Platy concern?

Question
I bought my girlfriend one of those Regent 5 gallon aquarium kits from Walmart for Christmas. I set it up and let if cycle for a few days before heading to the pet store for a couple of fish. We chose a Mollie and a Platy. Being new to this whole experience of owning fish, we are very cautious about the slightest odd behaviour. The Mollie is extremely active and constantly excited, but the Platy just kind of floats in the same place for long periods of time. Usually right next to where the filter is on the one side, or right below the bio wheel housing on the other side. Occasionally he is very active, but the majority of his time is spent in one of those 2 places. I am trying to figure out if this is normal or if we are doing something wrong.

We bought a heater, but we havent hooked it up yet. The temperature has been ranging anywhere from 74-80 without it so I am not sure if we need it. The pH is normal.

How often should the aquarium light be left on? All day? During the night? The location of the tank in the house doesnt allow for a lot of natural light and I wanst sure if they needed to be in a lit environment 24 hours a day.

We are currently feeding the fish tropical flakes, but I assume that we should introduce additional types of food. The Platy seems to take the flakes in and then spit them out. I dont know if the flakes are too large or what?

Sorry for the multiple questions, but we are just learing about this stuff.

Thanks so much for being here to answer all of the questions for people.

Gary


Answer
Hi Gary;

Your platy may still be trying to get used to it's new tank. Sometimes mollies can be bullies too and it will cause the other fish to hide. It is also probably being affected by "New Tank Syndrome", The "Break-In Period", also known as "Cycling". It can cause fish to spit out food and hide a lot because they don't feel well due to elevated waste toxins. The Cycle process does not start until fish are actually added. Letting the tank circulate without fish in it is not actually cycling at all, we do that to be sure everything works correctly before you add fish. You may have to do partial water changes to keep the water safe for the new fish while it goes through the process. Here is a link to my own page about new tanks to help you know more what to expect and what to do to help the fish;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins