'Wasting' platies   4/21/06
Greetings,
I have 5 baby platies in a 15L tank, 2 sunset platies who are 3-4 months, and 3 others who are about 2 months old. Over the last two weeks, the two
sunsets have appeared to lose interest in food (crushed flake, twice daily) and are hanging around the bottom of the tank. They seem to be getting worse
and although try to get to the top for food, they appear to have suddenly developed curved spines.
<... environmental, and/or nutritional...>
The other 3 younger platies are thriving and getting fat. Is there anything I can do about this?
<Need to know much more re your water quality, history of this set-up. For one, I would broaden the diet here... to include some meaty foods, live plant material... Please do read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/platyreprofaq2.htm
and the linked files above... in the hope that something will "pop up" of use here. Bob Fenner>

Former Eisner Fish Question  - 3/1/2006
Hi Bob,
<Lori>
I have an orange fish which I believe is nicknamed the "Mickey Mouse" fish.
<Mmm, likely a platy, moonfish, Poecilia maculata>
I'm obviously new at this and don't know the correct name.  Sorry.  Anyway, I've had this fish for a few months and he's always been a very good eater and active.  He now is spending time hiding and not eating. He appears to have something wrong with his mouth.  It looks like his lower "lip" is jutted out and he's moving his mouth much more than normal. The mouth area seems  whiter than it used to be but it doesn't appear anything has grown on the body or the actual mouth.  Just appears to be wide open where the other fish like him has its mouth closed more. He comes to the food but then doesn't eat it.  It's as if he can't and it spits back out.  Any advice?  Thank you.
<Mmm, yep. Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/platysysfaqs.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Platy Too Shy To Eat   1/13/06
I have a 10g tank with 2 mollies and 2 platys. One platy seems to be too shy to get to the food I drop before one of the mollies.  I know the mollies are aggressive, but my Dalmatian one doesn't chase him or nip, she's just "quick" and hangs out right under my hand for the food. I've been successful a couple of times to get it to him. But if I move to fast or he sees my hand suddenly, he goes to the bottom and doesn't get it. He swims a lot so I think he is fine.??? Any suggestions?
< Get some floating plastic or real plants. When you feed the tank the food will be spread out all over the top and the fish will all have a chance to get some food while feeling comfortable and hanging out in the plants.-Chuck>

Food For Thought (or Platies) - 07/12/2005
Hello Crew,
<Hello, Michelle!  Sabrina with you today....>
I've been feeding my Platys a variety of flake food from Mike Reed and Omega One.  I want them to have a nutritionally complete diet and I have been thinking about some different food ideas, please let me know which would be appropriate, and which are a crazy/bad idea.  Incase it makes a difference, the platys are in a ten gallon planted tank.
Frozen Mysid shrimp -- do I need to make sure to avoid a brand using a saltwater species (or which brands are okay for freshwater fish)?
<I don't think any brands on the market are freshwater species of Mysid shrimp - but no matter, be they of marine or freshwater origin, they would be fine.  Excellent treats, but not the best nutritionally.  Not something to feed as a stand-alone diet.>
Frozen bloodworms -- could these cause illness or disease?
<Good food.  Won't cause illness - don't confuse this with tubificid worms (Tubifex, etc.) which CAN pass parasites on to your fish.  Bloodworms are a larval stage of a midge fly, and are one of my favorites out there.>
Frozen ON Formula One
<Good.>
Frozen ON Formula Two
<Good.>
Frozen ON Prime Reef
<Good.>
Frozen ON Spirulina Formula
<Good.>
Organic Spinach (from the grocery store)
<Good.  Blanch all raw veggies before offering to your fish.  You can freeze after blanching for ease of use.>
Organic Zucchini (from the grocery store)
<Good.  Same as above.>
Nori/dried seaweed
<Good.>
Freeze Dried Krill
<Good.>
Cyclop-eeze
<Good.>
Sweetwater zooplankton
<Good.>
Different manufacturer's flakes added to the Mike Reed/Omega One flake mix (it is crushed up and mixed together) such as Ocean Nutrition Formulas, OSI Spirulina, Two Little Fishies, etc.  Would that be redundant?
<Kinda redundant, yeah - but variety is the spice of life, as it were.>
What would you use for Platys?
<Various high-quality flakes (Omega one and Ocean Nutrition are my favorites) with emphasis on vegetable/Spirulina flakes, frozen vegetable matter (ON Formula Two, for example), and some sort of frozen protein matter (Mysis, bloodworms, etc.) or Spectrum pellets (a very good, high-protein pelletized food).  I would also suggest keeping plants available for nibbling.  Certainly try the other things in your list, and see what goes over well - I'm sort of a fish food junkie, I can't help bug try offering pretty much anything I can find, provided it is of good quality and not in any way harmful to the fish.  For platies, as long as you lean more on vegetable matter (be it flake or frozen), you'll be fine.
Thanks, Michelle
<Any time!  Wishing you and your platies well,  -Sabrina>

Re: Food For Thought (or Platies) - II - 07/12/2005
Hi Sabrina,
Thanks for your reply!  
<You bet.>
I'm rather a fish food junkie myself, I like feeding a variety of foods when I had my reef and would like to do the same for the Platys.  
<Always good.  Keep in mind your live options, too, such as mosquito larvae if you can place a pan of water safely free of chemical interference (pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers....) and collect them.  I tend to do this quite often.  For larger fish, I inadvertently found that a thoroughly soaked sheet placed on the walk to our front door will collect tons of earthworms.  Flies and other bugs tend to come in handy, as well.  Platies and most other "hardy" freshwater fish certainly don't require live foods, for the most part, so this is entirely optional.>
So far the platys have been on flake and pellet food, I've never used any other kinds of food for freshwater (except baby brine shrimp).  Can frozen food be used as a daily food in a freshwater tank?  
<Sure.>
Would that cause problems?  
<Not really, provided you do NOT overfeed, of course.>
Is the gel binder an issue?
<To my knowledge, no.>
Would Frozen Formula Two make a good daily staple?
<Probably.  I would probably alternate this with flake foods, due to the expense of frozen foods, and the sheer fact that I'm lazy.>
Can frozen food be used twice daily (i.e. morning Formula Two, afternoon bloodworms).
<This would probably be okay, but I would not offer bloodworms or other super-high-protein foods more than every other or every third day, unless you have other, more carnivorous fish in the tank.  Also, again, be certain not to overfeed.>
Can Nori/dried seaweed be in a tank for days without causing problems or is it more like hours.
<More like hours.  Overnight (for fish like plecs) tops.  I'm not certain whether or not a platy would eat Nori....  Worth finding out!>
I take it Cyclop-eeze and Sweetwater zooplankton would be more of an occasional treat than part of a daily diet?
<Indeed.>
I'll keep an eye out for Spectrum pellets.  I've been using Hikari Sinking Wafers and Omega One Shrimp Pellets for my Corys (and of course the Platys eat that as well).
<Hikari is an excellent brand.  My panda Corys won't touch the sinking wafers, though.  Picky pandas.>
Can flake food (and the Wafers and Pellets) be stored in the refrigerator or is that too cold for them?
<Oh, you can absolutely store your foods in the fridge - or even the freezer! - to extend the life of the food.  I heartily recommend you do this, if you have the freezer space!>
I love reading over wetwebmedia, thanks for all of your time and help!
<And thank you for your kind words.>
Cheers, Michelle
<Wishing you well,  -Sabrina>