Unwell platy fish

On Sunday I had a platy jump out of the tank and die, I feel very upset and I’m afraid the rest are ill too. Before he died he had clamped fins, was laying at the bottom of the tank and flicking against things, he was still eating fine.
Now my orange fish is doing exactly the same. I’m really worried.

Before the red one died I bought a heater and slowly heated the tank and some aquarium salt, I added half a dessert spoon to the tank and it seemed like they were gasping.
After the red one died I did a water change as I just wanted to remove the salt.
I have done almost daily or every other day water changes as every time I have had the water tested I have been told there is a small amount of nitrite in the water.
The orange one was so active and a bully and now he swims about occasionally with his fins clamped or just lays at the bottom.
He’s still eating.
The others are clamping their fins a bit too and flicking.
I have only had the tank since 2nd or 3rd October and have 4 platys.
I have bought a bigger tank which arrives tomorrow (25 litres) as this small.
I don’t know if it’s ich or what they have.
I’ve added pure aquarium balls.
I have treated the tank with interpet disease away tonight. I’d love to know what is wrong as I really want to save him. I haven’t got another hospital tank

How many fish are in the tank?
How big is the tank?
What are the water parameters of the tank?
Did you cycle the tank before you introduced the fish?

Sounds like your tank isn't cycled.

Do large daily water changes until ammonia and nitrite are zero.
Keep adding aqua balls.
Add live plants, especially floating plants.
A 25 litre tank will also be too small - look for 60 litres.

The aquarium salt helps with nitrite poisoning but the combination of heat, salt and medication will deplete oxygen levels. Stop using medication and increase aeration by adjusting the filter so that it disturbs the water surface and adding a bubbler.

Please post photos of the sick fish.

Thanks for your replies. I turned off the heater, the water is around 22 degrees, I don’t know what’s wrong.
I did a test today, I have no nitrite or ammonia and small amount of nitrates.
I’ve been doing lots of water changes.
I understand a 60 litre would be wonderful but, it’s not possible just yet.
I have 3 fish in the tank, I didn’t know about cycling before. I do now.
I have 3 live plants.
I didn’t add the salt and the medication at the same time, I just really want to know what’s wrong with him to save him.

* the flicking against things constantly
* laying the bottom when not swimming (or flicking)
* still eating
* his colour isn’t as bright
* clamped fins

He was such a lively platy, I want to save him.
I’ve been told it could be flukes?

Diagnosing fish health problems is just guess work without aquatic vets and tests but linear thinking leads us to nitrite/ ammonia poisoning. Laying on the bottom is a typical symptom.

It's good that your tests are showing zero. Keep testing every day and do a large water change whenever the ammonia or nitrite go above zero.

Although 22° is OK for a platy I would have the heater turned on and set at 23° for a stable temperature. How long did you use aquarium salt for? Use one tablespoon per 10 litres and keep it at that level for 2-4 weeks. When you do a water change you will need to replace the salt you have taken out (so if you replace 50% of the water, you also need to replace 50% of the aquarium salt).

Keep adding the bio balls and get floating plants. When you get the bigger tank, let us know so we can help preserve the beneficial bacteria.

These measures give him a chance.

Thank you for replying, he’s flicking a lot, it seems like he’s trying ro scratch under his stomach, other two seem to be fine now. I’m still doing small changes daily/every other day. They didn’t react well to the salt and as the fish jumped out and died that night I just wanted to get the salt out.

Do you think it’s worth treating for flukes?
I’ve added stress coat and stresszyme which I bought to try and help my poor fish that got trapped.
I will look to get a heater again
Thanks

Are you sure you used aquarium salt? Platys should tolerate that well.
What are your current test readings?
I think adding lots of treatments and medications is unsafe, I wouldn't treat them for flukes right now but get some better photos and a video and we can ask around.

Katsplaty said:

* the flicking against things constantly
* laying the bottom when not swimming (or flicking)
* still eating
* his colour isn’t as bright
* clamped fins

He was such a lively platy, I want to save him.
I’ve been told it could be flukes?

Click to expand...

Rubbing against objects and clamped fins is normally caused by external protozoan infections like white spot (Ichthyophthirius), velvet (Oodinium), Costia, Chilodonella or Trichodina.

White spot produces small white dots on the fish's body and fins. Your fish does not have this.

Velvet produces a yellow/ gold sheen over the body and fins. If you shine a torch on the fish after dark, or photograph them after dark (using a camera flash), then the yellow/ gold sheen shows up and is clearly visible. It is usually visible during the day but not always, especially if it's a minor case. I doubt this is velvet.

Costia, Chilodonella & Trichodina cause the fish to rub on objects, have clamped fins and develop cream, white or grey patches on the body where the parasites are biting the fish. These cream, white or grey patches are excess mucous produced by the fish when it is injured or stressed, and is designed to protect the damaged area. The fish in the picture looks like it is covered in a creamy white film.

Poor water quality also causes fish to occasionally rub on objects and develop a cream/ white film over their body. However, your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate appear fine so that is unlikely to be the issue.

The fish might have gill flukes but they are not causing this problem. It does not have body flukes.

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I would say your fish have an external protozoan infection like Costia, Chilodonella or Trichodina, and the best treatment for them is salt (see directions below).

SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 2 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water.

If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate will not affect plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

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I'm not sure what pure aquarium balls are?

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What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Guppies, platies and swordtails need a pH above 7.0 and a GH above 200ppm for optimum health.

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LIGHTS
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

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The following link has information about what to do if your fish get sick. It's long and boring but worth a read when you have some spare time. I recommend printing it out and reading it in bed to help fall asleep

Hi both, thanks for your great replies.
I have been told that the water is hard here and a higher PH, around 7-7.5, the pet shop told me that.
I have added Interpet disease away and I think I will repeat that as the bottle suggests.
I will read that document, it’s interesting you mention a white coating on him, I don’t see that and I’ve used a torch a couple of times to get a better look as I don’t have lights on this aquarium, i will on my new one.
I’m worried about moving him while he’s like this.
The only thing I thought was that his colour had dulled. I remember when I bought him his colour had dulled then returned to his brighter orange.
I hate seeing him so subdued.

I definitely used aquarium salt but, I just felt like they couldn’t breathe with it.
I’ll attach the image here.
I’m going to google the illnesses suggested, thank you.
I just want to help him.

I’m attaching the photo of when I bought him (to show how his colour dulled) and when he seemed fine. His fin was really high and is now very clamped