[SharonM]

Wow. Been YEARS since I've posted on Paw-Talk - and I never have posted here in the aquatic forum.

I am fairly new to keeping fish. I started about a year and a half ago and seem to do best with tetras. I add salt, and use live plants (mainly anacharis and hornwort).

My confusion is over the PH. I was told that my tetras do so well because I use salt and have a somewhat low PH and that the platies in the same tank don't do well because they need a higher PH. So, in researching online, I found a discussion that said platies prefer water with salt. Ugh.

Anyway, while several livebearing fish have died over the past year and a half, my tetras do wonderfully. I have lemons, buenos aires, head&tail lights, glowlights, pristellas, blind caves, neons and have had them all for quite some time. I also have a few cory-cats, a pleco, a blue ram (my latest addition and I just love him!) a rainbow shark and a dalamation molly (The molly and shark are my little survivors - originals from when the tank was first set up, they've survived every mistake I've made!)

I guess my question is - should I stop putting platies (or swords or mollies) in this tank? I love the splash of color they add, but just hate thinking I'm killing the poor things!

 

[Kendalle]

How big is your tank? It sounds like it could be over stocked if it is a smallish tank.

 

[Sasami]

Wow, that's a lot of fish. I, too, would be interested in the size of your tank. Platies don't need salt but yes, they prefer harder water. They are quite adaptable, though, so something else might be going on. Have you tested your water? It would be useful to know ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH values.

 

[Toirtis]

I concur...details on the tank, filter temps, water parameters, etc will go a long way to helping us help you.

 

[BarkingPup]

Lessee, info that is needed:

-Tank size (gallons if available, dimensions if not)
-PH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels (if you don't have a kit, get one now! Very important for aquarium keeping. You can bring a water sample into a pet store and they usually test it for free.)
-Water temperature
-Substrate (whats on the bottom of the tank)
-Decorations (specifically, do you have driftwood?)
-What kind of filter(s) do you use?
-How often do you clean? (water changes (including percentage removed), scrubbing, etc.)
-Do you use any kind of additives? (Flourish, Prime, etc.)
-How often do you add salt?

Um... I think that's all people need to know. If I missed a question, feel free to add! But, yeah, there's not much anyone can do without tank parameters ^^