Infection caught to late?

[Jayboi117]

Hello everyone,

I am new here and also new to fish keeping. I have two tanks at the moment (mine,my partners).

My partner has a 25 ltr tank with 3 platys in. We noticed recently that they spent a lot of time in the bottom of the tank and looked ill(pale/red gills). I did a water check and the ammonia was way to high (3.0) i was very surprised and didnt know how it was so high.

I asked a friend and found out it was probably caused by cleaning the filter out with tap water every water change (killing off all the bacteria).

I decided to go to maidenhead fish store and aak the experts. They said its defo ammonia burn and the fish are very ill. It also looks like they have puss coming out from behind thier pectoral fin.

We was advised to add live bacteria, ammo lock to turn the ammonia non toxic and do a water change every 2 days until the ammonia levels go down.

I hope you guys can help diagnose the illness and advise me on how to treat it and if i am treating the problem properly.

Thank you

 

[Demeter32]

Oh man they look pretty sad. Do water changes every day, 50% each time. And you should not be cleaning the filter every week. More like once a month by rinsing it off in old tank water. I wouldn't add the ammonia lock and the bacteria. The bacteria need to eat the ammonia, and by "locking" it, they won't be able to process it and further slow the cycling process. The ammonia sky rocketed because the the Nitrogen Cycle probably was not completed when you added the fish. And really, platties need a 10+ gallons. 25 liters is 6-7 which is pretty small for 3 platties.

Now then, I need you to look something up. Look up "anchor worms". It looks like your fish have those, which would make open sores and leave them open to other infection. Anchor worms are no fun at all, but they can be dealt with. When my male betta had them, I had to pluck them off very carefully with tweezers. He only had 3-4 and he recovered just fine.

 

[Demeter32]

Also, their fins are looking tattered. Here's what I would be doing

1. 50% water changes every day
2. Adding aquarium salt
3. Adding melafix (you need to remove the carbon in the filter when you do this)
4. If you think the fish are strong enough, try plucking off all the anchor worms (if they have them, it's hard to tell from the pics)
5. If you don't have a heater, get one. Platties are tropical fish, so 24 degrees Celsius is about right for them

When you do water changes, make sure you are adding the right amount of salt for the water that is taken out. After dosing for the 25 liter, you only add enough salt for the amount of water that you change, not the entire tank volume. After you do a water change then dose the Melafix. It should help with the open sores and hopefully the tattered fins.

 

[Jayboi117]

Hello,

Thank you so much for a reply.i have learnt more on this forum than i have in any of my local pet stores. I will begin this process tomorrow.

Again thank you for such a detailed reply ,i will keep the thread updated incase you want to know how this plays out.

 

[Jayboi117]

Done the 50%water change ,added the salt and added the melafix. The fish do look beyond ill and im finding it dificult to get the anchor worms out of the fish.some come out ok but some seem to be burried into the fin and i reslly dont want to pull to hard. 2 of the three platies have spent all day sat in one place and only moving when reacting to me when i was syphoning the tank.from what i have abserved today i feel like i am prolonging thier death rather than nursing them back to health.

Any ideas on what would be best for the fish?

 

[Demeter32]

I wouldn't give up just yet. Once the fish show even a little bit of improvement, they will usually (in my case) survive. When you take the anchor worms off, you have to very gently hold the parasite as close to the fish's body as possible, then slowly pull sideways, not straight up, so it's like pulling towards the tail or head depending on how the anchor worm is positioned. I would wait a day or two before trying to remove any more so the fish can recover. Don't be alarmed if the fish bleeds a little, the wounds should heal quickly with the melafix.

I haven't used meds to treat anchor worms, but I suppose you could try using Tetra Parasite guard or QuIck Cure. Quick cure has Formalin in it, so I think it would help your fish. You should dose the entire tank with 7-10 drops. You can actually have a higher dose than recommended, just make sure the tank is well aerated with an air stone.