Possible clamped fins??

Can anyone help please. Novice here. This little fella has been too ‘relaxed’ after a water change this afternoon. This was the first water change of a new tank. 60L tank, approx 15L change. Followed all guidance given when buying the tank. Temp is all fine, has eaten well so unsure what it could be??

Did you dechlorinate water before adding it? If so what dechlorination did you use?
Is the tank cycled?
Whats the parameters?

connorlindeman said:

Did you dechlorinate water before adding it? If so what dechlorination did you use?
Is the tank cycled?
Whats the parameters?

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Dechlorinate. Yes. Cycled. Yes.
Parameters? What do you mean?

Thomas90 said:

Dechlorinate. Yes. Cycled. Yes.
Parameters? What do you mean?

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ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph and gh, kh if you can

connorlindeman said:

ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph and gh, kh if you can

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The nitrate was elevated before doing the water change. This behaviour in the fish was only after the change tho. I’m leaving the tank to settle overnight before doing another round of tests

Thomas90 said:

The nitrate was elevated before doing the water change. This behaviour in the fish was only after the change tho. I’m leaving the tank to settle overnight before doing another round of tests

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they could just be stressed

connorlindeman said:

they could just be stressed

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So this will settle soon then?

Hi, welcome to the forum!
How long has the tank been set up?
How did you cycle the tank?

Make sure to use a liquid test kit such as the API master kit. Also make sure you have hard water for your mollies/platies other wise they will get liver failure and die.

Thomas90 said:

So this will settle soon then?

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im no expert but i think they will. See how they are after a few hours

Hi, welcome to the hobby and the forum!

If your test kit tells you the levels of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, those numbers would be very helpful.


Also when you did the water change, did you match the temperature of the new water to the tank temperature before adding it in?

How many fish, and do you know how many are males versus females? If you're not sure, clear photos that show the anal fin will let us sex them for you.

Sometimes a male like him will clamp like that if he's being picked on by other males, as they compete for females/dominance, so can be nothing serious, and just something to monitor. But you're right to always be concerned about clamped fins, since that can mean poor water conditions, or sickness. They clamp their fins when they're stressed basically, so finding the source of that stress is important.

The milky cloudy water would suggest a bacterial bloom caused by uneaten food and a filter that hasn't cycled yet.

The fish by the surface would suggest low oxygen levels caused by lack of aeration/ surface turbulence, and possible poor water quality.

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Test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.

Reduce feeding to 2-3 times a week for a few weeks.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Swordtails and platies always benefit from having some floating plants, it gives them a sense of security