Red Wag Platys

My mother in law decided to put 4 red wags in my 10g tank. So right now it is currently holding my 2 inch comet, the 4 red wags and some pond snails. The comet will be moved to a 30g tank soon so the 10g will become the red wags' tank. Four is a little overpopulated for the tank from what I've been told about stocking tanks, but the tank is cycled and is roughly 6 months old.

I have 2 females and 2 males. They came from my sister in law's tank as her 10g had become overrun with these fish. One male seems old. His back end kind of droops and he just does not have that healthy look to him the other 3 have. He might be the original male in her tank and he might just be really old. He is eating well. The other three consist of 1 male and 2 females. One female is not yet an adult (under 1 inch long) The other 2 are a little over 1 inch long. (The big male is probably around 2 inches)

They are being fed a diet of Goldfish crisps (since they were kind of sprung on me, I haven't had a chance to get them tropical flakes), bloodworms, brine shrimp, veggies, and the occasional algae wafer.

Is there anything I can be doing for them to make sure they are healthy? I'm sure the females will both begin breeding once they are big/old enough. I will probably set up a fry tank for when this happens, but for now I'm focusing on keeping them alive and healthy.

Edit: I can get water parameters soon. Just need to test my water. Please note these levels will probably be high. When it was just the comet in there, ammonia levels were almost always 0, never getting above .25. Nitrite levels were always 0 and Nitrate levels never went above 20 or so. I have not had a chance to do a water change since they have been introduced, so I have a feeling the ammonia levels will have started to climb again. I plan on doing a water change today. Should it be more than my usual 2 gallons? And I will also add Stress Zyme to the tank to help with the beneficial bacteria.

with the tank the way it is you need to be doing daily water changes as 10 is only big enough for the goldfish (which you already know by previous posts) If the platy has a drop in his tail he needs to be removed as it could be a number of illnesses and with ammonia present it will spread quickly to all the other fish including the gold fish. I would do at least a 50% if not 75% water change now and 20% daily. till you move the goldfish.

FishVixen......You advise 50 to 75% water changes....I assume you mean using pre treated stored water of similar temp and water parameters as that of the tank water to be changed........Sudden changes from poor water quality to fresh sparkly new water often causes osmotic shock........When the water has been of poor quality for a while, the sudden influx of water with a low TDS will shock fish which have been accustomed to the poor water........A max of 25% and then 10 to 15% changes every other day would be less damaging to already stressed fish.

I have always done large water change with same temp and PH without ever losing a fish. when I started (1966) that's what we did and it works. With a comet and 4 other fish the bio-load is going to build very quickly in a 10 gal tank also I would suggest filtration 3x the amount recommend for any goldfish. So for a 30 gal tank have filtration for a 90 to 110 gal tank.

When live bearers get old they usually get a spine bend. As for the females, you can usually see the babies in the belly ay before they drop. Hopefully the comet or platies don't eat them.

Kin

man thats alot of water changes. phewwwww To much work for me

My mother in law tries to reassure me the tank is fine and I shouldn't have to do a lot of water changes. "Trust me, its okay. I used to breed fish. I know what I'm doing." Ugh! Yet she stuffs this many fish into a tiny tank. Oh well. All I can do is try to better the situation. Today I'm going to begin resealing a 30 gallon tank so hopefully I can move the comet in there, leaving just the platys in the 10. What kind of water changes should I be doing once it is just them?

Neither of the females appear pregnant. They might be too young still. I'm going to keep an eye out though.

I'm doing a 30% water change today (only a gallon more than I usually do) and I will also test the water and post the results here.

Thank you all for your help. I know I'm on here asking a ton of questions but I really want to get into this hobby and I want to do it the right way.

Here is a short video of the tank. You can see the older male as he is the largest of the platies.

In a sense, your mother is right. The bacterial population is already well-primed by the goldfish. You WILL have a bloom as they increase proportionatly to the new level of waste (white cloud in the water). Add a second filter as well as a good bubble strip. Watch the levels - but you should only have to change 20-25% for a couple of days and then you'll start seeing the levels rise slower and slower and slower.

After a few weeks, the bacteria population in the two filters will be able to handle the load and you can stop daily changes and go to weekly.

That's how I can keep quaranteen cycling through 20-30 feeder minnows in a five gallon tank without drastic spiking anymore.... (I know you're not overstocking to that extreme!) Oh yeah, add a bunch of lava rock. Provides an even better place than the filter for bacteria to grow and consume the waste.

Thanks!