# black moor with platies



## sophie96

Hi,

I currently have a 30 liter fish tank with 2 platies and 1 black moor goldfish - I know this is too small, it is a temporary arrangement as I will be moving house soon and am planning on purchasing a 150 liter tank

I am then planning on then getting 3 more platies and one more black moor

My question is this; can platies and black moors be kept together? I've been reading online that few fish are suitable to be kept with fancy goldfish, and whenever there is a short list of suitable fish platies are never on there. However my black moor and my platies seem to get on fine...the bm ignores one of the platies and interacts in a very friendly way with my other platy

I thought perhaps that it is because platies are temperate fish while bms are cold water fish. However my tank is always between 20-22 degrees centigrade, apart from right after a water change, and from what I've read online that is a good temp for both species. Is this correct?

I am new to keeping fish (which is why I accidentally bought a tank far too small) so any advice is really appreciated! I was also wondering if the colour of substrate on the bottom matters to the fish - do they prefer a more natural colour or does it not affect them? And what kind of decorations are good for the tank - I have a small fish hide away which both platies enjoy but my bm can't quite fit in. There are a lot of live plants for him to hang out in, but should I buy an ornament big enough for him to hole up in as well?

Thanks!

Sophie


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## NaomiM

Interesting question. It's true that there are very few suitable tankmates for goldfish, and I don't think I've heard of them being kept with platys before. However, if it's true that your tank temp never drops below 20 C, I think you might just get away with it (though others may possibly disagree). Do be aware, though, that in a larger tank the temperature is likely to fall lower, due to being a larger volume of water. When you get your 150L tank (which, you're right in thinking, is about the minimum size for 2 black moors) it is probably worth investing in a heater for the winter months. If it's set to 20 C, it will only come on if the water temp drops below this, so your heating costs will be very low, and you won't need to worry about switching it on and off as it will do this automatically.

You'll also need to get a very good filter for your new tank, preferably an external one, as goldfish produce a lot of waste. You need one that's rated for at least twice the volume of your tank. If the tank you choose already comes with a filter, you can add on a second filter to increase the combined filtration capacity rather than ditching the first one.

(On a side note, when you do water changes, you should make sure that the new water you're adding is the same temp as the tank water, so as not to shock the fish. If you have a combi boiler, it's fine to use the hot tap to add some hot water to the bucket. If you have a hot water storage tank, you're better off boiling the kettle and adding a little from that.)

How long has your 30L been set up? I'd highly recommend investing in a good liquid test kit, if you don't have one already, so you can keep an eye on water quality - especially since you're currently overstocked (as you know). You'll need the test kit anyway for setting up your new tank. Here's a link to a good test kit: http://www.amazon.co.uk/API-Freshwa...qid=1437568110&sr=8-1&keywords=api+master+kit And here's a good guide to setting up your new tank, once you have it: http://www.tropicalfishforums.co.uk/index.php?page=setting up your new aquarium

Re your other questions - some fish prefer a darker coloured substrate, but I'm not aware that platys or goldfish do. Personally I prefer sand to gravel, as it looks more natural, is easier to keep clean and works better with live plants. I have heard of goldfish accidentally ingesting gravel particles, so if you do decide to go for gravel, go for the larger stones to minimise the chances of this happening (sand isn't a problem if ingested as it will just pass through them). Decor is down to personal choice - goldfish don't need caves/hideaways as such so long as there is plenty of plants etc to help them feel secure. I just have plants, pebbles and bogwood in my tanks, nothing artificial, and my fish are happy 

Hope this helps!


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## NaomiM

One more thing - what sex are your platys? Do be aware that they breed like rabbits if you have mixed sex (and even if you have all females, they can still produce up to 6 batches of fry each just from having been in with males in the pet shop!) And if you do have mixed sex, you need to have at least 2 females for each male, or they will hassle the females to death! To identify the sex of your platys, look at the anal fin (the fin on the underside nearest the tail). In a female, it's fan-shaped like the other fins. In a male, it's long and thin, and points back towards the tail. http://www.thesmileyfish.com/?p=50


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## sophie96

Thanks so much, this is all really great advice, especially about getting a heater for a bigger tank! My tanks been set up for a month and I'll be moving them in 3 weeks. I do have a water tester kit, and I also use aqua pure balls and do very regular water changes because to start with (before I realised I was overstocked) I often found my fish sluggish and gasping near the plants after only a few days...I think at the moment I have one girl and one boy as one is much smaller than the other. I can't see any difference in their fins but I think that might just be because they move too fast for me to properly compare. I heard that the adult fish will often eat the baby fish - this sounds horrible but does that mean that the numbers would be kept manageable in a 150/200 liter tank or do I need to keep them all the same sex in the tank? Also I haven't been able to find anywhere on line that properly answers how many platys are happy together - do they prefer to be in bigger or smaller groups? Thanks!


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## sophie96

ooh also, am I better getting another black moor to keep mine company or will he do as well with any other type of fancy goldfish?


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## kittih

As Naomi said platies can breed like rabbits. My two (mated in the shop before I got them) females produced 80 offspring between them over 6 months and that was even after some got eaten by the other tank mates and I separated the males as soon as their gonopodium ( modified anal fin) had developed ( see photos above).

Also bear in mind that platies are quick greedy fish so if numbers increase they may well out compete the fancy goldfish for food. Especially if your goldies are poor swimmers.

Fancies can generally live ok together but again consider their relative physical limitations.

Variatus platies are the temperate sort. They do ok in colder tanks so 20 degrees is fine. They tend to be much less colourful. Normal platies are warmer water fish so may find 20 degrees on the cold side. Platies are happy in a group though the males will bicker. The main thing though is bio mass. Goldfish are big messy fish that produce a lot of waste. Platies too enjoy their food and a large shoal will also produce lots of waste. If you have males and females and anywhere the babies can hide you will soon have more platies than you know what to do with.


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## sophie96

kittih said:


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> 
> As Naomi said platies can breed like rabbits. My two (mated in the shop before I got them) females produced 80 offspring between them over 6 months and that was even after some got eaten by the other tank mates and I separated the males as soon as their gonopodium ( modified anal fin) had developed ( see photos above).
> 
> Also bear in mind that platies are quick greedy fish so if numbers increase they may well out compete the fancy goldfish for food. Especially if your goldies are poor swimmers.
> 
> Fancies can generally live ok together but again consider their relative physical limitations.
> 
> Variatus platies are the temperate sort. They do ok in colder tanks so 20 degrees is fine. They tend to be much less colourful. Normal platies are warmer water fish so may find 20 degrees on the cold side. Platies are happy in a group though the males will bicker. The main thing though is bio mass. Goldfish are big messy fish that produce a lot of waste. Platies too enjoy their food and a large shoal will also produce lots of waste. If you have males and females and anywhere the babies can hide you will soon have more plagues than you know what to do with.


ok, thanks, that's good to know - I didn't know that there were different types of platy but mine are definitely variatus platies...I was getting worried that they were actually just tropical fish that I had been mis-sold! At the moment Graham - my black moor - is managing to eat much more than my two platys and they never seem to compete, (perhaps because I've found that Fish and Chips have different favourite foods to Graham so I tend to feed them different things at the same time) but I'll definitely bear in mind that when I have more platys this may become more of an issue...I guess I'll go single sex for now!


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