Platy Not Well - Losing Weight Fast!

Thanks for any help you guys can give - Here's my form:

Tank size: 46 gallon
pH: 7.4
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 20ppm
kH: no test for this
gH: or this
tank temp: 78 degrees

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior): first I noticed she was getting very very thin. she is a momma and recently (3 or 4 months ago) had 40 healthy fry. the past few weeks she has been losing more weight and her scales are black around the rims, especially near her back area. today for the first time i noticed stringy white poo. she has a very healthy appetite and has not been flashing on anything. seems happy - just is disintegrating into nothing and getting very discolored.

Volume and Frequency of water changes: once every 2 weeks, more frequent if levels are wonky.

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: Stresscoat during water changes, some crushed coral to keep pH up (we have very acidic water)

Tank inhabitants: 1 pearl gourami, 5 platies, 6 harlequin rasboras, 4 hatchets, and 2 bristlenose plecs

Food: flakes once a day and they get fresh zucchini once a week

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): none

Exposure to chemicals: none

Digital photo (include if possible): photo does not show the blackness.



this is my other orange platy - this is how the sick one used to look, nice and plump.

Have you had bad water quality in the last week or so.
Any snails in the tank.

Don't want to panick you but black patches and losing weight can also be fish tb.

Need to ask some questions to rule out some other things.

Lost any fish to bent spines or sunken in bellys.
Any fish have enlarged anus or red inflamed anus.
Do any fish swim on there sides.
Any worms prutruding from the anus.
How old is she.

Need to improve the fish diet with some frozen foods and veg.

No bad water quality - my water parameters have been perfect for the last few months, ever since the fry came, actually (they were given away to a pet store except one we kept behind). No snails. No lost fish to bent spines or weight loss. No fish having any of the symptoms you asked about.

No idea how old she is because I got her full grown at the pet store. It could be she is simply getting old and dying. I thought about TB but her symptoms were not all there. The blackness is really odd - it's not in patches, it's just on the outer rims of the scales, kinda like a border on each of the scales.

and they do get fresh zucchini and all the other fish are thriving and bright - so i'm not sure it's a diet issue. hm...

Can you issolate her.
It might not be fish tb it could be old age. But with losing weight and black edges on the scales I can't think for now what else it could be.

Losing weight can be the fish isn' eating, or not being fed enough, fish tb, internal parasites, old age, external parasites.

Feed some shelled peas to see if that clears the long stringy white poo up.

I just gave some baby brine shrimp and she continues to eat with the rest of the fish. she's very happy - just losing weight and getting discolored. I set up the hospital tank last night in case I needed to sequester her. Going to check levels and see if it's fit for an inhabitant yet -

Thanks -

If she losing weight when eating well it could be anything from old age,bacteria, to internal parasites.
Once the hosptial is set up I would move her just in case.

Isolated her in the hospital tank last night. Still losing weight. Blackness is growing. She is still eating some and not flashing or swimming sideways. Her anus is not enlarged or red. I'm not quite sure how to medicate her because I'm not quite sure what the problem is. Medicated food? Quickcure? Lord, I'm confused.

You need an antibiotics like minocycline,or tetracycline.
Also feed vitamin b supplement, it could be fish tb.
If the fish has tb the main tank will need treating.
Antibiotics wipe the beneifcal bacteria out in the filter, but if its tb it wants wiping out.

http/www.fishyfarmacy.com/articles/mycobacteriosis.html