Is It A Disease Or Constipation Any Help!

[Loobie]

Hi Guys

Can someone please advise if my fish have a disease.

I took reading yesterday and they were

PH 8.2/8.4
Ammonia 0 (reading taken today)
Nitrite 0 (reading taken today)
Nitrate 10-20

I have two platies in the tank and I thought that she maybe pregnant. When I did a filter change yesterday I noticed a dead baby (aaahhh) lying at the top of the filter, I haven't seen any others though.

Could the dead baby be a reason why my ammonia has been so high in the past??

She has been a little down that past couple of days hiding in the cave then seemed to come out have a good poo and be her perky self again! So what is the problem I hear you ask... Well I've noticed that her poo has gone from a pink colour to a black colour, is this a disease or is she just constipated?? I can't seem to find anything out on the net about poo colouration. My other fish isn't looking too perky either he seems to be have the pinky/stringy poo, lerking at the top of the tank with his fins clamped, again not sure if he's got a disease or something else.

The fish were put in on the 5th July, so just coming upto the 6 weeks.

Would adding salt be any good??

I have had a looked on the forum but there doesn't seem to be anything to help me, hope you can help.


Thanks

 

[LiveLifeGoJump]

Being a newbie myself, I can't offer any advise as such, but it may help if you can post info on stats such as

How high was the ammonia?
How long ago did the level drop to zero?
Was the platty acting that way when ammonia was high or has it just started after level dropped.
Has their diet changed recently?
What do you feed them on.
What other fish are in with them?

Stress (which can be caused be bad stats.) can cause fin clamping.

As for the dead baby, how big was it? Platty fry can hide in the gravel & plants etc. and not be seen until they are 1cm or more long. If it was the plattys first time then it may have only had a few or it could have aborted them if it was being stressed at the time.

I had a platty with fins clamped, tried alsorts but in the end it was no good, I lost her but it tooks a few weeks. Hope you have better luck.

 

[Loobie]

The ammonia has peeked at 8 sometime ago and had come down slowly but I hadn't been able to get rid of the last 0.25 but when I did the filter change 2 days ago the reading have been the best I have ever had, perfect.

The platies seemed to to change around the time of the filter change but I can't really say it was due to that cos they have been up and down, they've been through alot, cycling and all that.

I haven't changed there feeding, every other day with flake food. There isn't any other fish in with them as I don't want to risk it at the mo, not until I know my stats are safe.

I think I can see another dead baby laid on the bottom ontop of the filter it'll be about 0.50cm in length, maybe smaller as I have a Biorb and it magnifys everything!!!!

 

[LiveLifeGoJump]

I haven't had anything to do with BiOrbs but the general concensus on opinion is 'throw them away and get a real tank'. From what I've read it would seem that BiOrb have caused a lot of people a lot of trouble, no doubt others have had no trouble at all with them.

It could be worth while trying them on frozen foods such as bloodworm, brine shrimp etc. as they do like a variety. Blanched cucumber goes down well. Just think how you would feel being feed cornflakes every meal.

I would also suggest feeding them small quantities 2 or 3 times a day, just enough for then to eat in less than 3 mins. If need be hover the bottom to remove food not eaten within a hour or so.

Filter change? As I don't know the BiOrb system I can't advise on it's filter but with many filter systems you don't need to replace the biofilter (just rinse in old tank water buring water change) except when the sponge starts to disintergrate (2 or more yaers), you don't need the carbon (except after treatment to remove traces on meds. etc.) & the floss should be changes as required (rinsing weekly in tank water & change when it appears to clogged up 2-4 weeks). That way you won't lose the biological colony built up in the filter media. Add safe water or cycle (biological aid) and safe guard or tap safe (clorine & chloramines remover) as directed each (weekly?) water change.

It could well be the ammonia that has caused the problem (stress) with the platty, if it is her that had the babies that would also stress her and that may be why she is now showing more signs of being poorly. I think it is more likley that the high ammonia killed the babies rather than the dead babies causing the ammonia.

When stressed they are more prone to other problems such as white spot, fin rot etc. but they can die from stress alone.

PLEASE don't take my word as gospel, I'm just new myself & i'm learning from this forum every day. There are others out there who know far more than me and no doubt will reply to confirm the above (or say it's all rubbish and tell you to ignore it ) and give more/better/correct advice.


PS check out the medical emergency section for more help. Posts involving fish health issues might be better posted there.