Sunken Bellies! What Do I Do?

[nikkifro8994]

2 days ago I noticed that one of my male platys wasn't eating. I had seen the bigger male picking him durring feeding time. I put the non-eating platy in a breeder net in the same tank. I fed him flakes 2 days ago, but he didn't tough them. I tried bloodworm yesterday with no luck. I checked on him this morning and his belly has caved in. He doesn't swim much and when he does it looks like it takes a lot of effort. I don't know how to help him. What should I do?

 

[Flute]

If he's not swimming around much then I'm afraid it doesn't sound good. What's his poo like, is it long and stringy at all? You could always give him a de-worming medication to see if it helps him rally enough to recover. What's his colour like, is it at all faded, has he got clamped fins, etc?

Hope he pulls through!

 

[nikkifro8994]

has hasn't pooped because he hasn't eaten anything in 3 days. No color fading and no clamped fins. I'll check on him in the morning and buy some dewormer tomorrow afternoon. I can't find any on petsmart.com. Where can I get it?

 

[Flute]

I'm in the UK, so unsure of what kind of medications that are available to you. Try googling something like fish de-wormer and see what comes up, and if you're unsure, I would start a topic in Tropical Discussion asking if anyone has any experience with the wormers you have found. You'd probably be able to find them on ebay and other online fish shops.

Don't know if it is available to you in the US, but I've used kusuri wormer in the past and had good results from it. Good luck!

 

[nikkifro8994]

There's no way he's going to live past today. He can barely move and he has red spots that look like blood. Parisites coming out perhaps? I didn't see any worms in the breeder net. Should I consider euthanasia or just let him be?

 

[fluttermoth]

Only you can decide whether it's time to euthanise, but it does sound like it may be the kindest thing (assuming you have clove oil available).

Do you know how old he is? It sounds very much like old age to me, if all the other fish in the tank are healthy. Have you tested the water and done a big water change anyway? That should always be your first course of action if you have a fish that isn't 'right'.

 

[nikkifro8994]

He was born in the beginning of January. He's only 11 months old. He's one of my last 4 surviving fry. I did a water change when I put him in the breeder net. The stats were ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate ~20. Now the nitrate is ~15. pH is 6.8, temp is 76F. I don't have any clove oil. How do I euthanize him?

 

[fluttermoth]

Well, in the UK, clove oil is the only method approved by vets for euthanising fish. You should be able to get it from any chemist/pharmacy.

The only other definitely humane way is hitting over the head; freezing and boiling are probably not painless

 

[nikkifro8994]

I'll check on him when I got home from my classes. If he is still suffering, I'll see if I can find some cheap clove oil at the drug store.

 

[nikkifro8994]

He passed away while I was at school. I'm going to do a large water change just to make sure my other fish won't get what he had.