Has My Platy Got Swimbladder?

[pugwash666]

I got up this morning and noticed one of my platys was sort of lying sideways,breathing heavily on the bottom of the tank.All the other fish are swimming about all active and lively.The poorly fish?it has never been the most lively of fish,and has always stayed apart from the other fish,a loner,if you like.

But when you tap on the glass,when he is on the bottome of the tank all inert,he seems to come to life and start swimming about again for about 10 mins or so,but goes back to the bottom again,i thought he was dead when i first found him.Is it poorly,dying or what,i really hope none of the above.Also he does seem to be the runt of the fish,the others are growing and thriving,but he always seems to be the last to get any food and has not grown much,Any advice please.

 

[chefrossco]

hay pugwash, it doesnt sound like swimbladder problems, as this usually affects the way the fish swimms- kinda upsidedown!

it just sounds like you have a lazy fish, ive got one in my tank - she is completely fine but she just sits at the bottom of the tank for some of the day ,

however if he is not feeding well they try separating him from the other tank mates and try to get him to feed up. he could be the runt. has he lost any weight??

 

[helterskelter]

Souds like a gill infection this would explain beint lethargic and laying around.

Melifix or protozin would be the best course of action.

 

[pippoodle]

a fish sitting on the bottom is one thing but a fish lying on the bottom of the tank is a bad sign
as helter says it could be a gill infection
If you have bad water though it can be a sign of poisoning as the fish finds it hard to get rid of the toxins (ammonia , nitrite)

so some questions

what are your water stats , ammonia , nitrite etc?
how many fish are in your tank and the size of your tank anf how long has it been running?
what sort of tank maintenance do you do , gravel vacs water changes etc ?
how old is the fish?
when did you add your last fish

thanks Sarah x

 

[pugwash666]

Sorry for not replying sooner,i work nights.

Cannot post a pic,as camera battery flat.But i have 3 platys in a 23 litre/5 gallon tank.Heater temp is 26c.
Feed once a day.
Finished cycling the new tank about 3 weeks ago.All readings then were 0 and ph 7.6,and all readings since.
Todays readings are...

nitrite 0.25
nitrate 0-5
ammonia 0
ph 7.6

I change about 30-40% of the water every week,last Thursday being the last.

The nitrite has only gone up the last 2-3 days uptil then 0.

Oh,by the way,do not know if doing the right thing,but i have isolated him in a homemade isolater(container) in the tank.
He seems to swim a bit wonky,then he goes back to the bottom of the floor,sort of leaning on his side.But when you approach the tank he gets up and starts swimming.
Got back from work this morning and still swimming about,in between,lying on the bottom of the container.By the way the fish as far as i know is 2 years old+,if that makes any difference.

 

[pippoodle]

Sorry for not replying sooner,i work nights.

Cannot post a pic,as camera battery flat.But i have 3 platys in a 23 litre/5 gallon tank.Heater temp is 26c.
Feed once a day.
Finished cycling the new tank about 3 weeks ago.All readings then were 0 and ph 7.6,and all readings since.
Todays readings are...

nitrite 0.25
nitrate 0-5
ammonia 0
ph 7.6

I change about 30-40% of the water every week,last Thursday being the last.

The nitrite has only gone up the last 2-3 days uptil then 0.

Oh,by the way,do not know if doing the right thing,but i have isolated him in a homemade isolater(container) in the tank.
He seems to swim a bit wonky,then he goes back to the bottom of the floor,sort of leaning on his side.But when you approach the tank he gets up and starts swimming.
Got back from work this morning and still swimming about,in between,lying on the bottom of the container.By the way the fish as far as i know is 2 years old+,if that makes any difference.

you should do another water change just do 20% to get rid of the nitrite and test the water again 24 hours later
being 2+ years old he could just be reaching the end of his life unfortunately
you should try him with the some cooked pea just in case he is a bit constipated and i would also get the Melifix or protozin (just in case it is gill infection) remember to remove any carbon or zeoilite from your filters before treating the tank

If he is no better in a week or so I would release him back into the tank and as long as he feeds and you are happy with him swimming like this then let him live out his days in your tank if not you will have to euthenise him

cheers Sarah

 

[pugwash666]

Bought some swimbladder meds(interpet) Thursday.Did a 50% water change and all readings were 0,ph 7.6.All readings were still the same yesterday.Put the required dose of meds in Thursday(took carbon out).Repeated the meds again Sunday morning.The fish seemed to be a bit better,swimming about a bit more,in between lying sideways,thought he was recovering.
But when i got back from work this morning,he was lying on his side and not really swimming about anymore again.Could he have some other ailment,i do not want to lose him if i can help him.

 

[twilight_angel]

I got up this morning and noticed one of my platys was sort of lying sideways,breathing heavily on the bottom of the tank.All the other fish are swimming about all active and lively.The poorly fish?it has never been the most lively of fish,and has always stayed apart from the other fish,a loner,if you like.

But when you tap on the glass,when he is on the bottome of the tank all inert,he seems to come to life and start swimming about again for about 10 mins or so,but goes back to the bottom again,i thought he was dead when i first found him.Is it poorly,dying or what,i really hope none of the above.Also he does seem to be the runt of the fish,the others are growing and thriving,but he always seems to be the last to get any food and has not grown much,Any advice please.

excuse me...

what is swimbladder...