Fish Stable But Not Improving

[DebraAustin]

Hi,

I have a dwarf platy that is ill. She had had a long clear to whitish poo and there was another thread that said it could be bacteria or parasites. I have treated her for that for four or five days now. She seems stable, but is not improving and she doesn't seem able to float anymore. She swims around on the bottom, of the tank, some, but cannot get up without great effort and then she falls right back to the bottom.

So, what am I looking at now? Any suggestions. She does not seem to be in nearly as much distress. Her breathing is more normal and she is just fluttering her fins at the usual speed.

She hasn't eaten in days and I am very afraid she might just die of starvation, too.

One other thing I did not treat the other fish, just her, in a separate bowl. After I had done that for several days someone said I should treat all the fish. If it was parasites should I now treat the tank? Every other fish is looking and acting completely normal and she's been sick since Tues or Wed of this week.

Debra

 

[dawie22]

Looking at my other post in this section (n03 and my results), i have had to treat for pop eye (whish i read is a bacterial infection), although only one fish is affected (my poor molly) i have been stronly advised to treat the while tank and im gessing that the same would probable aply as it appears to be water bound and not fish spasific, if that makes sence, but that would be my gut feeling, im sure some one here would be able to give you a deff Yes or No, tis just my opinion and seems logical,

darv

 

[WILDER]

Can you describe the other poo, if she can't get off the gravel it sounds like swim bladder and she sounds in a bad way she might not make it sorry, as once swim bladder has progressed there no cure.

 

[DebraAustin]

Can you describe the other poo, if she can't get off the gravel it sounds like swim bladder and she sounds in a bad way she might not make it sorry, as once swim bladder has progressed there no cure.

Hi Wilder,

The other poo was a very long string of nearly clear, slightly white poo. She did this twice and then started acting sorta strange. She seems to be doing better today. I have treated her for bacterial and parasite infection and she seemed to get some better, however, now she is stuck on the bottom of the tank.

Could it have been her swim bladder all the time? And if it was her swim bladder is that infectious, because I would need to treat her tank mates? How can I tell? What causes swim bladder disease. If it is bacterial or viral I might just try colloidal silver on her, if she is supposedly a goner anyway. This is all such a mystery to me. Is there a good book with pictures and descriptions so that I can learn more about how to take care of my fish. I've only had the tank up and running for five months, so I'm a real newbie at all this. Pictures on the web are usually out of focus and pixelated, so I have a hard time seeing them well. Also, I would like a reference that I can just go through and match the symptoms, both obvious and not so obvious, rather than having to know what the problem is before I can look it up. This is tremendously frustrating and nobody will tell me of a good book and our LFS are pitiful around here.

People here on the site are very helpful, but can be confusing, too, as they diagnose the same symptoms differently, so then I don't have a clue what I'm looking at.

I really appreciate any help you can give me.

Debra

 

[WILDER]

As long as the fish don't peck on the body of the fish they should be ok, clearly stringy poo did it have beads in it like a necklace as that can mean she aborted her fry, plus also clear poo is a sign of internal parasites.

Bad water quality and diet can cause swim bladder.

http/www.fishtanksandponds.info/care-mai...swimbladder.htm

 

[DebraAustin]

As long as the fish don't peck on the body of the fish they should be ok, clearly stringy poo did it have beads in it like a necklace as that can mean she aborted her fry, plus also clear poo is a sign of internal parasites.

Bad water quality and diet can cause swim bladder.

http/www.fishtanksandponds.info/care-mai...swimbladder.htm

No beads. It was very thin and nearly clear. I don't think anyone has pecked at her. I have been treating for internal parasites. My water quality has been excellent. It was the first thing I checked when she started getting strange. Ammonia 0, Nitritres 0, Nitrates 10 ppm (hope I got those in the right order I sometimes get nitrites and nitrates mixed up, but the tests were right). I feed them flaked food, and dried bloodworms with an occassional pea or two. I think I will continue to treat her for parasites and will use some colloidal silver if it is a swim bladder bacteria or virus I might be able to save her with that. She is still looking much better than two days ago, so I will continue to hope she can recover.

Debra

 

[WILDER]

Ok good luck, but internal parasites are very hard to cure, and can cause bacterial infection on top.

http/www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/nematodes.shtml