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Dying Swordtail?

Silencedogood

Silencedogood

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Hi-
I have a male swordtail who has been acting strangely for the past couple of weeks. He has loss of appetite, clamped fins, is hiding at bottom of tank, bullying any fish that gets too close, and today he has a bloated stomach. I had a platy that died 3 wks ago from the same weird thing. That platy got this illness from two other platys and any fish that were with the sick fish got it and died a couple of months later. Idk what it could be; I have tried treating with all-in-one and ick treatments, but it hasn't worked.
Water Parameters:
ph-6.8
kh-100-200 ppm
gh-10-200 ppm
nitrite-0 ppm
nitrate-40 ppm
ammonia-0.25 ppm
My guppies and female swordtail seem to be getting this too, but my neon tetras are fine. Could this be a livebearer thing?
 
Here are some pics:
 

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Is your nitrate usually that high? You should try to keep it at about 10ppm. Do a 75% water change with dechlorinated water. Do this daily until nitrates remain 20ppm or lower. Do weekly cleaning and vacuum gravel too. Good luck!
 
I think my nitrate is high because I have a pleco that has outgrown my tank; pleco is 9 1/2 inches and my tank is 30 gallons.
I have done water changes and it hasn’t seemed to make a difference.
 
Last edited:
That is probably it. Needs to be corrected as it appears to be affecting the fish. Good reason to buy a new tank! :)
 
I'm rehoming the pleco on the weekend; hopefully that will help. I do have a separate quarantine tank; the only reason I haven't used it is because I don't have any filters for it at the moment.
Also, this sickness has been a problem since November and my water parameters were fine then. And the fish have gone in the QT recently (good water parameters) and it hasn't made a difference.
 
My swordtail seems to be getting worse. He been hiding all day and is not eating. Idk what else to try. Any suggestions?
 
Yes its still 40 ppm. Is 40 ppm high enough to affect the fish?

Like I mentioned before, this has been a sickness *before* the nitrates were on the higher side. Although I know the high nitrates won't help the issue.
 
Can we get some closer pics? I can’t really see anything from here. I’d like to see his gills, if possible. A new full body shot also.
 
Sorry a little blurry.
 

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