Ill Platy, Advise Asap Please!

[Nyx]

Hi there,

I have a 60L tank with 6 platys and a shrimp.

I have just found one of my platys floating nose down. This morning she was "resting" in the plants.

I do a 10% weekly water changed, i use stress coat and plant min.

I have removed her from the tank and popped in a bit of melafix as i have no idea what to do.

These fish mean so much to me, please help me

Water results as follows

Ammo - 0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 10
PH 7.5

 

[Athena]

Bit difficult to say without seeing the fish but does it look like it might be swimbladder disorder? Is the fish able to swim at all? Feed? Or is it just spiralling downwards and unable to reach food at the top?

If it's swimbladder, it depends how far advanced it is - but some people use aquarium salt which sometimes helps the fish regain balance - or others recommend a little bit of crushed pea (if the fish can still eat).

Sometimes this is caused by sudden changes in tank temp due to water changes of very cold water being added. Stress can cause it and also dietary problems (like constipation) can cause it, too (hence the crushed pea method).

Can you have another look and let us know if there is anything else you notice about the fish (any bloating, bulging, or concave stomach etc)

Regards - Athena

 

[Nyx]

Bit difficult to say without seeing the fish but does it look like it might be swimbladder disorder? Is the fish able to swim at all? Feed? Or is it just spiralling downwards and unable to reach food at the top?

If it's swimbladder, it depends how far advanced it is - but some people use aquarium salt which sometimes helps the fish regain balance - or others recommend a little bit of crushed pea (if the fish can still eat).

Sometimes this is caused by sudden changes in tank temp due to water changes of very cold water being added. Stress can cause it and also dietary problems (like constipation) can cause it, too (hence the crushed pea method).

Can you have another look and let us know if there is anything else you notice about the fish (any bloating, bulging, or concave stomach etc)

Regards - Athena

Hiya

Thanks for the reply.

She isnt even trying to swim, she was fine yesterday, she ate as normal.

No signs of anything, looks totally normal apart from the being at the bottom, just looks as if her nose is to heavy for her body ( only was i can describe it )

I have nipped her up to our fish vet who seems to think it is an internal issue and says there is nothing he can do, its just a waiting game to see if she picks up or dies.

He said i can try a swim bladder treatment but he is 99.9% sure it wont help in anyway.

I do feed peas and veg regualy to avoid constipation.

I have put her in a floating trap so the other fish dont bother her and turned off the light.

Anything else i can do?

I`ll try and get a pic up

 

[Nyx]

Here is a pic.

http/i71.photobucket.com/albums/i129/Derbychick/Takuma.jpg

 

[omega59]

maybe dropsy too.

 

[Nyx]

She has very little gill movement now. poor baby

 

[Athena]

OMG poor thing - she's kind of on her back, nose down.

If the vet doesn't think any swimbladder treatment will help then I don't know what else to suggest really. I suppose if it were me I would just go ahead and try everything (do you have any aquatic salt?) - chances of survival are probably slim but if you don't try you will probably always be wondering "what if..."

Hopefully you might get some suggestions from others on here who recognise the exact symptoms before it's too late to do anything for her.

Poor lil fishie...

Athena

 

[Nyx]

I have popped in melafix, fish tonic, pretty much anything i have really as its not like i can make her any worse.

I dont hold out much hope but just wanted to try everything i could for her rather than just let her die

 

[guppy fan]

I'm sorry about your fish . Btw just a reminder, if you have any carbon or anything in your filter it will remove the meds, so your might want to take it out.

 

[Nyx]

didnt have carbon in but thanks for the reminder.

Poor litle Takuma died last night

 

[Athena]

Aww, so sorry to hear it

After talking to you about your sick fishie yesterday, I got home last night to find my sweet little female German Blue Ram on her deathbed - in fact, very similar situation to your Takuma. She's been a sickly fish from the moment I bought her, though - had a bacterial problem from day 1 that seemed to clear up with Myxazin but she never looked as healthy as the male. Treated her again a few weeks back and thought she was over it but obviously not. And there's only so much of medicating that one can do. I tried one last desperate attempt last night, did a 25% water change and then started meds again - but this morning she isn't looking any better, worse if anything - so if she isn't already dead by the time I get home tonight I will have to put her out of her misery. Rams lose their brilliant colours when they are sick, they go an almost charcoal black colour and even her eyes have gone black. Looks like she's going into complete shut down, with fins clamped tight, just bobbing around the tank with the water flow etc. Poor little thing, eh? It'll be a miracle if she pulls through this time.

The woes of fishkeeping, I'm afraid...

Regards - Athena

 

[Nyx]

They only thing with Takuma is she didnt have to suffer to long.

Sorry to hear your ram isnt so good. Hope she picks up by the time you get back. Fingers crossed for you.

Never thought i`d get so attached to my fish, even had my mum calling to check i was ok as she new i`d be upset.

Gave the tank a good clean out last night just incase, i dont think it was anything catching as all other fish seem fine, but will be keeping a close eye on them over the next week.

I dont know what to do with Takuma, as we rent at the min i was thinking of putting her deep in my yukka plant pot so she can come with us when we move ( some may think its sad but i dont care lol )

But will she wiff a bit???

 

[Athena]

Oh, a fish burial in a plant pot? I don't know, Nyx - not something I've ever done. Would her decaying body affect the plant, though?

When you say you gave the tank a good clean out last night - you didn't scrub out the filter, too, did you? Just hoping you haven't washed away all the good bacteria otherwise you'll have started a mini-cycle in your tank which might result in more sick fish. Usually there's no need to do a complete tank clean out after a fish dies - just a 25 - 50% water change (depending on the illness) and if the fish died of something contagious, like white spot or dropsy or whatever, then you continue with the course of medication to help prevent the other fish from getting sick.

Yeah, it's really upsetting when you lose a fish. I'm like you, I get attached to them all and hate losing any. One time, many years ago, when my 6" goldfish, Jess, died I was so upset I had to take a day off work! Couldn't stop crying! My work colleagues thought I was completely nuts when I told them

Bye for now - Athena

 

[Nyx]

nooo not the filter.

Just the shells and gravel ect.

i know people that have buried them in under rose plants.

My worst one was a few weeks back. I had a 9" comet called jaws. He died at the grand old age of 16

 

[LauraFrog]

Takuma may have gone the same way as Jaws. This often happens with elderly platies, this can be the way they go in the end. Animals are like people and they sort of know when their time has come. I had one fish who was a real fighter, she pulled through four serious health issues and just refused to die until one of the treatments I tried worked. But when she was three years old (which is old for a platy) she just stopped trying. When she got really uncomfortable I let her go.

How long have you had her for? If she was very old this might have been a natural death.