Sick Mickey! Not Eating!

[nikkifro8994]

I have 2 platys and 5 guppies in a tank. They are all boys. One of my platies hasn't eaten in 3 days! He is always hiding in the cave. I saw him swimming around today and he is very skinny. He was freaking out, frantically swimming up and down the side of the tank. His belly curves up instead of down like my other platy. All of the other fish are fine and eating normally. What's going on with him? Why won't he eat?


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[font="Verdana][color="#222222"]He is really skinny[/color][/font]
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[font="Verdana][color="#222222"]Is this why he isn't eating?[/color][/font]
[font="Verdana][color="#222222"]He looks kind of like a bulldog.[/color][/font]

 

[snazy]

Poor fish
I'd say he needs to be treated immediately by I have no idea what he has I guess. With a belly like that it could be internal parasites. Or it has a bacterial infection and the sunken belly is a result of loss of appetite. Whatever it is, it does look like immediate intervention is needed if you want to save the fish.

 

[nikkifro8994]

How do I treat it? I noticed that he had fin rot on his dorsal fin today. I have him medicine for that. I don't have a hospital tank so he is still on with the others. I am going to the store tonight and i well see what they have. Would a 2 or 3 gallon bowl be alright?

 

[snazy]

Would a 2 or 3 gallon bowl be alright?

Size will be, but it still needs to be cycled and get a bit of decoration, heater, pump, etc.. Otherwise your fish may die of something else, like ammonia poisoning istead.

 

[hughessomefish]

That's a shame I have had this happen to me once. It can happen due to factors such as older ageing fish, it could be some internal infection, or even stress. In this case if this were to happen to me again I would put Him down. Fish just don't recover from an injury like this.

Best of luck

 

[nikkifro8994]

*Update*
Mickey is currently in a 1.5 gallon hospital tank. I used part of the sponge from his tank so I didn't have to deal with the mess of a cycle. I also used the water from his tank. He is doing a little better. He is eating more, but still not much. His belly still curves up instead of down. The medicine (melafix) is helping with his fin rot. But his mickey spot is starting to fade and his red is a little dull. Should I be worried about this?

 

[snazy]

It's great that he is eating at least.
He may as well have internal parasites, so watch that his belly starts recovering as melafix won't help with that.

 

[LucyB]

I heard that feeding them shelled peas helps with internal parasites. My male platy had exactly this a few weeks ago, and I gave him some peas and he has perked up so much! I didn't give him any meds or anything, just the peas. If you want to feed him some, make sure you squeeze the pea out of the shell, so you just give him the soft inner part. It might not work for you, but It's worth a try! Best of luck

 

[colleen0309]

I heard that feeding them shelled peas helps with internal parasites. My male platy had exactly this a few weeks ago, and I gave him some peas and he has perked up so much! I didn't give him any meds or anything, just the peas. If you want to feed him some, make sure you squeeze the pea out of the shell, so you just give him the soft inner part. It might not work for you, but It's worth a try! Best of luck

Feeding peas won't help with internal parasites, but it does help with constipation.