Can You Help Me, I Don't Know What This Is.

[MollyFresh]

Hi, I Have 3 Female red wag platies. That are about an inch long. They suddenly started to bloat up for no reason, I have a tendency to forget to feed them every once in awhile and im bad with water changes too, sorry. They have been alone in the tank until recently, so I don't get why they are big, they can't be pregnant. They don't have protruding scales or anything, Nothing else out of the usual for as much as appearance goes. I just did a HUGE water change and filter cleaning with siphoning. The Anubias are being eaten by them. I can't find anything that has bloating without other symptoms that they don't have. Could it be constipation or something else? They poop and eat a lot and are always scavenging for food, one of the fish recently started chasing the other one around, and i just saw another one swimming up and down the glass. I have an adult male that hasn't been in the tank long enough to cause this. This started before he was there. What could it be?

 

[bristlenoseitplecoman]

It could be because they are eating the other fish which could cause a little indigestion. I have heard that it happened to a guys danio and someone thought it was internal parasites but the first one sounds better. But be cautious and try to read a document on interal parasites for fish and see if he has any of the symptoms. If one explodes and worm things come out then it is parasites but I think the fish are just giving them issues. don't worry they will probably be fine.

 

[Athena]

Hi Mollyfresh

Well, firstly, thanks for being honest and up-front about things.

It can sometimes be hard to tell if platies are pregnant as their gravid spot it not always visible. But as you say the male has not been in there with them long enough for them to be pregnant and if you've had them a long while then it's probably caused by something else.

My thougths were that, given their water conditions may have deteriorated over the recent weeks, and the fact that they would have been exposed to high levels of toxins (ammonia/nitrite) they could be suffering from a bacterial disease. I noticed that one of them seems to have a bit of fin rot too. Sometimes, bacterial disease can cause a bloating of the stomach (without protruding scales), and it can also lead to pop eye disease etc.

It's good you did a large water change as that would be the first thing to do.

I would then begin treatment asap with an anti-bac medicine (Myxazin is a good one if you can get it) and once treatment is complete, try your best to keep up with water changes (even if it is once a fortnight).


Forgetting to feed them once in a while isn't a major problem as it doesn't harm fish to miss a feed or two every week - but when you do feed them make sure you are not overfeeding to compensate for the missed days. If you only have a few platies in the tank with no other fish then you only need the tiniest pinch of food. Remember that the more you feed the more waste will be produced (plus uneaten food will rot) and that pushes up your water stats, especially if you're not able to do regular water changes.

Regards, Athena

 

[hanny93]

It could be because they are eating the other fish which could cause a little indigestion. I have heard that it happened to a guys danio and someone thought it was internal parasites but the first one sounds better. But be cautious and try to read a document on interal parasites for fish and see if he has any of the symptoms. If one explodes and worm things come out then it is parasites but I think the fish are just giving them issues. don't worry they will probably be fine.

Anubias are plants.

Mollyfresh, do as athena has instructed and things should strt to look up But be aware now that you have a male in there, you will inevitably get a LOT of fry!

 

[MollyFresh]

Thank you SO MUCH EVERYBODY <3 Your all so helpful. MUAH