Is My Female Platty Going To Die?

[BettaBum873]

*i put this in the livebearers' section and i got a few responses but as she got worse and worse noone responded. so i am hoping that someone here can help*

I just noticed that one of my platies has a small orange bump on her tail, it wasn't there a couple of days ago, not sure what it is. Any suggestions??

tank stats:

Ammonia - .2
nitrate - 0
nitrite - 0
ph - 6.7

update: It has gotten larger and more noticable just over night, nothing fluffy, no dots in center but there is a deep orange ring around it.

update: Its getting darker, what would a red ring mean? I'm currently treating my tank with maracyn - two because I had a fish die of septecemia.


update: the maracyn- two treatment (from a septecemia treatment) is over and i don't have money for more meds. i added salt tonic to the water (was told this will help with paracites and bacteria). i leave in 2 days for a 10 day break from school. i can't bring her home and don't have anyway to isolate her. would the salt help her or should i euthenize her?

the bump has gotten bigger but less puffier since i added the salt. also she started forming red dots on her belly and are gettting worse. what can i do?

i also turned the heat up to like 82F (was told this will kill of bacteria and paracites also and make the salt treatment more effective)

 

[tttnjfttt]

This does sound bacterial, especially because of the red ring around it. Most bacterial infections in an aquarium are gram negative, and Maracyn Two treats gram positive. In an ideal situation, i would recomend treating with either Maracyn, Eythromyicin (EM tablets), kanacyn, kanamyicin, or tetracycline.

However, since you are headed out for a break, you need to figure out if any one can take care of your fish. If you can find someone, I would try to treat. Buying meds that aren't the mardel brand will help save some money. (quite a bit of money actually)

Turning the heat up without antibacterial meds in the tank will speed up the bacterial growth and lead to a faster death. Adding salt can help with bacterial infections.

You also need to work on doing some water changes to bring the ammonia in your tank under control. Is this a new tank?

 

[WILDER]

Wounds that are white on the edges and red in the center are most typically Aeromonas. Those that are red on the edges and white in the center are generally Columnaris. Both are gram negative bacteria. The best treatment for this is any sulfa antibiotic with trimetheprim. This can be put in the water and/or mixed with food -- if you can find Romet B use it.

 

[BettaBum873]

there is noone that i can get to take care of her while i am gone. should i isolate her even though it ould mean that she would surely die? i ould only be able to get meds on saturday and i leave on friday so treating her would be impossible. i put salt in the tank because i was told that might help. i am monitoring her and if she gets worse she is being removed.

as for the tank... the tank is over a month old and i got rid of the ammonia in the tank. then i changed over to sand from gravel and under poor advice i changed the filter media and all of the water. well i didn't realize at that time that this is essentially starting the tank over from scratch.

is there no hope for her? i added salt and was told to add salt mixture (since i have cories in there i was told to half the dose to 1 teaspoon/10 gal instead of 1 teaspoon/5 gal - is this the correct amount to put in?) also i was told that hile treating with salt to raise the temp to kill the bacteria quicker. is this right or should i actually lower the temp a little?


update: just looked at her, since the salt treatment she has developed more red marks along her side (little blotches) but as for the tail... the center has completely hollowed out (no bumb) and the edges are now brown.

is there any household items i could use to put in the tank before i leave and will work for the 10 days that i am gone, without me needing to treat it daily?

again i have noone that can do this for me!

 

[tttnjfttt]

If you have absolutely no way of treating her, then I would go aheaad and euthanize her. It is better to euthanize one fish than to have her die in the tank while you are gone and infect everyone else.

 

[BettaBum873]

If you have absolutely no way of treating her, then I would go aheaad and euthanize her. It is better to euthanize one fish than to have her die in the tank while you are gone and infect everyone else.

so the salt won't do anything? i really hate to let her die. until this she was the most hardy fish i had. and when i said the tail bump hollowed out i meant that it was now a hole in her tail.

i am putting her in an empty betta boel over night. hopefully i cn treat her and she will survive while i am gone or bring her with me to treat (that is if the salt is doing nothing)

 

[tttnjfttt]

No. You need an antibiotic to treat this disease. Salt helps slow the growth, however it does not destroy the bacteria, which is what you need.

 

[BettaBum873]

No. You need an antibiotic to treat this disease. Salt helps slow the growth, however it does not destroy the bacteria, which is what you need.

ok i removed her, will my tank be ok? they won't get what she got right? i hope not!

 

[tttnjfttt]

It can be contagious, so watch them closely.