do i need a new filter?

[chevykid78]

well my brother bought three platy and he put them in a reallllly small tank (1.77 gallons!) the water is very cloudy, his filter is an elite mini. it is a small filter that has a black sponge inside and barley sucks any water then it sucks it through the sponge and spits it back out a small plastic opening. i would show a pic of it but i cant get it on here. i personally think that the filter is not good.

it has a water flow valve that more or less water go through, should i open it more?

 

[sky.eyes.woman]

That sounds like the Marina Goldfish tank kit...does it have a purple or orange top with matching gravel? If that's the one you have your fish will be better off in a whole new setup, really, especially since there are 3 of them. That filter in it is just a sponge and nothing else, plus there is no heater or even a light to warm the water a little. Keep the water clean by doing partial water changes frequently, it's vitally important in the beginnning. You might have to do it several times a week at first but hang in there and see if you can get them a bigger setup ASAP.

 

[chevykid78]

thanx! and yes thats exactly what it is (the marina starter kit) but i cant change any water for a while because they had babies 3 days ago! i know i should take the parents out but i dont have any where to put them and if they eat all the babies no worries but it would be nice if some of them survived. so i'll see what i can do when the babies get bigger. i might buy a new tank for MY fish and let my brother have my 5 gallon for his.

 

[Holly9937]

Its nice that you're concerned, but a new filter won't help much, its just overcrowded. The water changes should at least keep the fish alive, and if you can, the best thing to do would be to persuade him to return the platys and buy a really pretty betta, or a couple of ADF's