Female Platy odd behaviour

[TomF94]

Hey All, we have a female platy in our tank that has started acting odd in the last two days and we're not sure if it could be ill or just be due to pregnancy.

Yesterday we noticed the platy lay on the floor of the tank in various spots moving slowly from spot to spot, I did some googling and apparently this can be behaviour of a female platy looking for a place to give birth. We don't know if she's pregnant I think she may look a little bit larger/rounder but I'm not 100% sure if its not just confirmation bias and we don't really know what to look for anyway.

Today she's lay on her side moving from spot to spot, but when she's swimming she's all over the place, sometimes on her side, sometimes upside down or even facing straight down and drifting to the next spot (as if its a swim bladder issue) before awkwardly lying on the spot for a while.

Edit: Another observation is that body looks constantly slightly horizontally curved

Any insight on this behaviour would be great.

Thanks!

 

[fishyfun&fans]

can you post some photos of the Tank and the Platy in question please?

 

[Colin_T]

test the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.
maybe do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate and see if that helps.

 

[fishyfun&fans]

@emeraldking maybe you could diagnose this?

i know its your area of Expertise

 

[TomF94]

can you post some photos of the Tank and the Platy in question please?

This is the tank

Its right at the back on its side at the moment so I can only get this badly zoomed in one at the moment.

I has the water tested yesterday at the local specialist shop and all levels were good.

 

[fishyfun&fans]

With it being on its side like that i dont think this is a pregnancy thing

more a bloating/swim bladder issue but again im no live-bearer expert

 

[fishyfun&fans]

try fasting the fish for a couple of days it could help-this wont harm the others

also as @Colin_T mentioned do a 75% water change + match the water temp to your tank as close as you can whether by hand or dip thermo(50% over two days if your anxious at a 75% change)

@Colin_T @Bruce Leyland-Jones @Fishmanic @emeraldking @Ch4rlie @WhistlingBadger and some of the other senior Members and staff will be of more use to you

I'm more of a Content poster than a problem solver here lol , generally just put threads up un-fish related for fun and for members to take a break

although an avid aquarist and keeper of fancy Mollies(Live-bearers)

 

[emeraldking]

Honestly, I don't think this platy will recover. Sorry to say. But it's got also nothing to do with pregnancy. Does she also breath heavily?
A water change as Colin has already mentioned won't hurt.

 

[TomF94]

Honestly, I don't think this platy will recover. Sorry to say. But it's got also nothing to do with pregnancy. Does she also breath heavily?
A water change as Colin has already mentioned won't hurt.

I don't have a gauge on what's heavy, but it does look quite fast actually. Would take a video but I don't think the quality will be good enough.

 

[fishyfun&fans]

Honestly, I don't think this platy will recover. Sorry to say. But it's got also nothing to do with pregnancy. Does she also breath heavily?
A water change as Colin has already mentioned won't hurt.

i didn't want to tell the OP about that i couldnt bring myself too but i did think so

im glad you've replied @emeraldking

 

[emeraldking]

I don't have a gauge on what's heavy, but it does look quite fast actually. Would take a video but I don't think the quality will be good enough.

If she's breathing in a fast pace, is a bad sign. I don't know what your parameters are. But it's already been suggested to do a water change.

i didn't want to tell the OP about that i couldnt bring myself too but i did think so

im glad you've replied @emeraldking

Well, it's not the most exciting thing to tell. But sometimes such things shouldn't have a coverage and just be honest. But of course, I'd prefer to say something positive. But this platy is already laying on its side.

 

[TomF94]

Went out for an hour came back and it was dead. All other fish seem fine, parameters are fine but will do a water change in the morning as it wont hurt.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[Colin_T]

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for one week. This will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and reduce the chance of any other fish getting sick. After that go back to once a week water changes.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.