Male Platy- Dead Or Alive

[AlphinaNovaStar]

Yesterday I found one of my male platies dead but my roommate thinks he is alive. She is convinced his mouth is moving and he is blowing bubbles. I think he is dead and bloating up for that reason. I think that the bubbles are the gas being released from his dead body. I think she wants him to be alive so she thinks he is moving but I am not calling her crazy. He is currently in a tiny betta tank so he will not be eaten or his dead body would contaminate the tank.
I am not sure why he died but getting a bucket of water ready for a water change.


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[fluttermoth]

The mouth is irrelevant; you need to look at the gills. If they're not moving then the fish is dead

If he's not in the tank, then I wouldn't worry too much, I'm sure your roommate will accept his death once the decomposition starts...

 

[AlphinaNovaStar]

Now all my sunburst platies are dead. That leaves only one platy left and she is a well I forgot. She is red with black tail.

 

[Mrscmurray]

Have you tested the water in the tank at all?
I'm not overly knowledgeable but it could be a good idea to test it so others can try to see what's going wrong for you.
Could you say if they had been acting differently at all?

 

[AlphinaNovaStar]

I have a ph test at home. They were skittish and not eating much I think. I had a female betta in the tank but moved her to her own little tank.


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[AlphinaNovaStar]

I was looking at the PetCo website and saw that they have a dollar per gallon sale. I might be able to get a 55 if everything goes right

 

[Mrscmurray]

I have a ph test at home. They were skittish and not eating much I think. I had a female betta in the tank but moved her to her own little tank.


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I would advise getting a full test kit for ph, nitrate, nitrite and ammonia. A lot of people on here recommend the API master kit or I use the JBL one.
It will mean you can see if there are any imbalances in the water that could be stressing out the fish or causing them harm.