re : odd behaviour

Question
I just bought a mickey platy 2 weeks ago. The 1st night she looked sick. Her gills were very red & seems inflammed. I put some salt & now she is still alive. She looks much better but has an odd behavior, she would sit behind the plant and now my other female platy is doing the same thing. Sitting behind the plant. Are they sick or just pregnant coz they dont look pregant at all. And another question is can i put a ghost shrimp in a tank w/ mollies & platys? Or are the fishes going to eat the shrimps.

Answer
Hi Sharon;

Poor little gals. It is often a water quality issue that causes them to do that. Livebearers require very clean water so water changes of 25% weekly are needed for good health. If the tank is still in the break-in period it will cause illness too. Toxins rise and they just don't feel well.

What size tank do you have?
How long has it been set up?
How many total fish are in the tank?
How big are they?
How often do you make water changes?
How much water at a time?

Ghost shrimp are just fine with mollies and platies. You just don't want to overcrowd the tank. Let me know about the info asked for and we can go from there.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins