Sunburst Platy Feeding

Question
Hi, my boyfriend and I just purchased our first pets. We bought 3 females Sunburst Platys. I have two quick question. First, when we bought the fish, the gentleman at the store said any tropical fish food would work, so we bought TetraColor tropical flakes. They don't seem to be eating. I remember from child hood, the fish would always eat almost as soon as we fed them.
My second question... One of the females seems to be very skittish. We have called he tweak. She darts all over the aquarium, or, she will get in a corner, and just swim up and down the corner of the tank. Is this normal?
My last question(sorry:)) When should the light be on? I leave it on during the day, and when we go to bed, the light goes off. This seems to calm down Tweak, as well as the other two females. Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Nichole,
Firstly, is your tank cycled? If not this will explain why she is behaving abnormally due to the high ammonia nitrite and nitrate levels present in a newly set-up tank. To cycle your tank you need to do daily water changes of about 30% and check the water readings. It will take six weeks for your tank to cycle. If she is not eating this is usually a sign of stress either from the new move or because your tank isn't cycled.
The light should be on up to 12 hours per day but sometimes it is best at 8 hours as this will stop the algae from growing.

Good luck!
Chloe.