Sick Platy

[Brian m]

Went on vacation for two weeks. Had a friend check on the fish after week one and they were fine. Got home and the female platy is swimming funny but mostly sits on the bottom of the tank. She is also really skinny compared to when we left.

I did a 30% water change before we left but did not check the water parameters then. I checked when we got home and the nitrates were really high (100 to 110ppm best guess. My test strips only have 80 and 160 the color was closer to the 80)

Nitrite ammonia are 0, gh kh pH are a little high but normal for my water and they have been fine with those for the past 6 months.

I have done 2 30% water changes in the past 3 days. (First on Sunday when we got home and the second just now, tuesday) and the nitrate is now down to ~40ppm.

She is starting to come out more and swim around but is still tilting up and laying on the bottom to rest. Will she recover? It there more I should do? Or should I be planning a fishy funeral? 

Tank details:

10 gal with a small Tetra filter seen in photo and a sponge filter in the corner. 

4 occupants, 2 adult platys, and a silver dollar Tetra, plus one surviving platy frey about 4 weeks old

Last water parameters

Temp: 26c.  

Nitrate 40ppm

Nitrite 0

Ammonia 0

Gh 250 - 300

Kh - >300 I keep trying to get this down but nothing has been working

Ph ~8.0

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Hi @Brian m, sorry about your platy girl, how distressing. It seems to me to you may be doing the right thing with the small water changes- because she has improved. The Nitrates may have effected her negatively- because those were crazy high. Honestly it appears the rest of your fish seem to be functiong ok from what I can see in your film- if I were in your shoes I would just keep monitoring water quality and observing her for other signs. I might even add some aquarium salt to the tank as a precaution as well. Make sure she poops if you can and that it looks normal. Could be some sort of swim bladder problem if I were to guess it were something else. I wonder why your kh is so high??? I can't get mine above 35. 🙄

Edited July 21, 2021 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[Brian m]

Thanks for the reply @xXInkedPhoenixX, she is doing a little better this morning, definitely swimming more and is a little less tilted. I have really hard water where I live and even with a water softener we still get residue on everything. Ill try adding a little aquarium salt and see if that helps. 

[HH Morant]

You might try epsom salts as a laxative. I have seen different dosages from different sources. You can dose the tank or use it in a more concentrated solution as a bath.

If that doesn't work and it is internal parasites, then you will need to try Fritz Paracleanse or API General Cure (they are the same). Better to medicate the food if the fish is still eating. 

Hospital tank is best if you have one.

[laritheloud]

On 7/21/2021 at 10:23 AM, Brian m said:

Thanks for the reply @xXInkedPhoenixX, she is doing a little better this morning, definitely swimming more and is a little less tilted. I have really hard water where I live and even with a water softener we still get residue on everything. Ill try adding a little aquarium salt and see if that helps. 

I wouldn't worry about water hardness, livebearers LOVE hard water. FTR, our water is extremely alkaline and reads off the charts in KH on test strips, usually around 10 - 12 on drop titration tests.

I'd try an epsom salt bath if it looks like she's having buoyancy issues. I used this on my gourami when she overate. 1 tablespoon per 2 gallons, about 10 minutes of a bath. Good luck!