cmedalis
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hi all.
I have been cycling my 10 gallon now since end of September.
While monitoring the numbers on it, and as things settled in, I've decided to get some new fish, which like my water.
Tap water runs at pH: 7.8, GH: 8 dH, KH: 4 dH, Nitrate: 5-10 ppm.
There's not a lot to be done about the nitrate in the tap water, it leaches into everything from all the farms.
I have a small (2.5 GalUS) tank set up with a simple PenPlax Small World filter (powered by a small air pump), a small terra cotta pot, and a weighted down plastic plant.
I added a trio of Variegated Platy (Xiphophorus variatus), 2 females, one male; the largest, a female, is about 1.5 inches long.
Just this morning, one of the females dropped fry, which i wasn't expecting quite so soon. When I discovered them, most were already dead. I siphoned them out (turkey basters are wonderful tools) and discovered 3 that were still alive. I think there may be one or two still in hiding.
What can I do with them? If the platy were living in my main tank, they would have been removed to this one for birthing, then the fry would remain until they grew large enough to be re-intrduced, or sold/traded/whatever.
I'd like to keep the trio of mature platies in quarantine for at least a week, if not longer, to make sure they can handle my weird water. I thought any fry would have sought shelter in the plant or under the pot, but I guess the adults got to them anyhow.
Is there a save place to move them to, even if it's just a plastic bucket until the QT gets freed up?
((Thanks in advance, reading all the great info on here has helped a ton with setting up my tank ))
I have been cycling my 10 gallon now since end of September.
While monitoring the numbers on it, and as things settled in, I've decided to get some new fish, which like my water.
Tap water runs at pH: 7.8, GH: 8 dH, KH: 4 dH, Nitrate: 5-10 ppm.
There's not a lot to be done about the nitrate in the tap water, it leaches into everything from all the farms.
I have a small (2.5 GalUS) tank set up with a simple PenPlax Small World filter (powered by a small air pump), a small terra cotta pot, and a weighted down plastic plant.
I added a trio of Variegated Platy (Xiphophorus variatus), 2 females, one male; the largest, a female, is about 1.5 inches long.
Just this morning, one of the females dropped fry, which i wasn't expecting quite so soon. When I discovered them, most were already dead. I siphoned them out (turkey basters are wonderful tools) and discovered 3 that were still alive. I think there may be one or two still in hiding.
What can I do with them? If the platy were living in my main tank, they would have been removed to this one for birthing, then the fry would remain until they grew large enough to be re-intrduced, or sold/traded/whatever.
I'd like to keep the trio of mature platies in quarantine for at least a week, if not longer, to make sure they can handle my weird water. I thought any fry would have sought shelter in the plant or under the pot, but I guess the adults got to them anyhow.
Is there a save place to move them to, even if it's just a plastic bucket until the QT gets freed up?
((Thanks in advance, reading all the great info on here has helped a ton with setting up my tank ))