Help :( Platy

[sammy86]

I have two Platys in a 12 Gallon along with a few other fish. all small and all been in there with him since i started the tank in July.

He and his brother are litertly joined at the hip.

I turned the light on (off due to some algae)
and one is at the bottom of the tank - looking pretty sad - it has no visable signs of illness, only that his acting very oddly.
i gently pursuaded him along with a plastic rod i use to 'poke about' and he wasnt scared atall, just ambled out of the way.
also i found him in a gap between the glass and the wood, he was slightly on his side.

at one point he did go up and join his brother at the top, but now hes back down again.
not very interested about moving atall.

usually hes swimming about with his brother and loves to come and see me when i go up to them.
he seems to have lost his bounce

the only changes i have made is i bought a new elite filter
and a rock which i put in today - it was soaked for 3 days and was a proper 'fish' rock bought at petsathome.

is my little lovely going to die?

 

[tlagden]

is my little lovely going to die?

I would only be concerned about the slight tilting you described.

Periods of heightened and low activity are what mine always do - maybe he's just having an off day?!

 

[WILDER]

What do you feed the fish.
Yes seen it all to often with livebearers resting on the bottom not good.
Try some shelled peas.

 

[sammy86]

well he passed away over night

the other fish seem perfectly fine.
i feed them fish flakes. bloodworm pellets and occationally some cucumber or prawn (the platys dont tend to eat the prawn)

the one thing im most worried about is his brother as they were so close - he was with him all night looking over confused at whats wrong.

will he be ok? i was planning to let my fish 'die off' as i want something else, but if hes going to be unhappy hell be rehoused or another friend bought for him.

 

[sussexgirl]

the one thing im most worried about is his brother as they were so close - he was with him all night looking over confused at whats wrong.

will he be ok? i was planning to let my fish 'die off' as i want something else, but if hes going to be unhappy hell be rehoused or another friend bought for him.

I wouldn't worry too much. I've lost a platy which left his very attached mate behind. I'm not an advocate of the 'fish have no feelings' school of thought but at the same time I wouldn't be as concerned with a fish as I would say a dog being left behind. Maybe I'll start off a hot debate here but my advice to you would be to just see how he goes. I'm sure if there are other platys in the tank with him he'll be fine.

 

[Sibelius]

Indeed. I wouldn't worry about your platy losing his buddy. Stress like this only tends to occur when a fish is the only of his species in a tank. With other platys around he won't feel threatened, and will make new friends soon!