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Sick Platy - 04/17/07 <<Hi,
Megan. Tom with you.>> Ok, I have read and read through a lot of
Q and A and my problem seems to be unique??
<<Let's see if we can 'un-unique' your problem for
our many other readers.>> I have a 10 gal, set up for about 6
months now, never had any problems at all until recently. I
do water changes 25% every two weeks with 1/2 RO water and 1/2 tap
water. <<Sounds good.>> I do home tests and
take my water to the stores and my nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia are
all at 0; pH 7.5. <<Also good, Megan.>>
Anyways, I recently added an APISTOGRAMMA to my tank and that's
when the trouble started again (second round). One day my
Cory died. Weird, he's been in the tank the whole time,
always happy. Then I noticed my female platy was stressed.
I've had her since she was born. I noticed the
Apistogramma was picking on the platies, mostly on my one male so I
took him back. <<This can happen and you dealt with
the situation appropriately. These Cichlids really prefer water
that's much lower in pH than what you have. It's possible that
those kept at the store were acclimated to levels more to their liking
and, when introduced to your tank, it kind of went into a
'tailspin'. A neat fish but has some preferences that
you'll want to look into if you get the urge to try again.>>
I decided to get one more female platy for the tank in case that was an
issue as well. <<Wise'¦>> As soon as I
added the new platy the male went crazy after her, chasing her
everywhere around the tank. The older platy is so stressed
she barely has fins....really skinny too. Then tonight I
spied a little bit and it seems like this "peaceful" male
platy is even picking on some of the other fish. <<I don't
give fish enough mental credit to apply psychology here, Megan, but I
might surmise that your male Platy had his 'domain' threatened
by the Gramma (not to be confused with Grandma :) ). With the
'threat' removed, he might have taken to reclaiming his territory 'to the detriment of his other tank mates. What we
need to do now is 'get his mind right'.>> Total in the
tank right now is 3 platies, one male two female, 2 thread fin rainbow
fish, 1 Oto and one honey Gourami. Arghh, that's all I can think of
to say...I love this platy. I saw her come out of her momma...really
want to save her. <<First, we need to get the male isolated
without really 'isolating' him. If finances permit, visit your
LFS and purchase a breeding net or box and put Mr. Attitude in it for a
day or two. You can even do this with a plastic bag filled with
aquarium water but this is really not the better option. Next, I'd
consider the addition of some 'aquarium' salt to the tank to
help relieve some of the stress on the other fish. I'd think that
about one tablespoon of salt for the entire tank should suffice here.
Can't say that a bit of luck and some 'Divine Intervention'
won't come in handy with your female Platy but we've got to get
the stress off of her quickly.>> Thanks a ton, Megan
<<Hopefully, this will help, Megan. I wish you and your Platy the
best. Tom>>
Flakes on Platy
4/11/07 Hi!! I think I may have a problem but I'm not
sure. I know for a fact it shouldn't be normal
though. Mind boggling enough for you there?
<Not yet... all you've stated thus far is your
reaction...> I recently noticed about maybe 4 days ago
or more that one of my female Mickey Mouse Platies may have Ich, but!
when I did research on your webpages and saw pictures of other peoples
fish with it. I didn't know if it was Ich
anymore. She looks as if her scales are dry and just needs
lotion. <Yikes...> Now the Webpages describes it as white
spots. The pictures also show white spots. She
doesn't have just the white spots. Like I said before
its more of a just needs lotion type thing. None of my other
Platies or Guppies or my two Glass Fish have it just her. <I would
separate this specimen, pronto> Now my tank does need to be
cleaned.. I recently bought a sucker fish for it. I have
white rocks. Just my luck its easier to see the uneaten food that gets
collected at the bottom. Should I just go ahead and clean
out my tank? <? Not entirely... weekly water changes with gravel
vacuuming are recommended...> Set tank up right at end
of December or very very beginning of February. More
water and solution has been added to it for when the water level starts
going down a bit. <Mmm, not a good practice... solids
accumulate...> So my final question is, is there more
than one type of Ich? Any advice will be appreciated.
Em <Can't definitively tell anything from the simple
description... Might be Columnaris... Likely improving the environment
will do about all the good you can here. Please read: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwmaintindex.htm Bob
Fenner> Mystery band on Redwag platy 4/10/07 Hi all, First of all, you have a wonderful site!!!! I read the FAQ's frequently, awesome job!! <Thank you> Here is my problem that I couldn't seem to find an answer to. I have read many many many articles on your site.. and other sites. <Okay> I bought 5 Redwag platies (3 female, 2 male) and had them in their own 15 gallon tank. They were in the tank for about 3 weeks when I started to notice that one male was losing some color. They are a very vivid reddish/orange color. The following day after noticing a bit of color loss, it had gotten worse. I moved the male platy to a 10 gallon by himself, fearing that whatever it is may spread to the rest. It is almost as if someone had drawn a wide band down the body of the fish, from top to belly, just behind the head. It isn't clearly white, but almost a yellow I would say. That is on one side, the other side isn't as far down the body, but still a lot of color gone. I guess you could say, it looks faded. It looks like a very defined line, very straight not jagged at all. The fish acts normal, not loss of appetite, swims around just as it had before. I feed all my fish Nutrafin Max flakes and Bloodworms. I also toss in some shrimp pellets. All the tanks have been cycled, I use sponge filters from existing tanks to help it along. I have 14 other platies in my 32 gallon tank that are doing fine. Also have 14 Redwag fry from that batch of 5, they are doing great so far (they are in that 15 gallon tank now). If you could offer any help or suggestions it would be very appreciated. Kevin Nova Scotia, Canada <From the apt description... I suspect that this mark is due to this one platy getting "whacked" by a/the net when you bought it... or "smacked" against the specimen container in the process of being transferred... I do hope that it will cure on its own... in your good care... Bob Fenner> Platy thin and lethargic 3/31/07 I noticed that my platy is suddenly very thin and looks like she is having problems opening her mouth. She does try to eat, but doesn't seem very successful. When I first set up the tank I'd had some ammonia problems <Trouble...> and she developed purple gills that have never cleared up. <Yes, possible> Am I having more ammonia problem or did she give birth or is there some other problems? I have 5 others, 3 female and 2 male that are doing fine. Thanks! Julie <Mmm, that others of the same species are fine is indicative of your having no endogenous problem... perhaps this one fish was damaged by the transient ammonia exposure... Only time can/will tell here. I would not try to "treat" these fish with chemicals. Bob Fenner> Platy Help please!!! 3/28/07 We have a Mickey Mouse Platy. She just had fry but got ill right after birth. We wonder if she maybe didn't get all the fry out. She has been ill 3 days now. She has not been eating. <Some times this happens... You've just got to be patient, keep offering food/s> Her top fin is down and her tail is tight and now kinda chewed up. There are no fish bugging her. She has a film around her but she is fighting. She is still moving around as best she can. It seems her rear half is almost paralyzed. I feel she is showing us she is strong and can pull through. But she is not eating. She does move around a lot but hangs out on the bottom... sometimes she is on her belly sometimes at an angle on her side. Is there anything we can do for her??? -AMBER- <Mmm, need to know more specific information re your set-up, maintenance, water quality... Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/platydisfaqs.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Sudden death of platy's
03/22/07 Good morning, <Hello.> I have a question
regarding the sudden death of a couple of my platys (both the same type
sunset wags). I have a 55gal livebearer tank, water
parameters are pH 7.4, ammonia 0, nitrates 0, nitrites 0, GH 4, KH (not
sure - have to retest). <Mostly sounds good, but the GH for platies
(and indeed most other livebearers, should be a bit higher, at least
10-degrees GH.> A couple of my older female platys have suddenly
died. One died without any visible cause Tuesday
morning. The other one died yesterday. There is
nothing on the fish indicating infection or fungus. No
strange behavior except that they both segregated themselves only hours
before passing. I have not noticed any sign of disease on
the other fish. <Odd indeed. Perhaps old age if it was just one
fish, but two at once is unusual.> Currently I have around 20 fish
and fry in the tank. Since these girls were rather large
when I got them, I'm not sure how old they were. I have
only had them 3 months. If I have anymore deaths I'm
going to treat the water with tetracycline. <Do you mean
"tetracycline"? That's a broad spectrum antibiotic that
should only be used in very specific circumstances. Here in the UK at
least, only by prescription from a vet. Your local laws may be
different. Either way, it isn't something to use without first
confirming there's a problem with bacterial infections. It'll
do nothing a protozoan parasites, intestinal worms, fungus, etc. let
alone water quality/chemistry problems.> I am already adding salt to
the water to keep parasites at bay. <Why are you adding salt? Salt
at low concentrations has little to no effect on parasites and at high
concentrations will stress your fish. Platies are *freshwater* fish and
do not normally inhabit (or want) brackish water. Please keep the salt
in the kitchen, not the aquarium!> I did add some guppies and new
swordtails about 2 weeks s) ago so I'm looking for signs of Columnaris infection. One of the half black guppies (female)
died shortly after added it to the tank. I noticed that she
was badly mutilated so I'm thinking she was attacked while dropping
fry. <Swordtails can be a bit aggressive to keep with
platies and guppies, so that combination wouldn't be one I'd
recommend. But even so, I'd be surprised if the swordtails actually
mutilated another fish to the point of causing death. I'd be
thinking more along the lines of fin rot.> I added cardinal tetras
to another tank and they all died along with half the other tetras in
that tank with similar symptoms. <Why are you adding cardinal tetras
-- fish from soft, acidic waters -- to a tank with fishes that need
hard, alkaline water? Please buy a book about aquarium fish and learn
about their water chemistry requirements. Freshwater fish no more need
the same conditions than panda bears and polar bears.> Until I added
the new fish I had not lost a fish in that tank in over a
year! These fish segregated themselves and within hours were
dead. Water parameters and the same in the 37gal tank as the
55 gal. That's the first thing I checked when the fish
started to die. In fact one of the new tetras died about an
hour after being introduced to the 37 tank. I went back to
the pet store and noticed that they had no living tetra's in the
tank I bought them from. <Just a spelling note, the plural of
"tetra" is "tetras".> The LFS would not say
whether or not they had a problem in that
tank. I've been treating it with salt and water
changes and haven't lost any more fish. <Again, why the salt?
That will certainly kill the cardinal tetras or any other soft water
fish. Salt is for brackish/marine aquaria, not freshwater aquaria.>
I want to hold off on the antibiotics until I have to. <Quite right
too. Almost all fish deaths are related to problems with water
chemistry, water quality, and diet. Disease, particularly
"mysterious bacterial infections" are much less common than
aquarists believe.> Any other advise or ideas on what is
happening? I've never lost so many fish without any
visible symptoms. Like I said the only thing I noticed is
that the fish break away from the group and seem to breath very rapidly
(at least the tetras did) and then die. The platy's just
went to a corner didn't eat for one feeding and were dead.
<Difficult to say. Could be a variety of things. Chronic
constipation for example (you *are* feeding your livebearers vegetarian
flake, not regular flake, right?) These fish need lots of greens and
algae and relatively little meaty foods. Sure, they'll eat
bloodworms and daphnia until they burst, but it's no more good for
them than it is giving steak to a horse. These fish are omnivores in
the wild, and eat a lot of algae along with small insects. Cooked peas
a very useful for constipation. There should *always* be something
green in the tank for them to peck at, such as thin slice of cucumber
or zucchini. The water hardness is far too low for livebearers, and
I'd suggest raising the GH by incorporating some buffering agent,
such as coral sand, in the aquarium or filter. Please have a read
through the Poeciliidae page and related FAQs, here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/poeciliids.htm
> Thanks, <Cheers, Neale> Linda Ritchie My Mickey mouse platy! No useful
data 3/16/2007 Hello I have a Mickey mouse platy that is
exceptionally thin, I noticed it yesterday and I am planning to bring
it to a local pet store tomorrow, its gills are red and its really
thin. Could you tell me what it is or is it going to die? Will it
affect others in the tank as well? <Possibly... Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/platydisfaqs.htm and
the linked files above... You provide no useful information re water
quality, set-up, maint., feeding... BobF> Platy Doing Poorly 3/2/07 Hi Folks! <Hello to you!> I have happened upon your wonderful website and hope you can help me. <I'll sure try - thanks for the kind words...> I have had a Redtail Dalmatian platy (Dotty, although I do not know her sex for sure) for 4 months now, in a 29-gal. tank with 3 other platys, 8 neons, and 4 lyretail guppies. <It's fairly easy to sex livebearers, once you get the hang of it. The male has what's called a "gonopodium", and essentially it's a modified anal fin. It's elongated and the male tends to flick it back and forth. That's how he impregnates the females. The females, on the other hand, have a triangular shaped anal fin; if female livebearers are kept with males, they are likely pregnant, so that's the really easy way to tell:-) Other tip-offs are enlarged bellies, the protrusion of a "gravid" spot, right by the anal fin, and, if the fish is light enough in color, at her end-stage of pregnancy you can sometimes see little dark spots through her skin, which are the eyes of the wee fry inside her! Do a Google search for "livebearer" and "male" and "female" and you'll find all sorts of pictures, images, etc.> She has taken to hiding in the large cave (decoration) in the tank and has not come out to eat or swim in the past 2 weeks or more. <That's definitely not good.> I know she is living because she drops out of the cave ledge when I do water changes and clean the decoration. <Glad you are doing regular water changes.> I have not seen any spots or enlarged belly on her. She just lays on the rocks and her body seems to mold against the shape of the rocks. She is still breathing and her side fins still move. My nitrate and ammonia levels are zero and I do weekly water changes. <What about nitrite? It sounds as though your tank is fully cycled, but it couldn't hurt to check...> I add aquarium salt of 4 Tbsp./change, plus the suggested Stress-Zyme each week and Stress-Coat each change. No one has been harassing her - in fact, they all ignore her and swim right by. <I'd isolate her, first off, just in case she's got a communicable disease. I'm wondering if any of the other livebearers (platys or guppies) are harassing her? I, too, keep guppies, platys and mollies, and I am amazed at how mean some of them can be. Isolating her would give her a break from any bullies, too; a chance to fatten her up. With regard to her not eating, what are you offering her? If you haven't already tried, frozen, thawed bloodworms are usually a big hit, as are Mysis shrimp. If all else fails, Kent Garlic Xtreme (basically concentrated garlic oil) can do wonders in stimulating appetites - just a drop or two in whatever you're feeding should do the trick. The other benefit of isolating Dotty is that you'll be able to see more readily if she has any discoloration, wounds, parasites, etc. Everything else you've done sounds fine, but this is obviously not normal behavior. At first, I thought perhaps she could be pregnant, but two weeks of acting like this is a long time to go on like that.> What can I do to help her??? Thanks. Carol <Sorry I can't give you a definite diagnosis. Hopefully I've at least given you a starting point - do let me know if you see anything else unusual, and we can hopefully figure out what's going on! Best of luck, Jorie> Sick Mickey mouse platys; likely due to poor acclimatization, poor water quality... -- 2/26/07 Please help! <I'll try - Jorie here> I have a relatively new tank that is a week old. <Not relatively new, *very* new!> It is a 15 gallon (24*12*12), with a aqua clear 3-stage filter, and a submersible heater. Water temp. is at 24.5 degrees Celsius. I have dechlorinated the water and treated for hard metals, added organic waste management... <Don't know exactly what this is, but with regular water changes on the tank, it shouldn't be necessary> , and added 'Cycle' to my tank. I gave everything a double dose for the first application and let the bacteria multiply for 3 days. <I don't use the "Cycle" product myself, but I understand it can work. I would have suggested that you tested for presence of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate before adding livestock - *if* the tank indeed cycled that quickly, then all should be at zero (well, maybe nitrates as high as 20 ppm)> I then got a collection of five Mickey Mouse platys from the local pet store. I brought them to the tank and let the bag sit in the water for 15 minutes as I slowly brought the tank temp. up from 22 Celsius to 24.5 Celsius. <Probably should have had the temperature up prior to buying any fish. In any case, 15 min. is a relatively short time to go from approx. 71 degrees F to almost 76 degrees F. I would have done this over a period of hours.> I then netted them and transferred them into the tank without spilling any of the water out of the bag. <Good> However two of them look sick. The first one the fins beside his gills are white and seem to have little tears at the end and are very small, and for the most of the time his fin on his back, his dorsal fin, is down. He stays up in the top corner of the tank without moving and only moves when he's fed. <These are not good signs. First thing to do is test the water - you need a quality liquid test kit, if you don't already have one, to determine if ammonia, nitrite and/or nitrates are present. Also, a pH reading would be helpful.> He will not even move when I tap on the tank right where he is. <Don't tap on the tank!> The second platy also has fins beside his gills that are white and torn. He also has a silvery, whitish, dull patch on his sides which he seems to try and flick himself onto the fake plant to try to 'itch'. <This behavior is called "flashing", and can be caused by toxins in the water...> I do not know if this is itch because it is just one blotch and not white specks. He swims actively and eats fine, he seems to even have a darker scale tone then the rest of the fish. I don't know what is wrong with these fish. My guesses are that I did not wait long enough for the tank to cycle? <My guess also. If you don't have a water test kit at your disposal, I'd suggest doing a 50% water change ASAP, and then go invest in one...> But the other three seem healthy. <They may have stronger immune systems...if the water quality if really that bad, it'll catch up to these three as well...> They have fin rot, as there fins seem to be tearing at the ends and they are white. <All 5 are we talking about? Fin rot is almost always caused by poor water conditions...> Or the one has velvet, because of the velvety sides of him. <Velvet looks like a very-fine sprinkling of gold dust. The dull coloration you describe could be a sign of a bacterial infection, but my first guess is it's merely a reaction to poor water quality...> I am going to do my first 10% water change today with treated water. What should I do? <I'd start making up more water - I'd do a 50% change in this relatively small tank. As far as test kits go, this one's my personal favorite: http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Pharmaceuticals-Freshwater-Master-Test/dp/B000255NCI/sr=8-1/qid=1172529198/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-8672312-4778220?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden > <My best suggestions are above. Here's a helpful article on cycling, for your info.: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm Good luck, Jorie> "Ich"y Platies 2/18/07 Although I am pretty new to this hobby, I did quite a bit of research on freshwater aquariums, yet none of the sites I visited fully answered my questions. First, I bought 3 danios as "test fish" and they died within a day. <...?> It could have been the water, but my little Neptune heater didn't seem to shut itself off where I set it to, and the temperature went from 76 to 82 overnight, and rising until I unplugged it. My dad thinks the temp fluctuation did them in, but I wasn't so sure. <Likely at least a contributing cause> I took in a water sample to the pet store, and ammonia levels were very high. <Could have been "after the effect"... the fish's stress, deaths> I felt really bad, then I took the heater out and let the tank run on its own for a little while. After another water test, it showed the parameters were "safe" for fish, <... Uhh> so I bought 3 platies (for the record, they all came from separate tanks): a gold twinbar, a Mickey Mouse, and a sunset. When they arrived to their new home (a "cozy" 5g tank, kind of a trapezoid shape with a curved front and 2 live plants) they seemed a little nervous about their new surroundings and they didn't eat, but they got along okay. In fact, they spent most of the afternoon huddled together in the corner. Hmmm. <Indeed> I read online that they might be doing this because of high ammonia levels. <Yes...> I changed out some of the water <... what re cycling?> and fed them, and they were doing much better. They were actually swimming around and they even ate. During the night, the temp went from 78 to 74. Living in Southern California, I figure the temperature at night won't get too drastic, even in the winter. The fish started acting lethargic again. Then I saw them rubbing against the plants and realized they showed symptoms of Ich. <Maybe> That made me panic a bit, because I read that temp fluctuation actually makes them more susceptible to Ich, <Yes> and the tank is heater less. Luckily, they showed no signs of having the infamous white spots I've read so much about. The only heat source I have for them is their overhead lamp, plus the afternoon sunlight from the window (I know it's not the best spot for them because of algae, but there is literally no other place for them to go). To try and get the fish happy again, I changed some water again, and I added 2 tbs. salt. I risked taking advice from one site that claimed that up to 2 tbs. salt would not harm the fish, even though several sources said 1 tbs. for every 5 gallons water. <Should be fine here, for platies... but maybe not the plants> Day number 2 (this was written on day 2 by the way) is where I confirmed my fear that they have Ich, because my Mickey has some visible white flecks on his tail and fins. The other two don't have any white spots yet. I turned on the light to warm up the water in the morning, <Need that heater...> left for a while and in the afternoon, came back to find the water at 82. I did more research and found a site that told me warm water is more difficult to get oxygen through. <This is so> I debated with myself if they should be stuck with parasites or if it's better they suffocate. Then I went back a few years to my biology lessons and recalled that plants give off oxygen! <During "light" periods... the opposite in the dark> So, I'm sacrificing their (I'm hoping extra) oxygen levels for warmer water. And finally, after a thorough, if not lengthy, description of my situation, here are my questions: 1) I don't have any extra tanks, nor do I have a gravel vac. Is this a huge problem, or do you think I could get by without either? <Will want some maintenance gear in time... can make... or buy> 2) Would leaving the light on at night be too stressful on the fish, <Yes> or should I put the heater back in (or go without either at night)? <... need a heater...> 3) Can I expect Ich to go away with salt and warmer water alone (even with possible temp fluctuation)? <Not with low temp. or fluctuation> 4) How long should this treatment last and can I know for sure if the Ich is all gone? <Read on WWM re: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwmaintindex.htm scroll down...> 5) Should I change a little bit of water each time the fish start acting lethargic? <No... need your own simple water test kits... and to read...> 6) I know at this point getting another tank buddy wouldn't be a good idea, but if the Ich seems to clear up, could I get another fish sometime in the future? <Yes> And last, 7) Judging by the size and shape of the tank, at what point would mine be "overcrowded"? <No> Thanks so much for taking the time to read this...I know that it's really long, and apologizing for it just makes more words to read. Sorry. Thanks again, Angela <Read Angela... your fish are in peril... only you can preserve their lives. Bob Fenner> Sick Platy question 02/17/07 Hi Wet Web Crew, <Carlie> I looked through your website and didn't find anything that really fit with what happened to my platy. I have a tank of platies, and one of them is a Mickey mouse platy who has always been very healthy and active. When I fed them last night they were all healthy, and my Mickey mouse platy was fine. But this morning when I went to turn on the tank light I noticed that he had a large white patch on his back, covering a little less than the entire upper portion of his body. It didn't look like a fungus or anything was on him, because it wasn't raised above the scales at all. It looked basically like all of the pigment on the upper half of his body was gone, or like perhaps the scales were just missing. But he was still fairly active, although less than normal. I did ~50% water change and added 2tbsp of salt hoping that this would help. <Good moves> But when I can home tonight he was on the bottom of the tank, had ceased almost all fin movement, the whiteness had increased, and he was floating vert ically with his head in the gravel. He has already died, but I was wondering what could have happened? <Reads like a rapid onset case of Columnaris disease or other bacteria agent... Have you introduced any new livestock recently?> I have never heard of something that looks quite like what he had, or that acts so quickly. Could my other fish be in danger? <Yes, depending on the cause here> And is there anything I can do to prevent something like this from happening again? <See WWM, the Net, your books re Chondrococcus Columnaris... Columnaris disease> P.S.: So that you have a better idea of what my tank setup is: I have a 10 gallon freshwater tank with 4 (now 3) adult platies, a Chinese algae eater, African frog, and temporarily ~10 baby platies until I can find them a home. I have not made any recent changes to my tank or introduced any outside fish, so I don't think that was an issue with what happened. Thanks for your help, Carlie <Frightening for sure. Bob Fenner> Platy w/ fungus - probably poor
environmental conditions; need more info. 2/13/07
Hello all, <Hi Tim- Jorie here> I'm writing about my Mickey
mouse platy. As of now he is in a 2 gallon hex tank. <Is this is
permanent home, or have you isolated him to this tank? Does he have
tankmates, and if so, how many and what sort? Also, is the tank cycled?
What are the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings? This is a VERY
small tank, and is big enough for, well, about this one fish...>
When I looked in his tank this afternoon of his side fins looked like
part of a cotton ball. I immediately called LFS and they said that it
was fin and tall rot. <It doesn't sound like fin/tail rot, as
that would appear as though the fins/tail were disintegrating, but
rather "cotton wool disease", or external
fungus. This is usually caused by poor water conditions - do
test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate ASAP if you haven't already -
ammonia and nitrite should be zero, and nitrates no higher than 20 ppm.
If you don't have a quality test kit at your immediate disposal,
I'd suggest doing a 50% water change right off the bat. I'm
betting dollars to donuts this is caused by poor water quality - what
is your water change schedule like? How often and how much at one
time?> I put MelaFix in the water. Was that the right thing to do?
Any more suggestions? <The jury's out on MelaFix - my personal
thought is that it can help, when coupled with good husbandry, the
latter being essential and the MelaFix not being paramount. I suggest
testing the water ASAP and doing a water change - first thing to
suspect here is water quality. Improve that, and add some aquarium salt
to treat the fungus (generally 1 tsp. per 5 gal.)> Thanks, Tim E.
<You're welcome. Go do a water change ASAP - that's my best
advice! Also, if the 2 gal. is the platy's permanent home, and he
has any tankmates at all, I'd suggest upgrading to a bigger sized
aquarium. Jorie>
Sick platies/thread poop... Gen. lack
of knowledge re FW life-keeping 2/3/07
Hi. Your site is great but the more I read the longer I
stare at my fish to try and diagnose their problems and behaviors (the
more my head hurts). <Need to prioritize... less-reading, more
intelligent searching... leaving more time to enjoy your aquatic
charges, life...> 29gal FW tank with 3 tablespoons of aquarium salt
Whisper 30 filter heated to 80 degrees 1 male Platy 4 female Platies 1
Flame Gourami 1 Oto 1 gold Chinese algae eater 4 or 5 Ghost shrimp 2
pond snails some trumpet snails heavily planted (I have no clue about
plants) <Many of these don't "like" salt...> 30%
water change about a week ago. Petland tested my water and it's
good quality <Need to test yourself... changes with time, travel>
I do not have a quarantine tank although, if recommended, I could round
one up I just recently added 9 male feeder guppies (sad, but I wanted
to see if they caught these diseases before I invested in Blue Rams).
<... Such "feeders" almost always harbor/transmit
pathogenic, parasitic diseases...> My Platies have always flicked
themselves up against rocks and plants. Some more than
others. I just thought it was typical fish
behavior. Then I started reading your
site. Parasites, maybe? <Very likely> So I added the
CopperSafe and salt about 5 days ago. <... not to your main system?
A very poor idea> They are still flicking. They do not
have any spots. I have seen Ich so I know what that looks
like. I don't know about any other parasites, though.
<There are many> My white Mickey Mouse Platy got sick with fin
clamping and this weird motion where she looks as though the is
swimming in a current when there is none. She barely
eats. Now I noticed she doesn't poop so much as expels
two inch long, fine, clear threads. Internal parasites
maybe? <Likely> I switched to flake food with garlic
(they're called marine flakes.....is this ok?). <Of no use>
It's only been a couple days and she still has the fine threads
coming out and the weird swimming behavior. Now I see another Platy
laying on the ground with her fins kind of quivering. They all hide now
and then, it seems more than normal but I'm not sure.
They also rest in the plants and on the ground
occasionally. The feeder guppies that I added 24 hours ago are eating
well. But 2 have started this flicking against the rocks and
one has the thread poop. I am at a loss and I am not going to add
anymore fish until I resolve this. <This is good news (at least)>
The Petland kids are really smart but are reluctant to recommend
anything for the possible internal parasites except the garlic food.
<They are wise here> Help. I don't remember having
this many problems 20 years ago when I kept fish in a tiny,
overpopulated 10 gal tank. <"Things... have changed"... As
with so much of the "real world"... Much of the livestock
nowadays is produced outside the U.S.... imported with many problems...
And the hobby is dominated more and more by "big box
stores"... not "independents" (Mom and Pops)... who
know, care little for the health of the animals in their charge...
Many, much more disease issues... the hobby much more a
"frivolous" past time for folks, less of a serious
"caring for life" concern> Thank you and I hope you have
time to respond. Holly <I hope you have the strength of conviction,
dedication to pursue what you need to know here sufficiently to care
for this life... Please start reading here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/parasitcdisovr.htm
and the linked files above... A few "clues": You have
infested your system... You cannot effectively "treat" what
you have done in the main system... The chemicals applied are toxic to
invertebrates and plants at effective dosage... Bob Fenner> Emergency Need Help!!!! Platies, reading/using WWM 1/29/07 Hello, I just wanted to know if you guys can help me out with the situation I have. I have recently bought a male and a female fancy guppy along with another platy, to crossbreed them with my sunburst platy. the female guppy died this morning. There was no sign of disease I'm just wondering the cause of the death. I have now three sunburst platy, one unknown platy, and one fancy guppy. Can u help me with this? <You, not u...> Also can you send me a link on how to tell a the sexes of the platies. One of the platies gave birth recently and has a white spot on the tail, I think its damage but not sure. Its healing already, so I don't know for sure if it may be a disease. I don't have a nitrogen or ph monitor but all the platies are breeding is this supposed to be good ph and nitrogen for them? Like are they sensitive? Thanks for the help too. You guys helped me before and it was great advice! You people are simply awesome! Thanks by the way, I'm glad I have you people as advisers, because my local pet stores just brushes me aside and said I shouldn't even start one. So Thanks!!!!!!! <Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/platyreprofaqs.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Platy stillborn 12/20/06 We had a Dalmatian platy that got bigger and bigger for months. We thought she was pregnant but nothing happened. She started shaking her head from side to side. Then we thought she had bloat and put her into a hospital tank. She calmed down and after two days we put her back in the big tank. Same thing - shaking. Back into smaller tank. Next day we get up. She is dead and there are 55 dead fry. We suspect stillborn because they would have been crushed inside her. Is this correct thinking? <Mmm, not necessarily crushed... some livebearers do have other difficulties...> What else could we have done? <Mmm, nothing more... I would have done as you did> We didn't know for sure she was pregnant. She was very dark all over. Janice Carruthers <I suspect that this fish had some sort of genetic or developmental pre-disposition. Bob Fenner> Platy fry death - 12/12/06 Hi <<Hello, Ian. Tom>> I woke up this morning to notice that my female platy was giving birth. I have watched her all morning and she just dropped about six fry at one time all which are dead. Is this normal? <<Normal? No, but not unheard of, sadly. If this is her first birth, which I suspect from the small number of fry, she may have carried them too long for them to remain viable. Please try to keep her isolated for a short time to recover. She may have been excessively stressed prior to giving birth and she'll need a little time to recuperate before returning to the community. Good luck. Tom>>
Sick Platy 11/17/06 Hi there! I have had a white Minnie Mouse platy for about 3-4 months now. She has been living happily with one other Minnie Mouse (or so I think?) platy and a pink tetra. I noticed she was bloated for a significant amount of time and finally came to the realization that she was pregnant. Unfortunately I was a little too late in reading up on platy pregnancy and how to appropriately deal with the situation. A week ago she hid herself in the tank (its a small tank of 3.5 Gallons) and emerged much thinner (thus me realizing I was too late) and unfortunately no babies to speak of. The issue is now that she is not herself. I've been noticing that she sits on the bottom of the tank with her side fins beating wildly, it also appears that she is having some breathing problems. I've also noticed that the area around her gills is very red and a small dot has appeared on her body. She is also not eating the same amounts as she used to. Now in reading many of your other postings in regards to platy illnesses, I gather that the dot is related to ick, <Mmm, not likely... perhaps "just" environmental/behavioral stress... the birthing, the small volume system...> but my concern is also the redness of the gills and if there is something else on top of the ick afflicting her? I haven't had fish for many, many years <Mmm, don't live that long...> and have sort of been "winging it" with this small tank. I have been cycling the water every other week, <What do you mean by this?> and the other fish seem to be doing fine and acting normally. I also raised the temp in the tank to between 78-80 and she did seem to perk up a bit but then went right back to her previous behavior. I have since removed her from the tank and her breathing seems to be less erratic. Is there anything else that I can do? Thanks, CLK <Mainly just be patient, hope and be diligent re monitoring the fish's water quality, feeding. It "reads" as if it is simply getting "too old". Bob Fenner> Platy aquarium: fry, poor water quality 10/16/06 Hi Bob, <Hi Meridith - you've got Jorie instead of Bob this evening...> My name is Meridith. I am a total novice with fish. <That's OK - we all start somewhere, right?!> I have developed the interest because of my 2 and 3 yr. olds joy of fish. <Yes, I have a 3 1/2 yr. old niece who loves to come visit my boyfriend and me to watch the "Nemos"!> I have a 5 gallon hexagon tank with a type z rite-size filter and a BioWheel. <I have the same tank myself. It's not currently set up, but I've used it in the past.> We had 3 different types of platies and a black Molly. The black Molly died about a month ago and all has seemed fine with the rest. <In my experience with mollies, especially black ones, I've noticed they greatly appreciate either a little aquarium salt, or being in true brackish (part salt-water) environments. Seems to keep them healthier and happier. Just future info. for you. Your platys may benefit from a bit of aquarium salt as well, but in my experience, it isn't as essential.> The other day I discovered a very healthy looking tiny baby with good color. <Welcome to the wonderful world of livebearers...soon there will be more, then more, then many more...> I did not even know that any were pregnant. <Pretty much any time a female livebearer (guppy, platy, molly) is kept in a community tank with males, it will become pregnant. Also, these fish have the ability to store sperm for up to 6 months, and pretty much become "pregnant at will"...> I did not even know what the difference between a male and a female was. I started trying to see, who's the Mommy? <The female has a more rounded anal fin, whereas the male's is more pointed and elongated. Do a search on "Google" and you'll find pictures - once you see the difference, you'll see it is quite easy to tell the two apart. Also, when the females are pregnant, they become more round in their bellies, and the gravid spot (right by the anal fin) will become dark and enlarged once they are ready to give birth.> I did some research and found your web site. <Glad you did - welcome!> I found a Mommy all right, she kept hiding and laying around, I was worried because she did not look good and then I saw her pop out 2 babies. <The females tend to hide when giving birth - this is totally normal. Hopefully she's back to normal now?> I went to the store and purchased a small maternity tank and put her in it. I decided that she was just laboring hard and I watched her have 7 more babies in the little tank. (the kind that hangs inside the big tank). This morning she was dead. My kids don't know yet. <I'm not a fan of these "breeding boxes"...they tend to stress the fish out and don't allow for proper filtration. Have you recently done a water change and/or tested the water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? I'll bet it's time for a water change. Do read here if you haven't already: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm > She appeared to have a slight case of ick. <Like a dusting of salt?> I teetered back and forth because of the babies and I treated the tank with Quick Cure. <Very harsh medication. Better ways to treat Ich such as adding heat, salt...also, you never want to medicate your main tank. The link I sent you to above talking about establishing a cycle will address why - the medication destroys the cycle.> After reading on your site I am more worried because I have treated for this now for the 3rd time since I have had the tank and never removed the BioWheel. The directions say remove all carbon filters, I read about people removing the BioWheel on your site. Now what? I am like 12 hours in with one baby a couple weeks old, maybe and some others born last night that seem very iffy health-wise one newborn escaped into the tank along with the 2 that were born there. I also have 2 Cory cats in the tank one seems healthy and the other is missing most of it's fins. I feel very overwhelmed and not sure what to do next. Please help! <OK, take a deep breath - we can fix this. First off, I'd like to recommend a very helpful beginner's book by David E. Boruchowitz - it's called a Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums. It's a very good starting point. With regards to your situation, you may be overstocked. How many fish are in the 5 gal. hex? 2 Corys, 3 platys, and the babies? If that's all, you are likely OK, *if* you keep up on your water changes. You should be doing 50% weekly. Second, ditch the breeder box - you don't need it. I highly doubt the Corys will touch the babies, and most livebearers don't eat their own fry, in my experience. Third, replace the carbon pad along with a 75% water change...you need to get the medication out. Re: the BioWheel, yes, I'd replace it. Normally, you don't ever want to replace a BioWheel, but if you truly had ick in the tank, that is a parasite and quite hard to get rid of. Fourth, if you have a spare tank, I'd isolate the coy with missing fins, and treat that tank with MelaFix. Make sure to keep the water pristine, as the fish will be more likely to get an infection due to the injuries. I think most, if not all of your problems, are due to poor water quality - let's get that in check and re-assess. Do you currently see signs of Ich in your tank? You haven't mentioned it, so I'll assume not... Do check out the book I've recommended, along with the link. Also, see here for more useful info.: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/taptrtmnt.htm Thank you. Meridith <Hope I've helped. Please be aware also that the babies are even more sensitive to poor water conditions than the adult platys are. Do invest in a good test kit (liquid kind, the dip-sticks are very inaccurate) and keep ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels at zero. Good luck, Jorie> Newly Acquired Platy 10/4/06 Hey there crew! I just bought a little female platy today, & after about 2 hours I noticed that her right fin is significantly smaller & weaker- <Shades of Nemo!> looking than her left one (like Nemo). She barely ever uses it, & because of this, at first I thought she was missing her fin entirely. It really doesn't seem like the deformity of the fin is an injury--it just looks as if it naturally grew that way. <Does happen> I was just wondering if using Melafix would help that fin grow at all, <Mmmm, doubtful> or if there is anything I should do about the fin. OR, should I just exchange that poor little platy for 1 that is a bit stronger? (I have 2 significantly larger platies, a female & a male.) Please advise. Thanks a lot! --Jess T <Mmm, up to you... Likely other than the one "gimpy" fin, this present platy is fine. Bob Fenner> Platy troubles 9/25/06 Hi. Some background first, so bear with me- Our first platy died a month ago. Suddenly and without warning. Nothing looked externally wrong with him and our water checked out fine, so we didn't think too much about it. Sometimes fish just die. <Yes... often without apparent cause> That was stupid. So last week we noticed that one of our other platys was acting strange. Sitting listlessly in the corner, breathing hard, pooping white stuff, <Bad signs> but still eating. Other than that he looked fine. And again we checked our water and it was fine. After spending exhausting hours searching the net trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with him, I decided to try to treat him for internal parasites because it was the closest I could find to his symptoms. Put him in a hospital tank and gave him Parasite Clear. Tried to feed him medicated food, but wouldn't touch it. That's when it got ugly. He started to poop out this horrible white poop- for hours! It was awful. Then when he was done, he died. I felt horrible. Now I was worried about the rest of the tank, which was acting and looking just fine. So I took my water and fish to the LFS. My water tested fine as I suspected and they couldn't find any external signs of disease. <Would need microscopic exam... including feces...> So their recommendation was to treat the entire tank with erythromycin, <?! No... what will an antibiotic do?> thinking that it was probably an internal bacterial infection. <Extremely rare...> They swore up and down the meds wouldn't kill my African dwarf frog and snail. So I went home and then I noticed that one of my platys had lost a patch of color on its head. Not fungus, or a growth, or anything like that- the scales were still there, the color was just gone in that one spot. Frustrated I went ahead and used the antibiotic, but my questions are this- 1. Does this seem like a bacterial infection? I couldn't find anything on your website with exact symptoms. <... no> 2. Am I using the right antibiotics? <There isn't any... in this scenario, that are "right"> 3. Am I hurting my frog and snail? <Not helping them... though low toxicity...> I know snails usually can't handle most meds. And will they catch whatever it is, or should I just take them out. <Better to have/house elsewhere for now> 4. My ammonia has spiked dangerously in the last 12hrs of putting in the meds, <... yes... killed off nitrifying bacteria...> is it okay to do a water change? Or will it make the antibiotic less effective. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! <Where to start here? I would have done what you did initially... treated sequentially with an anti-protozoal (Metronidazole/Flagyl), then a vermifuge... likely Praziquantel... Too many "adopted"/imported pathogenic problems nowadays... w/o serious attention paid (by importers, wholesalers AND retailers... let alone end-users... i.e. hobbyists) to quarantine, isolation of new livestock... Too much to re-state here... Please, if you have earnest interest, read starting here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwdis3setsfactors.htm and the linked files above... do this when you have time, can be calm... BobF> Platy and Plant
problems 9/17/06 Hello WetWebMedia crew! <John>
After several months of a well-established tank, I have developed quite
a frustrating and persistent problem. It began with a
stubborn case of fin rot on a guppy that would not
resolve. Consequently I treated with erythromycin for 5 days
and this cleared up the problem with his tail and he is now on the
mend! Nitrites have fallen back to zero from peaking at
about 0.3 ppm and the tank is doing fine in terms of water
quality. Parameters are: Ammonia: 0 ppm Nitrites: 0 ppm
Nitrates: 12 ppm pH: 7.5 Temp: 25C The tank is approximately 24 gallons
and 40 cm deep with 18W fluorescent lighting (single tube) from
Sylvania that claims to have 10,000K spectrum and the company says is
ideal for growing plants. As the medication damaged some of
my plants, I have removed the dying ones and replaced with some new
ones (soaked for 10-15 min.s in potassium permanganate to remove
unwanted visitors) - similar to Amazon swords, but I only have the
Italian name and not the scientific name. <Both likely
Echinodorus species> The problem with the plants is that they are
turning yellow and developing some brown holes on the established
leaves (veins seem green) even after I purchased them a healthy green
colour from the LFS. I have fertilized with solid pellets
and have also used a pellet that encourages rooting. There
is also some liquid fertilizer in the tank that I add approximately
every three weeks as indicated on the product. Still, I am
not sure what would be causing this. <Mmm... could likely be just
the KMnO3 treatment... permanganate is a powerful oxidizer...
dangerous. But could also easily be a bit of "moving shock"
syndrome... All that can be done is be patient at this point> The
second problem is with a female sailfin platy. I noticed her
with some laboured and rapid breathing. She does not swim as
much and seems lethargic. On closer inspection I could see
fine white filaments (diameter is sub-millimetre, very fine) extruding
from her mouth and also extruding from her gills. Looks like
very fine silk thread. Currently I can see about 4 or 5 of
these maybe 3-4 mm long. Could this be gill worms? <Mmm,
not likely, no> I had thought mouth fungus, but it does
not look "cottony". If worms, then I am not sure
where they came from as the plants I added are not from a tank
containing fish and I even did the potassium permanganate soak, so it
seems improbable that this would be the source. There have
been no new additions and it is even possible that I was seeing these
prior to the addition of the plants. Clearly it is a gill
problem, but I cannot seem to identify it. Would this
possibly result from the erythromycin treatment?? <Likely this is
some bit of mucus from the trials of being present in a non-cycled
system... and will clear on its own> I hope you can offer some
advice as I am not sure what is going on with my tank! Best regards.
<Well... better by far never to actually treat (most fish medicines
are generally bio-cidal in action) in ones main/display tank (but do
elsewhere)... And a need to understand that aquatic time-frames are
different (much more delayed) than our terrestrial impressions...
Some/many things "take time"... Best to learn/practice
patience here. Bob Fenner> Platies Dying 9/9/06 Dear WWM Crew, I recently bought two Gold Mickey Mouse Platys, and they were fine for the first 6-7 days, but two days ago one looked as though something had taken a chunk off of its fin. Later that day, the fin looked as though it was being thinned out, and the fish began swimming near the bottom, fin-up, head-down. It also swayed back and forth, and looked as though it was sucking on the rocks at the bottom. The pH and temp. are fine, and we have a 20 gallon tank with 1 Dalmatian molly (the other died), 2 red platys, and 3 black skirts. The other Dalmatian molly had stopped eating and began to take to the "hiding place" we have in our tank. It seemed to dislike the other Dalmatian molly, because it always swam away from it and hid from it. Then it died, but its side was a little bit greenish, and my brother said it could be lung disease. Anyways, now our other Gold Mickey Mouse Platy is acting strangely. Is there anything I can do? Thanks! Sincerely, Platy Problems < Fish don't have lungs so your brother's suggestion can't be the problem. Sounds like an array of bacterial infections. I would do a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean the filter. Treat with Nitrofuranace as per the directions on the package.-Chuck> Fish Can Get TB Too! 8/29/06 Hello, <Hi, Pufferpunk here> I have a big problem. I have a 25 gallon tank and had 9 platies in it originally. about a month ago one of my three males developed this odd disease where his body seemed to be becoming deformed. the base of this tail was widening while his tail fin was becoming smaller, he was becoming very skinny and was swimming on an angle with his head pointed slightly upwards, his body looked different and he seemed to have problems eating. I separated him and 2 days later he died. Yesterday I noticed my other male had the same thing, this morning he died in his hospital tank. A few hours later I noticed my last male with the same thing and a female who started to look similar, I separated them all and when I came home after dinner they were both dead. Now I see another female fish with the same symptoms, they are dropping like flies. I can't find anything online that has to do with this. Please help me, two of the remaining female are pregnant and I don't want them to die! <I'd be very careful with this disease! It sounds like Mycobacterium marinum (fish TB). See: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/sp/feature/index.php ~PP> Platy with clamped fins 8/22/06 Hi, <Hello> I have been doing lots of reading the past few days since I have developed some problems in my tank. I recently had a Mickey mouse platy and a dwarf blue Gourami die and I have another Mickey mouse platy that is showing signs of illness (or something I can't identify). Both platies have been hovering in the corner of the tank for a while with their fins clamped. The platy that recently died got really emaciated in his belly even though he was eating. After about a week and a half he died. He didn't have any other signs on him to help me know what was wrong (no ulcers, mucous, funny looking scales etc.) The Gourami had a hole in his tail fin and had slowed down his movement as well. After a few weeks, he died too. My other platy hovers in the corner of the tank with clamped fins but eats well and also doesn't have any ulcers or other (external) signs of disease. We have well water and it is VERY alkaline-it reads 300ppm on the test and our water is also very soft (25ppm). (We don't have a softener it is just naturally that way.) The ph is always the darkest pink on the litmus test strip reading 8.4. Nitrates are 20ppm, <I would keep these no higher> Nitrites are 0, ammonia is 0 too. It is the Eclipse 12 gallon tank and has been running since this past Christmas. We have 4 zebra danios and 1 Oto (which are all healthy) and one more healthy platy in the tank. I have read a lot on your sight about hard water but not much on soft water. Do you think that some of the problem could be from our water being soft? <Yes... some troubles are greatly enhanced with too-soft water> I did notice recently that there are the little white worms around the bottom of the tank. I think it is Planaria which I know won't hurt the fish but it is a sign that something is wrong. After taking a closer look I noticed a lot of "stuff" on the bottom of the substrate that has built up over time. I have been consistent at doing a 30% water change every 1-2 weeks and I do a gravel vacuum every time. <Good> I am thinking that I need to do a gravel vacuum every week now. I have been doing a daily vacuum and water change for the past few days to get all this extra gunk out of the bottom. My substrate is about 2 or 3 inches deep because I have some live plants. Do you think the substrate is too deep and that is why there is so much buildup? <Mmm, no> Could that be part of the problem? <Not likely> One more thing-I realized this week that the water change I did at the beginning of August was a major mess because I had ran out of dechlorinator and had bought some more at the store. I realized last week that I actually didn't buy dechlorinator but some kind of water clear stuff. So I did a 30% water change with no dechlorinator. It is amazing that the fish survived-and not only that but I had a lot of brown algae on our rock and had soaked it in a bleach solution to clear it up. I guess that could be part of the problem too? <Yes... a contributing influence> I am still learning as I go and have been doing tons of reading. I did recently add some aquarium salt to help with all the water changes and hopefully to ward off any more illness that is lurking around. Any advice would be great. I want our fish to be healthy and feel like a dork for not catching some of this sooner. Thanks-Amelia <Mmm... I encourage you to look into a reverse osmosis water filter... for your potable (drinking and cooking) uses as well as to blend in with your well water for aquarium use. A simple addition of "Baking Soda" (Sodium Bicarbonate), about a teaspoon per five gallons, mixed in with new water while you're doing water changes... will safely raise your water hardness here. Bob Fenner> Dying Platy/Disease? 8/1/06 Hello, <Hi there> I have a 55 gallon tank which has been set up for the past 3 months. Currently I have 3 swordfish (1 male, 2 female) , 2 platys (both female), 2 guppies (1 male, 1 female), 3 zebra danios, 3 Corys, 3 Otos, 5 black phantom tetras and 5 Glowlight tetras. I recently purchased three guppies, which I should have put into quarantine (I should have just held off getting them), but that tank was fully of baby platys. One of the guppies became sick within 48 hours of being introduced and I euthanized her. I couldn't find any obvious problems like fungus etc, she just had clamped fins and was sitting on the bottom on her side. <... Perhaps Columnaris... and your system already infected with the new fish addition> Well recently, a male platy who I just euthanized became sick. His mouth was hanging open all the time, and I noticed he didn't really seem able to eat, and slowly he seemed to get sicker, finally his rear fin split and so I put him down as well. I am worried about the rest of my fish, who seem fine currently. I do about 10% water changes twice a week. My levels are pH 7.6, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate < 20ppm. What would you recommend? <Less than 10 ppm nitrate..., possibly investigating Columnaris, Neomycin Sulfate...> I have not added any salt as I have a lot of plants, but of course I would take them out and add salt if that will help the fish. Thanks for your help. Dan <Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwfshparasites.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Platies not doing as well as usual...
new system/hobbyist syndrome 7/28/06 Hi -
Thanks for reading this - I need your help as I'm not sure
what's going on. 25 gallon tank set up for 1 1/2 weeks. <...
cycled?> Fish added six days ago. Temp 82 Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0 Nitrates 5 ppm pH 7.5 We bought 6 platies (3 red wag, 3 blue
spotted). One died two days after coming home. The rest of
the platies are usually very curious and very entertaining. They would
swim to wherever you were, follow your finger around the tank glass, if
I put food in the tank they were quick as lightning finding it. We
enjoyed them so much. A couple days ago we found 3 fry, and
I know at least 2 are still alive (not been eaten) as I saw them both
today. There could be more, but with 25 gallons and lots of
java fern, <Ah, good to read that you have live plants here>
they're excellent hiders. All the fish seemed very happy
and healthy until this evening. My husband did a 20% water change as
we've been doing every 3 days to control the ammonia/nitrites.
<Not a good means... this tank, the fishes are suffering for/with
"new tank syndrome"...> After he was done, all 5 fish
stayed near the bottom, breathing extra heavy and frantically waving
their front fins though not moving anywhere. I also noticed
the usually bright blue colour of the blue spotted platies is more of a
dullish gray-green around their head/eyes. If the water
quality is really bad, then wouldn't the babies have already died?
<No, not necessarily. Young are more resistant to some types of
malinfluences than adults> Could this be the sudden (and all 5 at
once?) result of less than optimal tank conditions over the past few
days due to it's newness? <Ah, yes> The tests now look
OK. Or could it be that the gravel vac water change scared
them for some reason? <Perhaps a small factor>
They've seen it before, in fact, once they even went directly under
the water fall 'just to check it out' when we were replacing
the water. I'm sad because our little characters
seem a lot duller than usual. What do you think it is?
<"New water", non-cycled system...> What
can I do? (I added a 1/2 tsp of salt today because I read
that that reduces stress.) Anything else? They
are looking a little more active now but definitely not their usual
selves. Any suggestions? <Look for the product
"Bio-Spira", cut the water changes and feeding way down to
keep ammonia and nitrite under 1.0 ppm... read: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Platy Males and Fry Problems 6/14/06 Hi WWM crew! <Hi Jing - this is Jorie.> I own a 10 gallon freshwater tank equipped with the basics (carbon filter, bubble stone, heater, light). I currently have two male platy, two male white cloud and one female white cloud. There is also a platy fry in the tank. I have checked the water recently and everything was normal (except that the water was very hard). <Parameters are always helpful, for everyone's definition of "normal" varies substantially...> My question is concerning the two male platies. The yellow Mickey-mouse platy often swim aggressively against a side of the tank. He has been doing that for some time now and I don't know why. He doesn't look ill, but this behavior is certainly erratic. <Do you mean attacking his own reflection, or scraping himself against the side of the tank? The former would likely just be a showing of aggression, and nothing to worry about, while the latter would likely indicate something wrong with the fish. Make sure there aren't any visible parasites or any white spots (i.e., Ich) on the fish, or any other visible signs of injuries to the side, and do double check your water parameters...scratching can be the sign of environmental problems.> My other platy, a half-orange half-red, is showing some dorsal fin damage. At first I suspected that it might be bacterial fin rot, but the fin was clear and the base of the fin was not red. His fin has been looking a bit ragged for more than a month now, and it doesn't seem to be getting worse. I am really puzzled at this - can it be physical damage?. <It absolutely could be physical damage - I, too keep livebearers and I cannot believe how much aggression some show towards others. Have you noticed the Mickey-mouse (or anyone else for that matter) attacking the red-orange platy? Is there adequate cover (e.g., decorations, plants, etc.) for the fish to hide in, if necessary? To prevent secondary infection, you may want to isolate the affected fish and consider treating it with Melafix - not necessary, but it aids in fin regeneration and the prevention of secondary infection. Also, be sure to keep up with water changes, as this fish is even more susceptible to secondary infection with its injuries.> The platy fry right now measures a bit over 1/2 inch. The other platys are a bit over 1.25 inch. Is it safe to let the fry swim with the adults? It still looks pretty small. <I have never witnessed any of my adult livebearers attempting to eat their own young, although some people claim it does happen. I've never had a problem allowing both molly and platy fry to swim free with adults of both species - but I won't say that it is entirely unheard of for an adult of either species to attempt to eat its own young. In my own experience, however, it hasn't happened.> My last problem is that previously my Mickey has been bullying my Orange-Red for quite a while now. <Well I think we've just solved the above fin-damage issue...you may want to try re-arranging the tank decor, as this will allow each fish to re-establish its own territory. If the bullying continues, though, you might ultimately have to separate the two.> However, just yesterday, I saw the Orange-Red retaliating. Now my Mickey chases the Orange-Red some of the time, and the opposite happens sometime, too. It's like they are having a masculinity contest, with their fins fully extended and all (plus, there are no female platies). I cannot find any explanation of why this happens; is it normal? <As mentioned above, I see all sorts of aggression between livebearers...in fact, my own tank at times has housed some pretty amazing molly-on-molly action! It usually isn't a problem, but if there's evidence of physical damage, well, that's obviously not good. Perhaps the introduction of the little guy will change things up a bit, and the aggression can be more evenly spread among more fish, thus causing less problems to any one isolated individual.> Thanks, Jing <Hope I've helped - I've given you a couple of thoughts, and my suggestion would be to not try them all at once, so that you can see exactly what works and what doesn't. By all means, however, if you see that one fish is becoming badly torn up from fighting, etc., you should remove it immediately. In the absence of this, I think you should be able to solve, or at least minimize the problem, but it's likely that you'll always see some aggression between the fish you have...that's normal. Good luck, Jorie> Sick Platy - 06/07/2006 Hi, <Good evening.> I've had a high-fin blue platy for around 9 months now. She is in a tank with a smaller yellow platy and around 15 fry who are getting big enough to go to the pet store. <Neat!> It is a 10-gal tank. About two or three of the fry are the size you would see for sale in a pet store. I think overcrowding is becoming an issue with the fry maturing. <Err, yeah, at that size I'd say so.> Recently, the blue platy has been lethargic and seems to not want to eat flake food (sucks it in and spits it out). She was eating some dried brine shrimp, but now will not. Just tonight, she passed some strange orange transparent feces. it looked a bit like a transparent sack of orange goo. <This may just be the brine shrimp passing, but I suspect more. Urgently test your water quality - ammonia and nitrite should be ZERO, nitrate less than 20ppm. If these are not so, do water changes right away to fix them.> She also has 5-6 spots on her tail fin only, and they seem to be getting fuzzy. These spots showed up a few weeks ago when the behavior started, and I thought it might be a fungus; I used Fungus Clear tablets and the spots went away (at least I couldn't see them anymore)....but they have returned. <Possibly a fungal infection, maybe bacterial.... I would remove this fish to a separate, dedicated quarantine tank for treatment and treat with Kanamycin or Nitrofurazone.> I can't find any mention of the strange orange feces on the net, any thoughts? <I suspect that this was just the passing of the brine shrimp coupled with the fact that the fish is ill. I would definitely quarantine the fish at the least, and consider treating as above.> Thanks, -Brian <Glad to be of service. Wishing you well, -Sabrina> Mickey mouse platy with a swollen belly 5/26/06 Hello! Thanks for the great information in your archives. I looked around, but didn't find the answer to my question. I have a 5 gallon eclipse tank with bio-wheel filter (came in the box), a submersible heater, and an air stone. The tank has a few live plants. (Anubias, wisteria and one I can't remember the name of). I have had the tank set up for almost a month with just a healthy male Betta in it. For the Betta I had added 1/4 tsp of salt per gallon. <Mmm, I'd limit this a bit more here... like by half> I recently purchased 3 Mickey mouse platys for the tank, and moved the Betta smaller tank. One of the new platys, (who I think is female) is bigger than the other 2 and had a very swollen belly when I bought her. I will admit that I didn't do a great deal of research before buying them, as I am new to the fish keeping hobby. She doesn't have a black spot, so I don't think that she is pregnant. Today her belly looks smaller, she is active and seems to try to gobble all the food before the others have a chance. The thing is, she is always pooing. There is almost always a black string of poo coming out of her, it drops off and starts again in less than three minutes. Is this normal? <Possibly... depending on the type, amount, frequency of food/feeding...> I haven't noticed the other 2 doing that, but then again they don't eat as much as she does. Otherwise she seems fine. I read the information on cycling, and didn't realize that it took a month or more to occur. The people at PetSmart said that it would be fine in a couple of weeks when I started out. I check the water every other day, and the nitrate level was high but balance out last week. I have been doing about 30% water change twice a week, and wanting to change to perhaps once a week. Would this hurt them? <Nope... should help> Also, I am wondering if the small amount of salt I put in with the Betta initially would harm them? <This amount should be okay as well... I suspect your tank is really just "settling in"... takes a few months to really become established. Take care on the amount of food you offer and you should be fine here. Bob Fenner> Thank you so much, Melissa Choking
Platy? 5/23/06 I have a Dwarf Sunset Platy who appears
to be choking on a piece of mashed green pea that I just fed her. Is it
possible for them to choke, and how can I help her out?? Thanks so
much! :) -Getting All Choked Up <Really best to "wait and
see"... most likely can/will dislodge on its own... more likely to
damage the fish trying to net, fix this. Bob Fenner> Sick Platy - 05/17/2006 Hello There. I have a question that I hope you can help me with. I have a 12 gallon freshwater tank that I've had about 8 months that has: 4 platys, 3 Dalmatian mollies, 2 Cory cats and 9 Dalmatian molly fry. I'm getting ready to move they fry to a 5 gallon tank I just purchased.) My problem is with one of my platys. She is sick...the scales around her bottom fin are sticking out. Her poop has been kind of thick and pink lately. Looks weird, like an intestine sticking out or something (not that I know what a fish intestine looks like). I'm worried about her, but also the other fish in the tank. Last night, I tested the water for the first time ever (sorry, just found this site yesterday) , and everything looked good except two things: Nitrate was very red (couldn't tell exactly what it matched on the card, but was 40-80) so I did a partial water change. The PH was 7.8. So I just went over to the tank to retest the Nitrate level...and I found out that one of my Dalmatian mollies (that just had the fry 2 days ago looks terrible!) She is not really moving, kind of stuck near the filter tube. Oh no! What is happening? <Likely just this poor water quality. When you do a water change, you need to be sure that thee temperature and pH of the new water is the same as the water in the tank, and be certain to use a chlorine/chloramine neutralizer.> So my Nitrate level still looks like 40 or 80 today. Should I do another/bigger water change? <Yes. This alone may be the problem. Try to get your nitrate below 20ppm; preferably lower if possible. Also be sure that ammonia and nitrite are ZERO; anything above zero for either of these should be considered toxic.> My poor fish - the fish store is closed and I'm not sure what to do! Please help if possible. Thank you very much, -Anne <Have patience, and get some water changed. Once the water quality is improved, hopefully the fish will improve in health. Wishing you and your pets well, -Sabrina> |
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