Please Help

[keeleyb]

Hi, I have a small 38lt tank with 3 adult platys and 5 youngsters (3 months) which we have had since january.
All have been fine until today when we noticed that one of the female adults sitting on the floor of the tank. Occasionally she swims to the surface only to then sink back down. She is not showing any signs of pregnancy. She has good colour and does not appear to be suffering from any skin conditions. I change 25% of the tank every week and add API stress zyme and coat. I have added nothing new and all the others seem fine. I am watching her now and she keeps trying to get to the surface and it looks a real struggle for her, she sinks quickly and then sits completely still on the floor of the tank.

Any advice would be greatfully recieved

thanks
keeleyb

 

[WILDER]

Water stats would be good in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph.
Swim bladder feed her some shelled peas.
What do you normally feed the fish.

http/www.fishtanksandponds.info/care-mai...swimbladder.htm

 

[MHunt]

First question, do you know your water stats? Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate pH etc?

Is she eating well? Sitting heavy on the bottom of the tank could be a sign of indigestion. Try feeding some peas which can help their digestive systems. Take a couple of frozen peas, defrost them in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Take the shells off, then squish the inner bits into the water. See if this helps.

 

[keeleyb]

First question, do you know your water stats? Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate pH etc?

Is she eating well? Sitting heavy on the bottom of the tank could be a sign of indigestion. Try feeding some peas which can help their digestive systems. Take a couple of frozen peas, defrost them in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Take the shells off, then squish the inner bits into the water. See if this helps.

Unfortunately I have just used the last of my test strips at the weekend when I did the most recent water change. All were within normal limits. I usually feed aquarium flaked food and occassionaly red mosquito lavae. after reading the link attached to the first reply I have isolated her in my breeding net so that she can reach the surface with less effort and I have mushed up some shelled peas. I am waiting for hubby to come home so I can go to the LFS to get test strips, is there anything else I can buy to help and will they all get it or is it an individual problem?
Is this my fault for not varying the diet? I have put some courgette in the tank before but the water went all cloudy so I took it out. The other fish are going mad for the peas!
many thanks for any advice

regards
keeleyb

 

[MHunt]

Some greens are good for most fish, particularly livebearers in my experience. A recent article i read on molly's actually mentioned their diet in the wild is mainly greens, algae plants etc, with meaty foods as a supplement. Peas are great as they are easy to prepare and don't foul the tank too much.

 

[WILDER]

Good luck.

 

[keeleyb]

Good luck.

sadly she has died. I thought that I was doing so well. When we first got the fish, back in january, the woman in the LFS told us that we should expect to loose fish because of new tank syndrome, but I kind of got the feeling that these platys are pretty hardy fish as they not only all survived but had fry within 10 days and all 5 of those have made it. Obviously I understand that fish do die, but I need to know if this condition is likely to spread, should I treat them with any medication or is a good diet the most important thing along with maintaining good water quality?
I have noticed a very dark green algae growing on some of the plastic plants and today 3 of the fish have dark green poo! All seem fine though, this wouldnt cause it would it?
Any advice gratefully recieved, as always.

Kind regards
keeleyb

 

[Whyteknight]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

If you havent already bought test stips i recomend you don't! I have killed off all of my fish believing the results of a 5 in 1 tetra test strip. i now have the liquid tests and they are so much better, i did a test of the water in my tank that i have foolishly killed the bacteria off in using tap water. acording to the test tstip my tank was still perfect water conditions. with my liquid test kit it shows that my NO2 levels which my strip said were zero are actualy 0.6 which is a really bad level!

 

[MHunt]

Good luck.

sadly she has died. I thought that I was doing so well. When we first got the fish, back in january, the woman in the LFS told us that we should expect to loose fish because of new tank syndrome, but I kind of got the feeling that these platys are pretty hardy fish as they not only all survived but had fry within 10 days and all 5 of those have made it. Obviously I understand that fish do die, but I need to know if this condition is likely to spread, should I treat them with any medication or is a good diet the most important thing along with maintaining good water quality?
I have noticed a very dark green algae growing on some of the plastic plants and today 3 of the fish have dark green poo! All seem fine though, this wouldnt cause it would it?
Any advice gratefully recieved, as always.

Kind regards
keeleyb

Sorry she didn't make it.

Sometimes fish just die for reasons we can't explain, i know i've had a few. Just keep an eye on the other fish, particularly if any become detached from the group or hide somewhere constantly, behind or under the filter etc.

Platy's will eat algae from around the tank, so their dark green poo is just the dark green algae coming out the other end.

In terms of testing, i have test strips that i use most of the time for general health checks. I do however have a tablet test kit that you mix in test tubes for more accurate testing if i think there's a problem, ie many deaths or poorly fish.

I'll be honest i've had platy's in my community tank but have never been that successful with them, none of them ever really flourished, and they died relatively quickly. For the fish to breed (they probably were pregnant when you bought them) you must have provided conditions that are favourable. Just keep up with the water changes, gravel vac every so often, feed well with a variety of foods and you should do well.

 

[WILDER]

R.I.P.

 

[Christine1014]

If you havent already bought test stips i recomend you don't! I have killed off all of my fish believing the results of a 5 in 1 tetra test strip. i now have the liquid tests and they are so much better

Great advice! I recommend the API Master Test Kit. It tests PH, Nitrate, Nitrite and Ammonia. It's a little more expensive than the strips but vastly more accurate.

Also -- in your initial post, you mentioned changing the water and adding stress coat... you're adding tap water conditioner that takes out the chlorine/chloramine, too, aren't you? (just double checking; better safe than sorry!).