Platy Twitching/jerking

[denismen]

My female platy has been reclusive for several days now and has not been eating and is losing weight also.
She is staying beneath wood at bottom of tank and yesterday she swam up and down the glass erratically and scraped along the wood...it was not like scratching for velvet or white spot from what I could see.
She keeps taking spasms jerking/twitching and I dont know what to do about it.
I tested my water yesterday and the nitrates were about 80, ammonia about 0-25, nitrite= 0  and PH about 8.
I changed 1/3 of the water in 100 litre tank and tonight I tested the water again.]
PH=7.8-8, Nitrite = 0, nitrate =40 and ammonia =about 0-25.
I changed about 1/3 water again and can only hope for the best.
All my other 3 guppies and male platy seem fine and have normal appetite and behaviour it seems.
I added Disease Clear to water also.

 

[Gilli]

Sounds like it might be the 'shimmies' caused by your poor water quality. Fish suffering from the shimmies rock from side to side, an action known as shimmying. There are often other odd postural or behavioral traits associated with the shimmies, including clamped fins, head shaking, yawning, and labored or heavy breathing. Some fish may twitch, vibrate, or shake their bodies for short periods.

You need to be doing large water changes daily until your ammonia stats return to 0 .Also cut right back on feeding until this happens.

 

[denismen]

Thanks for replying.
I know I said ammonia was between 0-25 but I based this on the colour chart with the API  test kit. Every time I do a water check, always , the colour for ammonia readings never reaches a true yellow but is more between the yellow which is zero, and the pale greeish colur which is 25 and I always get thius result. Both my tanks give this reading every time but when I bring water to my local fish retailer they tested water several times and said it was zero, meaning safe, but when they showed me the water it was the same colour I always get which is not a true yellow. Do you use these water tests and do you get a true yellow readig from them. Funny you also say shimmies because my male guppy has had shimmies for several weeks now also.

Sounds like it might be the 'shimmies' caused by your poor water quality. Fish suffering from the shimmies rock from side to side, an action known as shimmying. There are often other odd postural or behavioral traits associated with the shimmies, including clamped fins, head shaking, yawning, and labored or heavy breathing. Some fish may twitch, vibrate, or shake their bodies for short periods.

You need to be doing large water changes daily until your ammonia stats return to 0 .Also cut right back on feeding until this happens.

 

[denismen]

OK, so for the past 3 days I have tested and changed my water trying to treat this platy.
I changed 50% water daily and deep cleaned the gravel the first water change.
I also added Disease Clear on the first watewr change and added a tablespoon of aquarium salt at every change.
The fish is still twitching/jerkng every few seconds and is being hassled by the male platy constantly for sex.
She is only female platry as my other one died last week unexpectedly after being pretty reclusive for weeks.
This platy has become reclusive and hides away constantly also but all my other fish are fine except my male guppy who shimmies slightly also.
My water tests last night were:
A = 0 - 0.25, but this is debatable as I always get this reading and think the colour charts on the API test kit are a bit misleading on ammonia readings at low level, so my ammonia may be slightly above zero somewhere?
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 20 - 40
PH = 7.4
 
I added Stress Zyme to water yesterday also and cleaned my internal filter media...the water from that was quite murky and almost black after I cleaned the fine cotton filter media...it was 2 weeks since last clean.
Can someone please adsvise me if I have a diseased/sick fish and how to treat it.

 

[denismen]

I also notice she swims...when she very seldom does, rather erratically and her body is slightly tilted sideways.