re-cycling, planting, and stocking?

Question
Hi Susan,  
let me say,  first off,  that I'm so excited to have found this website!  Its super helpful and you are all very knowledgeable.  
Ok,  so let me give you some background info:
I have a five gallon half hex with a 20gallon marineland bio wheel. (yes I know mano tanks are very hard upkeep and difficult to stabilize) . The past couple of month have been a struggle. My future mother in law has a intense fascination with goldfish (I understand why,  they're like water puppies). Due to this fascination,  she decided to stick a baby pearlscale into my 5 gallon, and of course,  my tank tanked...amazingly my mystery snail survived and hes now accompanied by 3 ghost shrimp,  new sand and new decor.
"Fluffy " is now quite happy in the pond in her lanai. Now for the past month or more since fluffy has been evicted,  ive been going to war with the ridiculous levels in my water (ammonia,  nitrites,  and nitrates) . Water changes became a twice a week thing,  marimo moss balls have been added to help with filtration and nitrates, ammo carb in the filter,  and even my bettas healthy gravel.  
My levels are coming down,  one more water change and it should be perfect.
Now here's my question (sorry it took so long)
My boyfriend is interested in platies,  good idea or no?  
I'm curious to get some stocking ideas.
and would it be possible to get live plants in addition to the marimos?  With the substrate i have,  what kind of additions need to be made?  Id like as low maintenance and possibly self sufficient a tank as possible. (15 watt flourescent by the way).
Thanks,
Valesca

Answer
Hi Valesca! I'd be happy to help you all I can!

Its true goldfish are among the most responsive fish you can keep! They can definitely be like water puppies!

I'm glad Fluffy gets to live in a pond now, she should definitely be happier there!

Small tanks are only hard to upkeep if one doesn't understand about the cycling process and the need for water changes.

I'm not sure how much you know about tank cycling. So here are some important keys.

*All aquariums must cycle and establish the 'biofilter' which is simply good bacteria that develop in your aquarium and feed off the ammonia the fish produce. They convert this into 'Nitrite'. Then later, more bacteria convert the nitrite into nitrate.

*Both ammonia and nitrite are dangerous to fish. Ammonia can burn fins and skin, cause breathing problems and is overall toxic to most aquatic life. Even in trace amounts.

*Nitrate is harmless unless in large amounts. You should aim to keep nitrate levels at a reading of at most 10 to 15.

*Most aquariums take 4-6 weeks to cycle or establish the biofilter.

*A cycled aquarium will have the following readings - Ammonia-0 Nitrite-0 Nitrate-20 or less.

*One of the best ways to cycle a tank is to stock the aquarium -very- gradually. Only 2-3 small fish every two weeks. And be sure to test the water before going and buying new fish. Do 50% water changes if your fish seem stressed at any time and/or the levels of ammonia or nitrite are building up.

*          *          *          *          *
I know that you said the levels are coming down. Which is great! The Mystery snail and ghost shrimp are cycling the aquarium for you already. And that is perfectly fine.

So now all you have to do is make absolutely sure that your ammonia and nitrites are both at ZERO before adding fish. And be sure to stock the aquarium slowly still. Often the biofilter needs time to 'catch up' with the extra waste levels that comes with adding new additions.

I'm glad your boyfriend is interested in platies. Because these fish would be great for a 5-gallon. They stay small, are very colorful, and are all around an easy fish to care for. The only thing to keep in mind is females will have babies every month or so. Since these fish are livebearing. The females give birth to live fry (sometimes 30 or more). If you buy a female platy, she is almost guaranteed to be pregnant already.

Platies usually keep their own population in check by eating their own fry (sounds harsh I know) but some babies often survive and grow up in the main aquarium. If you want to save a lot of fry, keep some bushy plants like Java Moss in the main aquarium. Or setup a separate 'nursery' tank for the fry.

Raising baby platies is very fun! The fry are not hard to care for. Just keep their water very clean, feed them 5-6 small meals of powdered flake food a day and watch them grow!

*You can definitely add some other live plants. I'd recommend going with simple and easy to care for species. Java Moss, Java Fern, Anacharis, and even Duckweed are good easy choices. A lot of other aquatic plant species do best if they are growing in a rich substrate for planted aquariums and they get supplements added to the water on a regular basis. And if you want a low maintenance system, keeping low-light and non-demanding plant species is your best bet.

~But just keep in mind its best for the fish and other aquatic critters health if the aquarium gets as many frequent partial water changes as you can manage. Once a week at 50% should work out very well especially if the tank is lightly stocked. Which brings us to the next subject -

Stocking schemes/ideas-

Here is a link to some 5-gallon stocking ideas including pictures and info about the fish-

http://www.fishchannel.com/freshwater-aquariums/tankmate-tips/5-gallon.aspx

Hopefully this will give you some ideas.

I hope this helps and best of luck with your aquarium!
Susan~