Why are my platies hiding!?

Question

I have four platies in my thirty gallon tank and two of them hide in every single place possible! why are they doing that? none of the other fish are being aggressive or anything. please help.

thanks!

Answer 1

If they are new then they are probably a bit stressed from the journey from the pet shop to your house and probably a bit intimidated as they have gone from a small tank to a bigger tank.

Another thing could be is that they are pregnant, even if they are all females, as all live bearers can save sperm until they really need it and don't always need a male present in the tank.

The tank light might be on a bit too long for them so try cutting it down an hour or two, however if the light is on all day it should only be on for about 8 hours as it will promote algae growth.

Make sure they are eating well and if you haven't got one already, buy a test kit that tests for ammonia nitrate and nitrite and see if its the water quality that is affecting them ( if you don't want to spend a lot of money for test kits then take a sample of water in a jam jar {put plenty of tank water at least aquarterr of a jar} and take it to your local pet shop they should do it for free) and if you get told it is high in nitrate, nitrite or ammonia then you local pet store will tell you what to do  but it is usually water changes.

hope this helps

Answer 2

did you just  introduce them to the new tank? because my new fish always shows this kind of behavior

Answer 3

try planting he tank with live plants