Platy In Disress!

[Vendetta]

Hi all, my little pyscho platy seems to be in distress
His fins are clamped and he seems to be having trouble swimming. When he makes it to the top of the tank he appears to be having trouble breathing, mouth open and really not happy. His male friend seems very concerned about him also. I'v just done a water test and the results are as follows; Ammonia 0, Nitrate 25, Nitrite 0, KH 100 and GH 500
Any ideas please? Everybody else seems fine

 

[Akasha72]

what type of water tester are you using? Strips or a liquid drop test?

I does sound like ammonia poisoning

 

[soybean]

How long has the tank been set up?

 

[Vendetta]

I'm using API strips and the tank has been set up since 26th August

Sorry, the test strips are King British 6 in 1 not API

 

[Akasha72]

Strips are notoriously inacurate. If it were me I'd suspect it's a water issue and be changing a lot of it asap. I'd do 50% minimum but more won't harm so long as it's be dechlorinated.

Did you cycle the filter before adding fish?

 

[soybean]

Ok - but did you actually go through a cycling process? If you don't know what I mean by that, probably not - so please click the link in my sig and have a read. If your tank cycled with fish in it, they may be dying from delayed ammonia poisoning and damage.

Ditch the strips - they're not very accurate. You need a drop test kit which is more likely to show the minute traces of ammonia and nitrite that would indicate a water quality issue.

An API master test kit is an affordable all-rounder.

 

[Vendetta]

Yes I did cycle the tank, for 2wks, and had the water tested at the lfs. Surely if it was ammonia poisoning the rest would be reacting? Nobody else is behaving any differently and all seem perfectly fine, except for a very worried (other) platy.
I will change the strips and get the one you recommend though. Could it be anything else?

I'll do a big water change too

 

[Akasha72]

It would normally take longer than 2 weeks to cycle the filter so it's highly possible that the filter isn't coping with the amount of waste created by your fish ... it can take months to get enough bacteria in the filter spondges to cope with the load.

I speak from experience as I knew nothing a few weeks ago... I had a platy displying the same as you describe and it turned out to be ammonia poisoning. They seem to be very sensitive to ammonia.

The best way is to change a large ammount of water - tonight if you can. Cut down on feeding - or even cut it out for 2-3 days to give the filter a break.

If you follow that your platy may survive.

What other fish do you have? What is the tank size? How did you cycle it?

 

[soybean]

Ok, first off the other platy isn't worried or concerned about the sick one, they don't really work like that!

Ammonia can cause damage you can't see and the problems might not show for some time. Some fish are more sensitive than others so succumb sooner.

Do some big water changes and keep an eye on it but don't be surprised if you lose it. It happens.

 

[Vendetta]

It's a 30litre tank. It was cycled for 2wks because I had added established water (and filter boost) and even though I keep being told that you can put fish straight in if you add established water I didn't feel safe so waited until the water test came back fine, that was the test from the shop, before putting anyone in there.
The tank is overstocked at the moment as I had 6 unexpected guppy babies, all of whom are doing really well. I also have 2 corys, a betta and 2 cherry shrimps.
The babies new tank is still cycling so I can't move them yet. As I said, the other platy is not showing any signs of distress at all, except for being worried about his friend, and neither is anyone else. Is it possible for an ammonia rise to only affect one fish?

Oh ok, he's NOT worried about his friend!

 

[soybean]

Is it possible for ammonia to affect one fish? Yes, someone has to be first.

Even if this isn't a current ammonia spike, what I'm saying is an ammonia spike when you first set the tank up can cause problems that manifest later. The tank wasn't really properly cycled - even if you add established media, you need a source of ammonia for the bacteria ie fishwaste, so by delaying adding fish the bacteria colony may have started to decline.

Edit: reread your post, you added 'established' WATER - this does nothing to cycle a tank, there are next to no bacteria in it. Bacteria live in the filter media. Filteraid does nothing either.

So you didn't cycle and you may be seeing the effects.

Please read the beginners section I link to in my sig, it explains it well and is too much to type.

 

[Akasha72]

Hey, if you feel he's worried about his friend I'm not gonna knock it. Animals are animals and they often surprise us with their behaviour.

All I can tell you is when I was having the ammonia trouble it affected one fish (a female platy) only. The others showed no sign of illness what so ever ... the platy, a guppy and an oto all died last week despite me getting the problem under control.

Have you heard of New Tank Syndrome? From what your saying you did the same as I did. Set the tank up with establish water, gravel etc and thought it would be fine if I put in plenty of stresszyme. It wasn't.

The reason the empty tank came back with a safe reading is because the filter wasn't under the stress it is under now. With the amount of fish you have - all creating ammonia I would suspect your ammonia has spiked. Without a drop test to back that up though it's difficult to say for definate.

I can only suggest what I already have. Fish will survive for a good 3 days without any food at all. If you change a large amount of water today and don't feed them again until the weekend you may see a diffence it the platies behaviour.

Good luck and I hope the platy makes it

 

[Akasha72]

Just to say Vendetta, Soybean taught me a lot in the beginning. She got me cycling my tank and saved my fish (even though the damage was too much and 3 have died at a later date)

Listen to her advice. By the sounds of it your in for a lot of water changes over the next few weeks if you want to save your fish.

All the best

 

[soybean]

Aw, shucks!

Vendetta, your to do list:

Buy a better water test kit. API one on ebay normally around £20, but will last as long as you need it really and is a bit of an essential piece of kit.

Lots of generous water changes, aim for every other day. Water changes are the best medicine for many sick fish.

Feed every other day, lightly.

Make sure the substrate is kept clean.

 

[Vendetta]

Thank you Akasha! Yes I can see many water changes in the future! I will get a drop tester for the ammonia tomorrow, and ammonia to add to the cycling tank so I don't make the same mistakes.
Thanks for the advice

Thank you soybean