My fish especially my platy has started kissing or sucking on the castle in my tank.?

Question

Ok i aksed about my fish earlier (guppy and platy) one of each. I took a water sample from my five gallon tank to PETCO and they told me i had hard water and something else. I had to buy slime to put in the water and something for the ph balance. My fish behavior is normal they said. It is so strange because when i turn the house lights off even though they have a light in the tank they go hide and rest or sleep or something. When we wake up in the morning and turn on lights and they see us they immediately go to the door where we put the food in. Wow. Ok now my question is this. WHY THE HECK ARE THEY SO EXCITED ABOUT THE CASTLE THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE??? I have been sitting here watching them for about 45 minutes. They are kissing it and poking at it. Especially the platy. The guppy is following the platy around doing some of the same things sometimes. The platy has found a door on the castle and it keeps going in there doing something. Is there slime on it or what????

Answer 1

I'm sure that there is some algae or other edible growth on the castle that the fish like to eat. Don't panic about algae. It is not harmful to fish. They like to eat it. Only humans think it's unattractive. Of course, when it gets too overgrown, it can cause congestion of the tank, so keeping it under a little control is advised, but don't scrub the tank squeaky clean either. Don't worry about your ph either. Fish can tolerate wider ranges of ph than their prescribed range. A fluctuating ph level is far more stressful than a constant high ph. Unless you are keeping fish such as discus that need very soft water, it's not a problem. Also, fish need to rest just like any other animal. Most fish rest at night just like we do. By your words, you seem to say that you leave your tank light on all night. This isn't good for the fish because they do need to rest just like us. Fish don't need lights. They can do just fine without lights. Lights are only for our viewing pleasure. You should turn your lights off at night, and quite frankly, they don't need to be on during the day either. Only at night while you want to look at them. Also, the more you leave your lights off, the less algae will be encouraged to grow. So, all of your fishes' behaviors are perfectly normal.

Answer 2

Keep in mind guppy, and platy do best in hard water, and basic water(high pH). So unless you have liquid rock they'll be fine. As far as the behavior it sounds normal platy, and guppy like algae. You are likely growing some on the castle. My molly, platy, and swordtail do this all the time.

Answer 3

No. A a million gallon tank is barely ideal for a snail or a shrimp. Get a 5 gallon for the betta and pass the buddy, they're needless to say solitary fish and could attack maximum tank acquaintances.

Answer 4

Maybe there's algae starting to grow on the castle and they're trying to pick it off.

Answer 5

My guess is algae is starting to form on the castle and they are having a salad-------yep----the kissing is in reality nibbling on the algae growth----this is a good thing indeed.---the algae is a very good food source to supplement their regular diet.

Answer 6

The algae is being eaten, it has now grown enough to be eaten.

Answer 7

more than likely there is food build up in there and if they want to eat it let them also make sure there are no babies in there for some reason

Answer 8

playem some lawrence welk,,,,,,thatl fixem(stick headphones on the side of the tank,,see what happens)

Answer 9

they are eating the air bubbles or the algae from it thats all..lol