Sick platies

[FerrisWorld]

I recently got an 80 gallon tank and put all my fish in it. The lemon tetras, cory cats, and guppies all seem to be doing fine, but all my adult platies and a few adolescent ones seem unhappy, and they mostly hide or sit on the bottom of the tank with their fins back. One of them got a patch of white cloudy stuff on it's side and now seems to be dying, and some of the other fish were trying to eat it until i seperated it. I didn't have a heater before and it was about 61-65 F, and now I have a heater and it's about 75-77. I also added salt, but not much seems to have changed with either modification. So why are my platies unhappy while all my other fish are fine?

 

[Olive]

I recently got an 80 gallon tank and put all my fish in it. The lemon tetras, cory cats, and guppies all seem to be doing fine, but all my adult platies and a few adolescent ones seem unhappy, and they mostly hide or sit on the bottom of the tank with their fins back. One of them got a patch of white cloudy stuff on it's side and now seems to be dying, and some of the other fish were trying to eat it until i seperated it. I didn't have a heater before and it was about 61-65 F, and now I have a heater and it's about 75-77. I also added salt, but not much seems to have changed with either modification. So why are my platies unhappy while all my other fish are fine?

since they probably came from a different tank than all of the others before you got them they could have already been stressed/diseased before you got them. Then, to add to their shock they were put into water much colder than their liking. Your others were probably just not as stressed and healthier therefore took the cold water hit a little more easily. Most tropicals prefer a constant temperature of 75-79 degrees farenheit....(spelling?). A drop in even a few degrees can cause stress. Watch them closely, I hate to say it but you might have to medicate. Do you have a Local Fish Store to help you with choosing your meds? It is always good to have someone local that you can count on for advice...

 

[FerrisWorld]

Well I owned all these fish before I put them in the 80 gallon tank, I didn't add any new ones. All the tanks they were in were in the same room, and actually had the same water flowing through them, and the platies never seemed nearly as stressed then as they do now. Also the temp in all the tanks before was the same as it was in the 80 gallon tank before i got the heater.

 

[Olive]

Well I owned all these fish before I put them in the 80 gallon tank, I didn't add any new ones. All the tanks they were in were in the same room, and actually had the same water flowing through them, and the platies never seemed nearly as stressed then as they do now. Also the temp in all the tanks before was the same as it was in the 80 gallon tank before i got the heater.

did you cycle?

 

[kevin007]

DID U SAY DAT U PUT SALT iN uR TANK WHNE U HAVE CORIES? DAT"S A NO NO ahh

 

[FerrisWorld]

Hey you guys come on, I appreciate the help, but lets try to stay on topic here. I'm not trying to find out whats wrong with my cory cats. I know they're not good with salt, but they can handle some, and the ones I have were supposedly bred locally by a woman who has them in lots of salt. I've put quite a bit in and they haven't complained once. So now that thats cleared up, lets go back to the platies. Someone asked if I had cycled the tank. Well, I did the best I could. I probably had it going for about 12 hours before I put the fish in it, maybe more, plus I used the filter that was on the previous tank, and a little bit of the original water. I also added that de chlor stuff, and some of that stuff called cycle that says it reduces fish loss. In transfering the fish to the 80 gallon tank, they all had to sit in buckets overnight. One bucket had the lemons and platies, the other had the guppies and cory cats. All the fish were in the same water before being in this tank and went through the same process in getting to this tank. And really, even before this, the only fish I ever had trouble with were platies. So what does this tell us, that the other fish are a lot tougher than platies? That certainly is not consistant with anything I've ever read about them. Maybe they just don't like me...

 

[freshwatergal]

It is an infection. Lemme see if I can find my disease chart...

ok...hmmm...this is a toughy...they are acting lathargic which probably means they aren't feeling too well...the heater should help, maybe you raised the temp too fast though? The white cottony stuff could be a fungus, best treated with MarOxy. Make sure you treat the whole tank because it's likely the others will have it as well, although not as visible. Just my thoughts on the subject...

Tiff

 

[FerrisWorld]

hmmm... I don't have MarOxy. I could get some tomorrow. However, I do have some stuff that says it's active ingredient is Sodium Chlorite, which is an oxidant. Maybe they're similar, since the Oxy part of MarOxy might mean oxidant, I dunno. What is the active ingredient in MarOxy?

 

[freshwatergal]

"Maroxy successfully controls fungus infections cause by Saprolegnia, Icthyosporidium, egg fungus and related species, and common bacterial infections. It slowly releases small amounts of a stabilized oxygen-chlorine combination which, when used as directed, has an unusual ability to treat a wide variety of tropical fish diseases.
Fungus infections can be distingushed from bacterial infections by location and appearence of the fungus. Columnaris (body fungus) is often confused with a true fungal infection. However, the Columnaris disease is caused by a bacteria and not a fungus, and affects the whole body of the fish and is often slimy and greyish in appearance.
Fungus infection are usually found a tthe site of an injury or recent attack from parasites. A true fungus infection has a cotton like appearance similar to a mold found on fruit, bread or cheese except that on a fish a fungus is usually white. Fungus infections are very difficult to treat and are usually secondary invaders resulting from an injury on the fish or recent wounds from parasites or bacterial infection. Once the fungus starts growing on the fish, it usually continues to grow nd enlarge. Unless medication is provided, death results. Fungi often attack dead fish eggs and soon spread to adjacent life eggs, killing them."

That was a quote from my disease chart. If you think it might be Columnaris then you treat that with Maracyn.

HTH and sorry for the length.
Tiff

 

[Olive]

Hey you guys come on, I appreciate the help, but lets try to stay on topic here. I'm not trying to find out whats wrong with my cory cats. I know they're not good with salt, but they can handle some, and the ones I have were supposedly bred locally by a woman who has them in lots of salt. I've put quite a bit in and they haven't complained once. So now that thats cleared up, lets go back to the platies. Someone asked if I had cycled the tank. Well, I did the best I could. I probably had it going for about 12 hours before I put the fish in it, maybe more, plus I used the filter that was on the previous tank, and a little bit of the original water. I also added that de chlor stuff, and some of that stuff called cycle that says it reduces fish loss. In transfering the fish to the 80 gallon tank, they all had to sit in buckets overnight. One bucket had the lemons and platies, the other had the guppies and cory cats. All the fish were in the same water before being in this tank and went through the same process in getting to this tank. And really, even before this, the only fish I ever had trouble with were platies. So what does this tell us, that the other fish are a lot tougher than platies? That certainly is not consistant with anything I've ever read about them. Maybe they just don't like me...

Well your cycle wasn't long enough.......but I am sure that you know that. The temps along with water without much of a biological filter probably sealed their fate to disease... how is it going today? Let me know what you are doing...........please know that using maroxy with such a new tank will only keep your biological filter from progressing, which is the secret to a happy healthy tank. It is a good product but something I use only as a last resort.