I need help. What's going on?

[corylover5]

It's almost 2am and the guppy who had been lying on his side has now passed away sadly

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

It's almost 2am and the guppy who had been lying on his side has now passed away sadly

I'm so sorry

It does sound like symptoms of worms (and we all know how common those are with livebearers, which then spread it to everything else in the tank), but the symptoms and then the deaths being so sudden and one after the other, makes me wonder if it could be bacterial or something else. Usually you spot some becoming skinny and lethargic/bent spines for quite a while before they die from worms, but @Colin_T would know better than I would.

Can you share some photos of the remaining fish please? Especially the skinny platy. When you can of course, I don't mean now when it's the middle of the night for you.

I really recommend you begin quarantining and worming new fish, once you have a handle on this. We can help you figure out how to make one from a plastic storage tote since i know you're not able to have another tank, but it would be for the best to adopt a strict quarantine procedure once you've cleared your main tank(s) of disease, especially since you keep pet shop guppies/mollies/platies. So rife with disease, each time you get a new guppy or platy, you risk adding worms or other diseases in. A quarantine tote and treating for worms while monitoring them for other illnesses would save you a lot of expense and heartache!

I'm so sorry for your losses Sending cyber hugs if wanted!

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Treating fish diseases is always the biggest challenge that we face for fish keepers.
Quarantining new fish, choosing fish correctly before buying can reduce the risks of infections though its still not 100% fool proof.

By the way, how long have you been keeping the fish?
Internal infection by parasites or worms usually won't show any symptoms until after a few weeks or a month.

I am suspecting that your fish may have a few parasites infections - internal parasites and gill flukes(symptom of fast breathing).
API general can treat both but it may not kill gill flukes completely because the gill flukes may need at least 1mth of treatment or more.
Praziquantel can treat gill flukes but most gill flukes have become resistent to Praziquantel.
I have to use Flubendazole to kill the gill flukes.
Anyway, use the General cure to treat the internal parasites first.
After your treatment for internal parasites, observe the fish for any symptoms of fast breathing and scratching(fish will scratch against the tank or objects).
Keep us updated.

 

[corylover5]

Treating fish diseases is always the biggest challenge that we face for fish keepers.
Quarantining new fish, choosing fish correctly before buying can reduce the risks of infections though its still not 100% fool proof.

By the way, how long have you been keeping the fish?
Internal infection by parasites or worms usually won't show any symptoms until after a few weeks or a month.

I am suspecting that your fish may have a few parasites infections - internal parasites and gill flukes(symptom of fast breathing).
API general can treat both but it may not kill gill flukes completely because the gill flukes may need at least 1mth of treatment or more.
Praziquantel can treat gill flukes but most gill flukes have become resistent to Praziquantel.
I have to use Flubendazole to kill the gill flukes.
Anyway, use the General cure to treat the internal parasites first.
After your treatment for internal parasites, observe the fish for any symptoms of fast breathing and scratching(fish will scratch against the tank or objects).
Keep us updated.

I just woke up to see the platy scratching and flicking herself off of things in my tank. I will not be getting any more livebearers because I recently found out I actually have soft water when I thought it was hard water. I will try getting pictures of them.

I'm so sorry

It does sound like symptoms of worms (and we all know how common those are with livebearers, which then spread it to everything else in the tank), but the symptoms and then the deaths being so sudden and one after the other, makes me wonder if it could be bacterial or something else. Usually you spot some becoming skinny and lethargic/bent spines for quite a while before they die from worms, but @Colin_T would know better than I would.

Can you share some photos of the remaining fish please? Especially the skinny platy. When you can of course, I don't mean now when it's the middle of the night for you.

I really recommend you begin quarantining and worming new fish, once you have a handle on this. We can help you figure out how to make one from a plastic storage tote since i know you're not able to have another tank, but it would be for the best to adopt a strict quarantine procedure once you've cleared your main tank(s) of disease, especially since you keep pet shop guppies/mollies/platies. So rife with disease, each time you get a new guppy or platy, you risk adding worms or other diseases in. A quarantine tote and treating for worms while monitoring them for other illnesses would save you a lot of expense and heartache!

I'm so sorry for your losses Sending cyber hugs if wanted!

thank you. I will try getting some pictures of the others.

 

[corylover5]

I got some pictures of the 2 fish seeming most affected. The newest fish I have is that platy. I have had her for almost 2 months now.

On a side note, my trilianatus cories are spawning

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Since your fish are scratching and one even has fast breathing, high chances your fish are having gill flukes infection.
Gill flukes can kill your fish one by one if you don't treat them.
Observe the effect after you start using General cure which has Praziquantel in it.
If there is no improvement, you will have to use Flubendazole.

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[CassCats]

Yep and your livebearers in soft water would definitely impact their immune response which could kill them quicker when illnesses affect them.

Plus internal parasites can cause bacterial infections as well as a secondary problem

 

[corylover5]

Yep and your livebearers in soft water would definitely impact their immune response which could kill them quicker when illnesses affect them.

Plus internal parasites can cause bacterial infections as well as a secondary problem

I got the general cure. Somewhere online I saw something saying to soak the food in it and feed that to the fish. The box doesn't say anything like that though. It just says to empty 1 packet for every 10 gallons. If it's a 29 gallon do I empty 3 packets or should I go with 2? Thanks

 

[CassCats]

Id go 1.5 packets in the tank.

Use the last half to soak food. Cories are sensitive to meds so should be half dosed

 

[corylover5]

Id go 1.5 packets in the tank.

Use the last half to soak food. Cories are sensitive to meds so should be half dosed

Thank you. So I just want to make sure I am understanding correctly, I should empty 1.5 packets in the tank and use the other 0.5 to soak food in.

Should I soak flakes, Fluval bug bites, and the corydoras shrimp wafers in the general cure? Or should I only do certain foods? Thanks for your help.

 

[CassCats]

Thank you. So I just want to make sure I am understanding correctly, I should empty 1.5 packets in the tank and use the other 0.5 to soak food in.

Should I soak flakes, Fluval bug bites, and the corydoras shrimp wafers in the general cure? Or should I only do certain foods? Thanks for your help.

Yep understood correctly

And I'd soak the flakes and bug bites, as theyre quickest eaten so best to be medicated with

 

[corylover5]

Yep understood correctly

And I'd soak the flakes and bug bites, as theyre quickest eaten so best to be medicated with

I did a 75% wc and after that I added the 1.5 packets of medication. The food has been soaking in a small dish of tank water and the .5 packet of meds for about 1 minute now. How long should I let it soak for?

 

[CassCats]

I did a 75% wc and after that I added the 1.5 packets of medication. The food has been soaking in a small dish of tank water and the .5 packet of meds for about 1 minute now. How long should I let it soak for?

Couple minutes is fine

 

[corylover5]

Couple minutes is fine

oops I soaked it for 10 minutes

 

[CassCats]

All good