that you can prevent ammonia poisoning and other diseases like ich, and so you can keep your fish alive during the process.

 

[bcrowder11]

Well actually, right at the beginning of my new tank, i did have a goldfish, but he got ich and died, so i did a 50% water change(about) afterwards. Then i continued with the fishless cycle.

 

[Newman]

ok, let me give a very short lecture on ich. once you goldfish died from it and you vacated the tank, you need to keep the tank fishless for around 6 weeks. ich will live in the water column for around 4 weeks until you introduce a fish and it infects that fish and the vicious cycle continues. however after around 4 weeks the ich completely dies and your tank is virtually safe from it. though its advised to wait 6 weeks to make sure all ich has finished its life cycle and has died off completely.

my question to you is did you wait around 6 weeks from the day that you removed that goldfish?

 

[bcrowder11]

close to it...maybe like 4 or 5 weeks...it was like a month and a half.

 

[OrangeCones]

yes you must let the tap water sit overnight in a mixing bucket, preferably but not mandatory with a powerhead for circulation. add prime to it then wait a day and then use it for water changes.

Seachem recommends the water treated by Prime to be used immediately, not after a day.

 

[littletankbigworld]

What happens if you let a closed water jug that contains water treated with Prime sit for a day or longer?

 

[OrangeCones]

IF your tap water had chloramine in it, then your change water would likely have ammonia in it (the chlorine was bound with ammonia to make the chloramine - Prime broke that binding).

The binding ability of Prime toward ammonia only lasts 24-48 hours per Seachem (long enough to be consumed by a healthy biological filter of an established tank).

So, if the water was not added to the tank right after being dechlorinated, AND the sanitation method of your water company was to use chloramine, then you could be adding free (toxic) ammonia to your tank with the 'new' water.

Check with your water supplier to find out what they use. Mine uses chloramine, which is becoming more common they told me, as it is more 'stable' that straight chlorine.

 

[Newman]

that was just the sequence of my sentences. i meant add prime after filling up a container of water and THEN wait a day or overnight. thanks Orange for clearing that up.

I personally at least do it overnight to let the water's CO2 amounts diminish and pH match that in my tank.