Fish adjusting to new tank

[Heyoka]

I'm pretty new to fishkeeping and have an established 29 gallon tank. About 6 weeks ago, I put my first fish in there: 2 female platies and a male. The one female gave birth about a week after I got her, and the other female is now pregnant.

Right after giving birth, I noticed a change in the one female. She became lethargic and was often found hiding in some water sprite I have floating at the surface. I put her in a breeder net at the suggestion of my lfs, who said that she probably was just being harassed by the male since she was no longer pregnant. She seemed to perk up once separated from him, so, on Friday, I set up a new 4 gallon tank and put the male in there. I've kept the lights off to reduce his stress, but it's been 3 days and he doesn't seem happy. He seems agitated and spends most of his time swimming around very fast. His pectoral fins move quickly even when he's at rest. What else can I do to help him adjust? I've been considering getting another fish to keep him company since nothing from my 29 gallon will do. Will this help?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

What where your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings in this time? If the tank was 6 weeks old or less then it could have been cycling affecting the fish. As for the way the male is acting 4g is too small for him. He could be feeling cramped. What are the readings on the 4g tank also?

 

[Heyoka]

As of right now, ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates for both tanks are all 0.

I used what I believe is called a silent cycle for the 29 gallon. I have a lot of live plants and I tested the ammonia levels every 1-2 days and nitrites every week while adding fish slowly. Ammonia never went above .5 ppm (and that only happened once), and nitrites were a constant 0. The tank was fully cycled before I moved the male (ammonia/nitrates 0, nitrates were like 5-10 or something, can't quite remember). I used gravel and decor from the established tank when setting up the 4 gallon.

If the tank is too small, I'm not sure what to do. I don't really want to get a larger tank, honestly. I live in an apartment and my lease is up in December. I might move, and the thought of moving a 29 gallon and a 10 gallon or larger is pretty daunting. I had hoped that a 4 gallon would be a nice compromise

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Ok so poor water quality can be ruled out. Good job with the cycle. Male livebearers are relentless, so that combined with the stress of birth could have been too much for her. You could increase cover and add a couple more females if you have the room. That would distract him (hopefully).

 

[Heyoka]

Thank you! She seems a lot better now that it's just her and the other female. I felt bad keeping her in that breeder net for 4-5 days before I could get the other tank, but she seemed happier in there than out in the tank with the male :/ I was hoping that the fry would grow up and provide more distraction, but they're growing much slower than I thought. They're about a month old at this point, and only about 1/2" long. Maybe I will get more plants and a couple more females this weekend. Thank you for the advice and quick response!

 

[Heyoka]

I hope that double posting isn't against the rules (I didn't see it in there!). But I wanted to update everyone with what I found to be the solution to the problem.

The filter is way too strong. I noticed this subconsciously I guess, but I didn't connect the two things since I assumed he was feeling stressed over being in the new tank. However, I was feeding him and saw that the food shot right down to the bottom of the tank even though I put the flakes away from the filter. So I turned the filter off and almost instantly he calmed down. He's now swimming casually and seeming quite happy. Now I just need to figure out how to reduce the current. I read the putting pantyhose over the intake can help, so I'm going to try that today. I hope that having the filter off for about 24 hours isn't going to do too much damage, but at this point I was thinking that it's the lesser of two evils to do that.

Also, an update on the female: she seems to be back to her old antics of being lethargic and hiding in the water sprite. Her dorsal fin is completely flat against her body. What's going on? I've tried salt water dips with her before, which seemed to work temporarily but didn't help much in the long run. She doesn't show any visible signs of disease. She doesn't seem to eat any of the fish flakes, but she'll pick at the algae wafers and graze algae from the plants. Any thoughts?