The Cookie Crew

If you've got the stocking space, why not!  I don't believe males are aggressive to each other?

Day 4 of Operation Kickstart report... 

Today is the fourth day since implementing Adam's advice for dealing with what appears to be a combined/linked, problem set... 

I've gotta say, the monster dose of TNC Complete and subsequent booster shots, for want of a better expression, looks to be making a difference already to the Hygrophila Costata plants, which just look that little bit greener and happier...  The Ludwigia repens Rubin looks slower to react and I may have actually lost one (hard to tell at the mo), but conversely, they also look just a little bit happier on new growth... 

I would go so far as to say that a little optimism is returning, after the initial sense of dread and woe....!!!

The Black Helmet Nerite is a distinct part of the green algae plan and as for the filamentous algae, I have pulled off some of the larger tufts with some leaves and cut out any leaves that looked a bit too accommodating of that stuff...!!!

The surface skimmer filter is being run almost all of the time at the moment too, partly for additional flow in the tank and partly because I do still want to try and keep on top of the excessive phosphates for now - at least until the "loadsa ferts" plan gets a bit further down the line... 

Definitely a happier looking tank and happier feeling Cookie today...   

There are a lot of under-rated fish around, and I think that the platy is one of them. They have lovely colouring and a quite placid fish.

I have to confess to keeping slightly unusual fish. In 20 years, I've already kept most of the 'common' fish suitable for my water - and lot that weren't  - so I have moved on to something a bit different. But nothing exotic or I'd probably kill them all 
But I can still admire a good looking fish from one of the 'bread and butter' species, platies included.

Well, here they are...    

Fun and games when first introduced though - they immediately started chasing all the other fish, particularly the Pristella Tetras, who for me are the royalty in the tank...  Then we had to go out for a spell and by the time we came back, things have settled down and significantly less chasing going on now...  Will be watching them closely though, because if they do fin nip at my Pristellas, they will be going straight back to whence they came, double pronto...!!!  Oddly, that first one never did that at all...

Good looking little bighters though and I certainly hope they do settle into community life well... 

At the mo, they are all over the place, so pics are a tad motion blurred, but here we go...

They do look darker already now...  like their colour has become richer...  and, they do seem to change shade of colour a lot depending on the viewing angle etc... 

I fed them immediately, once the chasing started...  that definitely seemed to calm things a little, as if the poor things were just plain starving and hadn't worked out yet what is food and what is other fish etc...  Really hope they stop that malarkey quickly though...!!!

Is that good, or bad...?  I'm entirely unfamiliar with the various types of Platys...  I did see the name, but looked at every variety and was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of choices etc... 

There are not really any good or bad varieties with the caveat that they more extreme patterns/colours will be more inbred, and probably weaker fish because of that.

The fish that catch your eye are the good fish 

Seriously Fish spells it platies in the Notes section of Xiphophorus variatus.

Congratulations on your new arrivals. Great colours.