She Was Attacked

[princess-lozza]

Heya,
My platy, Betty, was attacked by one of my other fishes and now has a small rip in her tail fin. She went all thin and seems to be struggling to breathe. The evil fish got removed, but do i separate her and treat her, or will it stress her out more? What should i treat her with? Should i use salt? if so how much?
Thanks

 

[Duck and Dive]

Is it red around the nipped area? Are there any withe spots or any unusuall signs apart from the ones you have mentioned?

 

[princess-lozza]

Well, shes black on her tail fin, so i can't see anything. nothing unusual around the tear, just feel a bit sorry for her.

 

[aquanovice]

What other fish do have in the tank maybe there are some semi-aggressive fish in there too!
Have you got a Q tank by any chance?

 

[princess-lozza]

What's a Q tank?
No i took the aggressive fish out. There's only one other with Betty and shes fine, i think they're best friends They grew up together.

 

[Esfa]

Q tank is a quarantine tank.

 

[princess-lozza]

erm.. no i haven't got one. They've gotta be cycled haven't they? I've got an unused tank but it'll need setting up. I was wondering if i should just add salt to the tank with the 2 platys in, it sshouldn't harm the other one. Can u use normal salt??

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

If she was only nipped on the tail then i would advise treating her with melafix (a med good at helping heal physical wounds by helping prevent secondary infections setting into them) . What is the other fish been kept with her and is the tank filtered and heated?

 

[princess-lozza]

The tank is filtered, it's not heated but currently sits at about 23 C

The other fish is another female platy. They've been mates for ages!

 

[lilfishie]

if the platy is the only other fish, maybe its an infection if not the other fish, especially with her going skinny after, could be an internal parasite.
what does it look like when she goes to the toilet?
white, stringy?

 

[princess-lozza]

Erm... part of it is white and stringy but it changes and the most recent part is red and slightly thicker.

I put her in her own little tank and gave her bloodworms. Shes eating, but appears to have a problem getting to the top of the water, so struggles with flakes. I covered the tank so she can't see out and appears to be calmer. I'm just so worried i'm going to loose her.

She's also red underneath her gills and they're flairing a lot -almost as if shes out of breathe. I wish i could get you a decent picture but she's so scared, she keeps hiding.

She doesn't fan her tail fin out either. It's just staying flat.

What chemicals should i add? I haven;t got any so ill have to go and buy them. What do you suggest?

 

[lilfishie]

make anew post in the emergencies section, you'll get more help in there.
white stringy poo i think is something to do with internal parasites.
what is your ammonia reading? red gills can be ammonia burns.