Normal Platy behaviour?? (Shaking)

[kev_kb]

Hi all,

I added 2 platies to my 13 gallon community a couple of days ago. Theres plenty of room for them with lots of plants and water tests fine, Ammonia & Nitrite both 0ppm.

When I first added them they seemed very shy and hid away in the plants straight away, so I left them with the light off for a while. Later I put the light back on and them seemed a little better, they would swim out into the open then dive back into the plants. I figured they were just getting used to their new tank, but I've never had any other fish do it to this extent.

2 days later they are still basically the same, they spend a little more time out in the open, but not much. Also I've noticed that they sometimes shake a fair bit. They are stationary, but they shake their bodies like they are swimming against a really strong current. Its not the current though as I've seemed them sat beside each other with one shaking and the other not.

Today I was watching the tank and one launched itself into a plant really quickly, like it was throwing itself against the plant. Then straight after it came out into the open and launched itself into a piece of of bogwood, surely this can't be normal?

I've never kept Platies before so not sure how they behave, but I guess this isn't normal. I have Mollies in another tank and they are the exact opposite as far as the shyness goes.

Anyone any idea whats wrong with them?

 

[Def]

No, that's very not normal. Sick platys usually either hang diagonally at the surface or on the very bottom with their fins clamped. Move the sick one to a quarantine tank and add some stresszyme, keep the lights off and cover the front of the tank - sick platys get stressed if they get disturbed (people walking by in front quickly etc).

 

[yhbae]

Today I was watching the tank and one launched itself into a plant really quickly, like it was throwing itself against the plant. Then straight after it came out into the open and launched itself into a piece of of bogwood, surely this can't be normal?

It sounds like you are describing "flashing". Fishes do this if their skins irritate. This could be because of the presence of ammonia or nitrite or even worse, signs of ich or other disease...

I see fishes do this ocasionally and randomly which is ok but if your fishes do this all the time, you should look into your water parameters and also signs of any disease (starting with ich)

 

[kev_kb]

Thanks for the comments guys. I don't have another tank to put them in but today I've started treating the tank with Myxazin which my FLS suggested which handles bacterial infections if there are any. They are still flashing a little, but they seem a little better as they are coming out into the open more than before. Fingers crossed they will be ok.

 

[Def]

If they're only flashing, thats a lot better news than shaking. Good luck.

 

[kev_kb]

It's been almost 24 hours since the first dose of meds and they seem better, they are not shaking as much and I haven't seen a flash today, they seem a lot more like 'normal' fish. Just out of interest why is shaking worse than flashing?