# Platy Filtration?



## simplykayla76 (Mar 10, 2012)

I have a 10 gallon platy tank with a Aqua tech 5-15 filter on it~ which apparently from 2 pwc's which were 4 days apart~ it is obvious I need more filtration.

AC20? AC30? a filter with a bio wheel? How many gph does a platy tank need? Are they as messy as goldies?


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Platies are nowhere near as messy as goldfish - not even in the same ballpark. They need a standard turnover, light feeding and ideally a few plants, in hard water. They're very easy to care for and fun to keep.


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## simplykayla76 (Mar 10, 2012)

okay. i have a 5-15 aqua tech in a ten gallon and it isnt picking the poo up hardly at all. I ordered a ac20. was that a smart move?


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

simplykayla76 said:


> I have a 10 gallon platy tank with a Aqua tech 5-15 filter on it~ which apparently from 2 pwc's which were 4 days apart~ it is obvious I need more filtration.
> 
> AC20? AC30? a filter with a bio wheel? How many gph does a platy tank need? Are they as messy as goldies?


Why do you feel you need a larger filter?

I just use plants with no mechanical filters and have a large platty population which lasts for years and years.

but that is uning the methods in the link on my signature.

Worth at most .02


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## simplykayla76 (Mar 10, 2012)

well i did a 50% pwc the 23rd of may and 4 days later i notice my plant being a catch all for food. So i did another pwc and rinsed the plant in tank water and I couldn't believe all the poo in the gravel. My goldfish tank never has that much come up or has it sitting around on the gravel. So I thought maybe I need a bigger filter because the poo was so abundant.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

simplykayla76 said:


> well i did a 50% pwc the 23rd of may and 4 days later i notice my plant being a catch all for food. So i did another pwc and rinsed the plant in tank water and I couldn't believe all the poo in the gravel. My goldfish tank never has that much come up or has it sitting around on the gravel. So I thought maybe I need a bigger filter because the poo was so abundant.


Perhaps just less feeding.

As long as ammonia/nitrItes are unmeasureable things are fine.

Nitrates can bump up during the initial cycle untill aerobic bacteria consume the ammonia and the plants then start consuming nitrates.

the poo will just be snail food and eventually plant food.

my .02


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## simplykayla76 (Mar 10, 2012)

I was feeding them 3 small meals a day. So i will just do two. Or should it be just once a day?


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

simplykayla76 said:


> I was feeding them 3 small meals a day. So i will just do two. Or should it be just once a day?


I just fed once per day with my plattys.

You should feed enough so you don't get algae or cloudy water problems.

For my that was once per day.

my .02


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

3 times a day? WOW!!! I feed mine just 4 times per week. Filters don't really suck in poop too much unless the fish are doing it right by the intake.


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## simplykayla76 (Mar 10, 2012)

Ok. For some reason i misunderstood about tropical fish.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Instructions on fishfood tubs often tell you to feed 3 times a day, they are just trying to sell more food. Once a day is plenty.

How many platys do you have in the tank?


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Yeah, they got you on the feeding instructions. I feed fish of the Genus Xiphophorus, like platys, a lot more than my other fish because they have quick metabolisms. That means a tiny pinch, once day, seven days a week. My other fish get six days a week.
I breed Xiphophorus (if anyone ever finds wild platys, I will be in line for them;-) so I have to keep them in shape. In a tank with 40 juveniles and adults, I will feed a pinch the size of a penny.


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## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

As far as the filtration goes, filters are not there to pick up poop. Filters simply take the ammonia contaminated water and break it down to nitrates. That is all that they really do. We gravel vaccume to get up the poop and debris.


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## simplykayla76 (Mar 10, 2012)

snail said:


> Instructions on fishfood tubs often tell you to feed 3 times a day, they are just trying to sell more food. Once a day is plenty.
> 
> How many platys do you have in the tank?


I have a 10 gallon with 3 females and 1 male.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

simplykayla76 said:


> Ok. For some reason i misunderstood about tropical fish.


Perfectably understandable. It took me a few months/years before I figured out less feeding means a heathier tank. *old dude

my .02


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

That's a good population. With your current filtration and less food, they'll do fine.
I fed my fish twice a day religiously for the first 20 years I kept fish. The shops told me to, the containers told me to. Then a breeder suggested I cut back and the results were spectacular. Fish live longer, are more active, breed more and just look better.
They're like us really - extra weight slows us down and kills us, so why would it be different for our fish?


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## simplykayla76 (Mar 10, 2012)

True.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

navigator black said:


> ...
> 
> They're like us really - extra weight slows us down and kills us, so why would it be different for our fish?


S l o w ly r e s p o n d i n g


+ 1


*old dude

still .02


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

simplykayla76 said:


> I have a 10 gallon with 3 females and 1 male.


Sounds like a party for one of them at least


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## ChessieSFR (Dec 30, 2011)

I'd also consider a layer of sand over the gravel, or ditch the gravel altogether for sand. The sand keeps the food on the surface instead of letting it sink in, and the platys will eat leftovers. It helps feed less with less waste, and it is easier to vacuum all the poo during weekly water changes.

Good luck with your platy tank! I love my platys!


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