Issues in Tank

[kristin27]

Hello,

I have four platies (all female) in a 10 gallon tank thats been running for a little over a month. Besides a bully that I had to replace a few weeks ago, everything has been going fine in the tank until now.

There is algae growing on the walls of the tank, and on the gravel which I can't do much about until next week, because I don't have a gravel vac. The best I can do in the mean time is wipe the algae off the walls, or change 20% of the water. Is the dirtiness in there at all harmful to the fish?

I am also wondering how you can tell if fish are stressed out, because I think mine are. They all seem to be fighting a lot recently, and I'm not sure why. They spend their time at the bottom, looking for food under the gravel rocks (and I do feed them every day).. they sometimes swim to the top and it looks like they're trying to get oxygen.

What are some of the main reasons fish get stressed out and how can I make it ebtter for them in the mean time, while I have no vaccuum?
Thanks very much for your time,

Kristin

 

[fishyrican]

Do you have a water test kit? What are your water parameters? How long after setting up the tank did you introduce the fish?

 

[mishi8]

At just over a month old, your tank is still very new, and could very well still be cycling. Have you been testing your water at all? How often have you been doing water changes?

Your fish could very well be stressed from water quailty issues. Healthy, happy platies typically swim all over the tank. If your fish are hanging out at the top of the water gulping air, it could mean that your ammonia and/or nitrites are high. Same if they spend all their time hanging out on the bottom. The only way to lower those levels, until the tank is done cycling, is to do water changes.

If you haven't got a test kit, get one now. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals makes a good, affordable liquid test kit: Freshwater Master Test Kit. At the very least, you need to test for pH, ammonia (NH3), nitrite (NO2) and nitrate (NO4). A heatlhy, cycled tank will show 0 NH3, 0 NO2, and 5-20 nitrate. Also, do get a gravel vacuum, and use it with every water change. Removing the waste in the gravel is important for keeping your parameters in check.

 

[mr86mister]

i agree with mishi and fishy but say its already cycled

with my experience with platy's they constantly would go around the bottom looking through the gravel for food, they tend to be piggies and eat until there is nothing left

are their fins clamped?

 

[tkos]

If you have not done any water changes yet then I suggest doing a few small changes, say 10-20% at a time each day. After a few days you should be able to start doing larger water changes, say 30-50%. Then I woudl suggest keeping up the 30-50% water changes each week.

Fish like fresh, clean water. No sense breathing in you own waste.

 

[mishi8]

i agree with mishi and fishy but say its already cycled

with my experience with platy's they constantly would go around the bottom looking through the gravel for food, they tend to be piggies and eat until there is nothing left

are their fins clamped?

They do tend to be constantly grazing! However, I have found that they pick at stuff at all levels of the tank, not just at the bottom. If they're always at the bottom, then I would be concerned...especially if they have clamped fins, are glancing off objects, and/or breathing rapidly.

 

[TankGirl]

The algae is not going to bother the fish whatsoever, and if my own experience is any indication, if you have a feeling they are stressed then I'll bet they are.

When the fish behave in an odd manner or you have doubts about them, definitely follow the above advice and test the water. Ammonia and nitrite should be zero, and nitrate "should" be under 40ppm but it would have to be a whole lot higher for the fish to demonstrate stress from that.

If the algae is brown and wipes off easily then it is diatoms that will likely go away on its own after some months when the tank matures, so I would keep on wiping it off and not worry too much about it.