sick platty?

[mr rosco]

hi there,i have a 15 g tank thats been up and running for 5 months now..last week i added a couple more plattys to the tank,one of them seems to be acting really oddly..it spends a lot of the time in the bottom corner of the tank not doing anything,it doesnt really come out to feed either..it has no visible signs of illness.. water tests have revealed nothing wrong either..could it simply be down to stress or bullying by the other fish?? 5 female plattys,2 male plattys,5 snakeskin guppys,1 cae(wife bought this!!),3 amano shrimp...any help appreciated.

[Rbishop]

It is obviously under stress, probably from the crowded tank.

[Sammie7]

That does sound quite overcrowded, especially when considering you have all those platies in there. My platies poop nonstop. I have 2 of them in my 10 gallon, even if they were the only fish in there I would be hesitant to add anymore platies. What kind of filtration do you have on this tank? You are going to have to get rid of the CAE, they grow too large for a 15 gallon and can get very aggressive when mature. http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_Gyrinocheilus_aymonieri.php

Do you have any plans on upgrading your tank? If not, you need to find different homes for a few of your fish. All those fish seem like too much of a bioload for a 15 gallon, not to mention the issue of space. And you are going to have quite a few more platies when they start to breed. And with that number of females, you are going to have plenty in short order.

What are your water parameters?

Question for anybody that knows: what's the difference between a UK gallon and a US gallon? And for mr rosco: which gallons are you talking about? US or UK?

[mr rosco]

ok,i know about the cae,im still trying to find someone who will take it from me.. tank dimensions are 60cm x 30cm x 30cm..which i think works out at a fraction under 15 us gal?? water was tested this morning and is spot on as usual,ammo 0 nitrites 0 nitrates <10 ph 6.5/7.0. i didnt think i was overstocked but obviously i stand corrected and i guess thats why im on this forum..how many fish do you think would be safe for all concerned??

[Sammie7]

Well, if I were you I would get rid of the CAE(which you are doing), then I'd take the males platies back to the store, and if I had any guppies which were of the opposite sex, I'd take one sex back. It would still be a bit overstocked but with really good filtration and maintenance, you could do it. Or if you took the female platies back, leaving the two males that would work out much better for the bioload. I would still take any guppies of the opposite sex back, as they will breed prolifically and overstock the tank again. Did that make sense? :)

[mr rosco]

ok,no problem,my sister in law has a large tank,i shall ask if she can take the female plattys from me..thanks for the help.