Fish Has White Spots And Is Dying (Day 4)

[Neleono]

Hi my sunburst platty is about to die. He lookes like he’s just been attacked (picture below)

TANK INFO
29 gal tank with weekly 33-50% water changes

Tank stays at 73-75 f

nitrate is 20

nitrite at 0

ph is 7

water is hard (always is)

amonia is 0

three other fish in the tank with him all sunburst plattys and also an algae eater

tank is planted with live plants

declorenated with aqua safe+

no chemical exposures ever

WHATS GOING ON:
i just treated him with “melafix fish first aid for fin damage and open wounds” put some of the tank water into a bowl and transferred him there. He seems to be doing fine, swimming around normally ect. what can I do to help him. He looks really bad and before I transferred him his scales were pealing off. This all happened within a 1 hour window of me checking on them, leaving and coming back to see that. Please help in any way you can and ask for details you might need. also it is currently 12 at night and all of the stores in my area are closed so I cannot pick anything up until tomorrow. also the white spots are hard to see on the pics but they are much larger and whiter than on the pictures

** UPDATE ** The fish is now laying on the bottom of the tank, no longer swimming

If I don’t reply within a few min of any important replies feel free to dm me or make multiple replies because it is really late and I might fall asleep.

 

[mrsjoannh13]

I can't really tell from the photos but is it possible this is some sort of infection vs. him getting attacked?

The fish. needs some source oxygenating the water. He will not live long in the bowl without a filter or something circulating the water and putting oxygen into it.

How are things this morning?

 

[Neleono]

It’s the next day and he’s still alive. He swam around a bit this morning but the spots are still there. How would I circulate the water? Do I need to put him in something else? Also if it were do be an infection what kind do you think? Would this also affect the other fish in the tank with him? I will try to better describe what he looks like. And try to get better pictures. The fish himself is 1 and a half in. Long with three white spots about a mm in length each and one long patchy spot about a cm long. His fins are fine other than the back one which is ripped up and cut short and has pieces falling off of it. It looks like it has small chunks taken out of it. Hope that helps! Also in the pictures he looks like he has somthing sticking out of his chest, it’s just the distortion from the glass.

 

[mrsjoannh13]

Is the fish normally in a tank with a filter?

 

[Neleono]

The tank he’s normally in has one yes but the bowl does not

 

[FishGuest5123]

Add an air stone. Put him in a gallon bowl and add 1/4 tablespoon of aquarium salt. Do daily water changes and add the salt back (dissolved) daily for 10 days. If no improvement being seen after day 5, treat with a med that fights bacteria such as Furan-2 if in U.S.

 

[Neleono]

Do instant ocean reef salt crystals work? Also should I put rocks in and decorate the tank a bit? Lastly, should I stop the melafix? Thanks

 

[mcordelia]

instant ocean is fine, don't worry about decorations, only add a live plant if you have one available. the airstone is vital to keep him alive. You should be switching out 20% of the water twice a day or 30% once a day if your schedule doesn't allow for twice a day water changes at this point. You can stop the melafix.

 

[Neleono]

Thank you guys so much for your help, it really means so much to me! I really hope this helps. One question, is whatever my fish has a danger to the others? are my other fish safe or do I need to help them too. Also, should i adjust his bowl's temperature or change feeding?

 

[mcordelia]

you should keep the temperature at the same temperature you normally keep your fish tank. If the fish is eating, feed it normally, but do not leave any food to rot in the bowl.

It would not hurt to do a 50% water change and gravel clean in the main tank (assuming you do weekly large water changes). If you do not regularly do large water changes, I would do three 25% water changes in the main tank three days in a row, to not shock the fish. Also test for ammonia, nitrates and nitrites in the main tank before you do a water change.

Keep an eye on the fish in case whatever illness that is in the sick fish starts showing up in the others. if that is the case, then you are best advised to treat the entire tank for the illness, but I don't have enough expertise to be able to tell you what the best treatment is for the entire tank.

 

[Neleono]

Ok, thanks again!

 

[FishGuest5123]

Keep us posted!

 

[Neleono]

I sure will! just went to my local pet store, bought a pump and an airsone... I forgot to get tubing so that'll be tomorrows project. This morning didnt start out great, he was just laying on the ground but after adding the salt he's starting to swim a bit. I tried feeding him but he just swam around it so i cleaned it out. doing a water change in a few min.

 

[Neleono]

Its Day three and things are looking... not so good. This morning started off fine, he was slow but still swimming around. White spots haven't changed and his tail the same. I put in the bubbler and started running that about an hour ago because it took me all day to get tubing. About half way through the day he started to slow down. He laid on the floor a lot and just floated around. Then a while later he started to swim sideways and point down. Currently he is swimming a bit but often pointing strait down, laying sideways and not often moving. before if I went to look at him he would swim around and he would follow my finger when I rubbed it on the glass (A thing I taught them to do), now he's no longer responsive to when I do that and doesn't move at all. I'm really worried about him to put it simply. He's the first fish I've had since I moved into my new house and I haven't been sleeping very much since this happened. If anyone knows what to do I'm open for suggestions. I've been doing 30% water changes daily and adding salt, he also haven't eaten. Pictures below are from a few seconds ago. Lastly, the fish in my main tank seem to be doing good. No signs of anything like white spots or fatigue. Also from the picture you can see i added a live plant. He always liked to sit in them when they floated to the top so I put one floating in there to try and make him feel more comfortable. Ill keep putting out daily updates to show how his treatment is going. Thanks.

 

[Neleono]

Its day 4 and I woke up prepared for the worst.. that's exactly what I got. He didn't survive the night. Thanks for your guys' help, really means a lot to me.