What's up, Platy?

[CrazyLoo]

Hello all! Just joined the site, so this is my first post. We have a tropical tank with, amongst other things, 3 Electric Blue Platy. 2 days ago we did the biggest tank clean we've ever done, taking out and replacing about 2/3's of the water. We also removed a dying plant and added 3 new ones. On Monday (the next day) I noticed the platy were all at the bottom of the tank, sitting on the sand. That was yesterday, and today I noticed that 2 are a bit more back to themselves, but 1 is still at the bottom. Tucked up in the rock - I understand that they can get stressed out easily, and this is how they behave, but I have also been wondering if a couple of them are pregnant and also read this is how they behave when preparing to give birth. I have added a couple of pictures - the first one that keeps laying down, tucked up by the rock, and the one swimming about higher up in the second photo is the one I also suspect of being pregnant - could just be fat as they always seem to want feeding, but would love someone's opinion, as I'm new to this and just not certain what to look for yet
Many thanks in advance for any info!!

 

[Mebbid]

What exactly did you do for your huge tank cleaning? A list of everything you did would help.

I also wouldn't do a larger than 50% water change just to minimize the change in the water minimizing the stress to the fish.

What are your parameters? The water looks a little cloudy which could be a sign of an ammonia or nitrite spike.

 

[CrazyLoo]

We have a vacuum type thing that sucks up the fish poo out of the sand without sucking up too much sand. We used that to give the sand a really good clean, and as the water looked a little green we wanted to freshen it as much as possible. We emptied out about 2 thirds of the water, then refilled gently with water the same temperature (checked with thermometers) with 'tap-safe' chemicals added to the correct amounts. We had bought 3 new plants as the first ones we had were looking kinda sad, and the pots of the new ones were much bigger so we also bought more sand (of the same brand and variety that is already in the tank). Lastly we had also bought a new pump/filter as the one we had before was just under what was needed. We filled the tank back up (with the treated water), then put the plants in place, then added the very well rinsed sand around them. The pump was changed over, and 3 Japanese shrimp were added too, but we haven't seen them! So all in all, quite a lot of upheaval for them. The water is quite clear, but the glass is getting slightly green as we add algae wafers for our plec and for the shrimps. At the end of the clean, a couple of 'clean aquarium' balls were added and then we fed the fish. Usually we only empty out about a quarter to a third of the tank, but felt it needed a better clean. If there's anything else that's helpful to know please ask and i'll do my best, thankyou for replying!

 

[landon_garcia]

The second platy could be pregnant because it is a female and looks a little fat bit you will have to wait a little longer to really determine it. My platys also laid on the bottom after a water change. I just added some ATM Paradigm and some regular old water conditioner. After that, my red platys perked right back up! You should be fine. Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[allysonwonderland]

Do you have a testing kit to test ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? Changing the filter could have spurned a "mini-cycle" in your tank, and knowing the values of those three things will help enormously. The pH could have also changed with a 2/3 water change. The platy in the first picture has clamped fins, which indicate stress.