Will they get any braver?

[OffDownTheGardenToEatWorms]

We have a new 25L tank with two platys (all set up in advance as per strict instructions from aquatic centre).

They have been in there only a day but seem very jumpy and hide a lot of the time, just wondering do they get less timid over time, or will they when we introduce more fish?

TIA.

Oh dear. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I'm afraid your aquatic centre has not given you very good advice :( Platys get far too large for a 25 litre tank and in fact most fish experts and the RSPCA don't advise any fish be kept in a tank of less than 45 litres. I know there are lots of smaller ones on the market but that's because there is no law against it :(

They may be jumpy due to water quality, was the tank fully cycled before they were added? It would have taken 4-6 weeks with a source of ammonia added. Most shops don't bother telling people this.

Would you have space for a larger tank? Platys get to around 2-3" so they'd need a tank of about 60 litres.

That's sad to hear - I thought they were pretty good down there, they did advise getting the tank ready well in advance with a purifier and biological supplement, in fact they wouldn't sell us fish until we had done so, they even asked that we take a water sample back there to test beforehand.

We had planned on getting a larger tank later, - with this as a starter set for the DCs to get them interested. How long do you think we've got to get a larger one set up before they get too big? And is there anything we can keep happily in the smaller one? - as the filter and heater etc are really just for that size of tank i think?

Many thanks for your help, - i really want to get this right, - as a good example for the DCs as much as anything

Ah, that's good then, some people take it really badly when you tell them they need to upgrade

The size of the tank is OK only as a temporary measure, I'd be looking to upgrade ASAP, mainly because the tank has not been cycled prior to adding fish so it's going to be a bugger to maintain the water quality over the next few weeks. There are a few additives you can get that are meant to skip the cycling part but I've tried a few and I know a lot of fishkeepers that have tried others and none of them really seem to work.

The best thing you can do for now is to closely monitor the water quality and do regular water changes, maybe a few times a week, to keep the ammonia and nitrIte levels down. You'll need a decent testing kit like this one (shop around, you might be able to get one for about £17 if you're lucky) that will test for ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte and pH. They are expensive in the short term but they last ages.

A 25 litre tank would be OK for a few cherry shrimp, they are good fun to watch and may even breed, that might be something fun for your DCs to keep.