New Guy Starting a Tank, need help!

rsn48

Cheap white Styrofoam cooler with your fish in a very large plastic bag and look for an air pump that runs on batteries. I know some have used a heater pack with their cooler, not sure about this if touching the foam but maybe having the heat dialed down a bit by surrounding the heat pack with a towel might help. Definitely nothing in your tank while you travel except light items like your fishing net, stability bottle (which you will need to re-establish your tank when you get home).

cka411

Sorry to be posting again with another off topic question,

my platys seem to be a mix of male and female, don't know if that's an issue and I have read online the difference between a male and a female, best I can tell I have 1 male red wag and 2 female red wags and 1 male sunburst and 2 female sunburst.

Anyway....I don't know if one of the females is just eating a lot but the belly is bulging down.

Here are pictures, one of the fat one haha, ignore the poo....



And I believe the male in the corner looking not nearly as fat/wide



Any thoughts?

iamntbatman

Those fish do look quite bloated to me, especially the top fish. What are you feeding them, and how often? The poo in the first picture is actually helpful because it shows the fish likely doesn't have internal parasites and isn't constipated.

cka411

I'm just feeding them top fin tropical flakes and a pinch at a time so that they all get some but not overfeeding them for ammonia. I do not recall it being this large when I got them.

Guko

I'm still new to this whole thing myself but from what I've read the hardness of the tap water isn't that big a deal for the fish. Its mostly the chlorine. I've personally been using a dechlorinator for my water and my fish (except for 1 she passed away) have been quite active. I'm still in the process of my cycle running through tho. I have found that daily water changes are a must. the pH in tap water is fine for the fish and your pH is perfect. The only thing I've learned is that it can affect the ammonia levels but as long as you do daily water changes it should be fine.

The cloudiness I got in the beginning and it went away in a few days. I read that its normal when its white that its either the bacteria forming or from improper cleaning of the gravel/ accessories. That all filters out eventually.

CSFishtank546

Umm... Never moved a tank that far with fish in it... You should definitely keep the bubbles running as some fish rely on these to breathe. You won't want your tank too full as it may spill but the water will need to be a certain height in order to run the filter. I can't help you too much on that but basically fill as little as possible, run the necessary systems, and don't drive too insanely.


Everything else looks good!

You are actually right about the good bacteria. Since making that post I adjusted my tank cleaning methods, now I don't take quite all the water out, but instead most of it. I had seen that in my research before starting my tank and simply forgot. Thanks!

~Sean