84L Amazon Biotope

Been some years since I kept tropical fish but now the kids are a bit older (and less likely to disrupt my tank!), I have started a 84 L tank to get me back in the swing of things.

The tanks been running for a couple of months now. Started with 4 platys to get the tank established with the intention of moving them to my 6 ft tank when I get it out of storage and setup. Lost a platy a couple of weeks later, never figured out why (I'd been testing regularly and keeping a very close eye on the tank as it was a new setup). The store replaced her with another platy. No further incidents so maybe the platy just died of natural causes.

Then I added six neon tetra to get the amazon biotope kickstarted. A week later I notice one of the platies has given birth (to my sons joy). A few weeks later I realize I appear to be missing 2 of the neons. When cleaning I find what is left of one of them (looks like the platies had been eating the corpse). Never did find a trace of the other one. I was a little concerned about the loss of the neons but haven't had any more losses since so just hoping it was a fluke.

The neons seem quite happy at the moment and are shoaling with the baby platies (who are fast approaching the size of the neons). Not sure about the exact count on the platies but think I have around 15 babies, which should give me a good start on the 6 ft tank when I get that started.

Planning on adding some more neons at the end of the month to get their numbers to a nice little group where they will be more happy.

Looking into adding corydoras in the future, but I am looking at changing my substrate from gravel to sand first. Don't think my gravel would be an issue with them as it is smooth and quite small, but want the sand because I believe they would be happier with sand. If anyone has any ideas of the best way to do this it would be greatly appreciated. Also the sand seems really overpriced from the aquatic store, heard that childrens play sand can be used and is very cheap. Looking into this.

When I finally have my substrate sorted I will be planting the tank with maybe some cabomba and some amazon sword. Still researching this because I have never ventured into planted tanks before, but I'm really excited to getting into this part of the hobby.

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Comment by Robert Jango on November 29, 2013 at 1:15pm: When a fish dies from unknown causes its usually ammonia - especially if the tank is new. Test for ammonia. Even small concentrations (1ppm) can kill a fish. Female livebearers are vulnerable because of the stress in giving birth.

To get rid of ammonia add floating plants. Water Sprite is the best (I think) but any floating plant will do.

Comment by Kenneth Philabaum on November 29, 2013 at 1:21pm: Tested the water and no trace of any problems at all. Did a water change to be on the safe side. I think it must have been stress but she seemed fine when I left the house. I was only gone a couple of hours at most. Quite upset because she was the most amazing colour.

Comment by Kenneth Philabaum on December 13, 2013 at 3:34pm: I've lost another female platy a couple of days ago (The mother of the first lot of fry - the blue one). Again no sign of any problems during my regular water testing. Done an extra water change to play it safe. A bit concerned now because this is the second loss within a couple of weeks for no apparent reason. All the other fish appear to be healthy and showing no sign of illness. The newer fry are getting a little bigger now and are venturing out for longer outside of feeding times, not sure of an exact count now but have a definite 6 confirmed sightings.