platy losing colour, gills turning silver and transparent

[Seisage]

the box says 1/2 rounded teaspoon for every 1 gallon (4L)

i was using 44% of the recommended dose. was intended to use 1/3 but entered the formula wrongly into my spreadsheet.

salt was taken out like cocoa powder to give 1 rounded teaspoon.

1 rounded teaspoon - 9.218 g
1/2 rounded teaspoon (4L) - 4.609 g
1/2 rounded teaspoon (1L) - 4.609/4 = 1.152 g

44% of recommended dose (1L) - 0.44 * 1.152 = 0.5 g

was using 0.5 g in 1L
is this concentration of aquarium salt agreeable for daily use? when not intended to treat suspected diseases.

I think what Jaylach was saying is that the duration of salt use, not the amount, is the potential issue here. Freshwater fish shouldn't be exposed to salt for much more than ~2 weeks (edit: my bad. closer to 3-4 weeks is the recommended limit), as it can cause kidney damage. They aren't designed for processing salt after all. From what I've heard, livebearers like platys can handle the salt a little better, but it's still not good for them long-term.

I agree with everyone else here. It sounds like you need to troubleshoot the issues with feeding in a way that doesn't involve catching and moving the fish to a separate tank. Stress is the best and easiest way for almost any animal to get sick

 

[Alyssa1535]

one of my platys has a silver patch that has been growing.
the silver patch appears to be loss of colour.
it's not raised and it doesn't look like a cottony growth.
her gills are become transparent and i think i'm seeing is the structure of her gills.

View attachment 332198
8 days ago

View attachment 332182
today

the silver patch was there when i caught it from someone else's pond ; )
she was round and appeared to be pregnant.
she ate all the time.
she was lively with fast movements as though a little aggressive.
she might have been playing. she looked like she was playing with the bubbles from an air curtain jumping back and forth through the curtain.

i thought it was a color pattern before another fish owner told me that's a sign of infection.

2 weeks ago the silver patch grew and the discoloration appeared at the tip of her mouth.
her mate was showing signs of discoloration as well.
so they were taking out into a treatment tank.

these treatments have been used so far

1. API FIN & BODY CURE - completed recommended course of treatment. both platys appeared to be fine during treatment.
2. Seachem MetroPlex - one dose instead of the recommended three doses. to suppress parasites as their immune systems are weakened.
3. Seachem KanaPlex - one dose. picked this by mistake instead of NeoPlex.

these were used at the same time as I don't know what the cause it.

then these were used with overlaps

4. Seachem NeoPlex - one dose. after it was added the male platy looked to be scrambling like he was trying to find a way out of the tank. this female platy showed no change in behaviour.
5 and 6. API MELAFIX and API PIMAFIX - male platy appeared to be scrambling to find a way out for awhile, then calmed down. this female platy appeared to be fine with the added treatment.

one day after using melafix and pimafix, the gills of this platy looked to have gained back some colouration around the edges.
i tried to speed up the healing with this

7. API STRESS COAT - their behaviours showed no increased distress, but a few hours later the loss of colouration appeared to have worsened

a 100% water change was done.

i believe 100% water changes are safe because the parameters of the replacement water should be almost exactly the same as the current one.
the water quality from my local water source is constant.
the products added to their water is measured with a weighing scale or syringe.
the difference is the absence of the medicines in their previous waters.

now the treatment plan is to keep their waters as clean as possible and let their immune systems fight off any infections.
they have a main tank they are in when i'm asleep, and they have a feeding tank with the flakes they are used to.
the parameters of main tank and the feeding tank is the same - dechlorinated tap water (1 drop of seachem prime into 1.5 litres of tap water) and 0.77 grams of API AQUARIUM SALT.

the major treatments for household have been applied, and the silver patch is still growing.

she has darked in colour. she's now darker red. she used to be brighter red.
i didn't see her eat in the past few days. she used to eat all the time.
i don't think she is pregnant anymore and i don't think she was just fat one month ago.
she has been sitting more on the substrates in the corners of her tank, sometimes facing into corners. this was a behaviour another baby platy was showing before it suddenly passed overnight.

her mate became lighter in colour. orange rather than bright red.

has anyone seen this before? what can be done?

thank you everyone who has shared what you know.

this platy is coming part of a plant in the garden along my corridor.

since my last post, the filters and aerator was turned off during feeding time.
the fishes were allowed to eat for an hour or so.
the leftover flakes were sucked out with a syringe before the filter was turned back on.

i didn't see this female platy eat.
in the platy tank, there was red strings of poop, which is how all poop used to be.
there was also transparent strings of poop that was loose like blu tack that got pulled over and over.

i've used all the household treatments i could find so i hoped that her immune system kicks back in.

after a few days, her health appeared to be coming back.
she was moving towards the waterfall from the filter. shows that she got back strength.
she was moving faster like she used to like an angry bird.
this was the day before it passed.

yesterday i was late for meeting up with someone and i didn't feed my fishes before i went out.
before i went out, this platy was swimming along side with her mate.

when i came back, it had been around 20 hours since the fishes were last fed.
the filter was turned off and flakes were added.
she appeared to be skimming along the surface the water surface not eating.

i spent over 1 hour acclimatizing my new kois to their new tank.
when i looked into the platy tank, she was darkened and resting on the substrate.
her mate in the same tank was lively.
the two pearl gouramis in another tank were still alive. the gourami tank is handled in a way similar to the platy tank.

 

[jaylach]

the box says 1/2 rounded teaspoon for every 1 gallon (4L)

i was using 44% of the recommended dose. was intended to use 1/3 but entered the formula wrongly into my spreadsheet.

salt was taken out like cocoa powder to give 1 rounded teaspoon.

1 rounded teaspoon - 9.218 g
1/2 rounded teaspoon (4L) - 4.609 g
1/2 rounded teaspoon (1L) - 4.609/4 = 1.152 g

44% of recommended dose (1L) - 0.44 * 1.152 = 0.5 g

was using 0.5 g in 1L
is this concentration of aquarium salt agreeable for daily use? when not intended to treat suspected diseases.

NO! Fresh water tank means just that, no salt. Constant use of salt is only for a marine tank where you are keeping ocean fish.

Salt DOES have its place in a fresh water tank but only as a medicinal treatment and only for a period of 2-3 weeks. Any use on a constant basis is putting your fish in a different environment than what they would experience in nature. This is never a good thing.

You have to understand that, as fish keepers, we are trying to duplicate nature which we will never totally do but we must try to do our best toward this goal. Adding such things as salt when the beastie, in nature, lives in water with no salt, is doing the opposite by introducing a water condition that the species is not built to deal with.

Like I said before, "kill the salt". Still, don't do it all at once as this would cause even more stress to the fish. I would suggest doing a 25% water change with de-chlorinated water with no salt every 3-4 days for around 2 weeks. This will gradually get rid of the salt without causing undo added stress to the fish due to a sudden change in environment.

Just curious as to this question but where did you get information as to salt being good for fresh water fish? I mean, to me, it seems like an oxymoron ro make a fresh water species live in a salt water environment. Sooner or later you are killing your fish by submitting then to a salt environment.