Argh, fish gifts

[Capt.Gorilla]

I recently recived 3 assorted platies as a gift, My main tank can not accomadate them (ph is too low/ temp is too low) so I'm going to have to setup up a new aquarium or return them (they don't look to be in the best helath either 1 has no dorsal fin, one has no anal fins) so i've setup a temp 5 gal with my ac mini and some water/gavel from my main tank as to already be cycled.

What do these guys need, they do look nice so i may keep them.

 

[PlatyLady]

Yikes, no dorsal fin on one, and no anal fin on another? You might be okay in your 5 gal with a few plants/hiding spots. My lfs said only 3 platies require a 10 gal, so stay on top of your water changes. I don't know, you might be okay, especially if they are all the same sex (hmm... how do you sex a platy with no anal fin though???).

If you do have a breeding pair in there, then the 5 gal tank won't be adequate for very long. You might end up with waaaaay too many fry, even though they do eat their own young.

Hmm, now that I think about it some more, I wondering about your missing fins. I wonder what happened to them. Any chance you can exchange them at a lfs for healthier fish? I wouldn't want to house a sick fish with others...

 

[Capt.Gorilla]

I was planning on returning them today but I was busy being sick, hopefully I can get store credit for the little guys.

I can't keep them as my ph is near 6.2 and platies like 7 or above and I'd rather have something like a clown or bushy nose pleco.

 

[myriam]

I agree with PlatyLady, I don't know if you want to make all that effort for sick fish--they may just die or they may infect the others with something. If you can exchange them that would be better. Missing fins is not a good sign :-(

I have 5 platies and about 12 fry, which I will try to bring to the LFS because my 20G cannot handle them. Platies are pretty easy to care for and are fairly peaceful. If you do decide to keep them, they are enjoyable to watch.

 

[Capt.Gorilla]

While they were fun while they lasted but today I woke to find one dead and when I returned from work I proptly returned them for credit.