Lilia Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 (edited) Hi! So I’m a new (ish) fish keeper and I was out of town for 4 days. I had an auto feeder going for the time I was gone. My platy gave birth to fry and 6 of them made it (I didn’t notice them for awhile so a lot got eaten). I found them on May 30th 2023. So I put them into a tank I had just finished cycling (I had planned it for something else but I put the fry into the tank). Fast forward to today July 6th. When I got back from my trip the fish looked like they were missing fins, they were skinny, and just not doing well. It’s a sponge filter so I don’t think the flow is too harsh. Anything will help! The tank has Java moss and Salvinia in it currently. I’m working on getting more plants. 6 platys are in the tank. didn’t say this earlier but they are missing their fins. One is completely missing its back fin. Idk if that is super clean in the photos. (edited) tank size: 10 gallon ph: 6.8 amonia: 0 ppm nitrate: 10 ppm nitrite: 1 ppm chlorine: 0 alkalinity: 120 The water temp is 76 degrees Fahrenheit Edited July 7, 2023 by Lilia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 (edited) On 7/6/2023 at 5:00 PM, Lilia said: tank size: 10 gallon ph: 6.8 amonia: 0 ppm nitrate: 10 ppm nitrite: 1 ppm chlorine: 0 alkalinity: 120 First, hello and welcome to the forums. The main thing I'm seeing is the gill redness which is usually a sign of ammonia or nitrite burning. The main method here is to do a good water change initially and then dose in aquarium salt and then proceed with daily 50% water changes. You may need to verify filtration is adequate and or working properly, but given it's a new tank it might just be a slower cycle. Keep testing your nitrite and your ammonia morning and night if possible, at least once a day. During that water change you would be dosing in your normal dechlorinator and that would also help with some of the issues. Do not dose it more than once every 24 hours typically. Hopefully things improve quickly, keep us posted! Edited July 7, 2023 by nabokovfan87 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilia Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 Thank you so much!! How much salt should I use? I don’t have designated aquarium salt but I have some “Fine Grind Mediterranean Style Sea Salt” from McCormick. Would that work? Or should I go get some? I am going out of town again tomorrow for one day is there anything I should do to compensate for being out of town? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 On 7/6/2023 at 5:20 PM, Lilia said: Thank you so much!! How much salt should I use? I don’t have designated aquarium salt but I have some “Fine Grind Mediterranean Style Sea Salt” from McCormick. Would that work? Or should I go get some? I am going out of town again tomorrow for one day is there anything I should do to compensate for being out of town? The main thing is that water changes are your friend. Do one today, and if possible before you leave tomorrow. I would highly recommend just finding some aquarium salt as opposed to anything intended for cooking. Dosage would be ~1/3 cup per 10G, this is right near the level 2 dose in this article:https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-salt-for-sick-fish Fritz salt you can get in a variety of places as well as the Co-Op, API salt is the other stuff I've used. Avoid rock salt and anything marked "not intended for human consumption" as it very likely has some trace or contamination risks. Sea salt would have minerals, which may or may not cause issues. You're basically looking for non-iodized, basic NaCl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilia Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 Thank you so much! I already did a water change in the aquarium I’m gonna go get some aquarium salt and dose it! Thank you! Not sure if this will do anything but I also dosed API stress coat. Will that react with the salt badly or is it safe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 On 7/6/2023 at 5:27 PM, Lilia said: Thank you so much! I already did a water change in the aquarium I’m gonna go get some aquarium salt and dose it! Thank you! Not sure if this will do anything but I also dosed API stress coat. Will that react with the salt badly or is it safe? Nope. Stress coat is a dechlorinator, so it's something like Seachem prime but it just happens to have some aloe in there for the slime coat on the fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilia Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 Thank you so much for all the help!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilia Posted July 9, 2023 Author Share Posted July 9, 2023 Update: the fish are doing so much better! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted July 11, 2023 Share Posted July 11, 2023 That is awesome. Wonderful to hear! Be sure to keep an eye on your water test results! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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