Platy Dying?

[Aspen35]

Just noticed platy (male) isn’t acting right. All the other fish seem fine as of right now. Ideas on what’s wrong?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

It looks like it has fin clamp and is bloated. (Very large for a male)

What are your water parameters? How long have you had it? Will it eat?

 

[Aspen35]

It looks like it has fin clamp and is bloated. (Very large for a male)

What are your water parameters? How long have you had it? Will it eat?

I haven’t tried feeding him, I suspected he was quite bloated, so that wouldn’t really help the problem. I’ve had him for somewhere around 4 months, I’m not sure exactly. Just put him in some epsom salt to see if it helps. I’m checking parameters now.

 

[Aspen35]

It looks like it has fin clamp and is bloated. (Very large for a male)

What are your water parameters? How long have you had it? Will it eat?

ammonia 0, nitrite reads at less than .25 (did the cycle crash/is crashing?) and nitrate is 10 ppm

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Would you be able to fill out the template please? It helps people to figure out what might be going wrong. Sorry about your platy, he doesn't look very well at all. Just copy and paste the template below, then add your info


Request Help

Tank size:
pH:
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:
kH:
gH:
tank temp:

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):

Volume and Frequency of water changes:

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:

Tank inhabitants:

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):

Exposure to chemicals:

Digital photo (include if possible):

 

[PheonixKingZ]

ammonia 0, nitrite reads at less than .25 (did the cycle crash/is crashing?) and nitrate is 10 ppm

It is possible the cycle crashed... if it did, you need to preform frequent water changes. The addition of 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon of water will prevent methemoglobin toxicity by blocking the nitrite absorption through the fish's gills.

You can try to use some antibiotics for him - the salt I suggest using above will also help with the bloating.

What brand of food do you feed him? What does his poop look like?

 

[Aspen35]

It is possible the cycle crashed... if it did, you need to preform frequent water changes. The addition of 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon of water will prevent methemoglobin toxicity by blocking the nitrite absorption through the fish's gills.

You can try to use some antibiotics for him - the salt I suggest using above will also help with the bloating.

What brand of food do you feed him? What does his poop look like?

Well. I woke up today to all the fishes looking perfectly normal. The platy shoes no sign that anything was wrong with him. I’m going to check the parameters again, and make sure that the cycle didn’t crash (maybe the reading was wrong, hard to know exactly.) that fish had been known to be pretty greedy in the past, so I think he just ate too much food. Thank you @PheonixKingZ and @AdoraBelle Dearheart!!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Well. I woke up today to all the fishes looking perfectly normal. The platy shoes no sign that anything was wrong with him. I’m going to check the parameters again, and make sure that the cycle didn’t crash (maybe the reading was wrong, hard to know exactly.) that fish had been known to be pretty greedy in the past, so I think he just ate too much food. Thank you @PheonixKingZ and @AdoraBelle Dearheart!!

Sorry, I was no help at all, just needed more info to know what might be going on! It does look like you had an ammonia spike (sometimes called a mini crash or mini cycle when it's a relatively minor spike) and that's why you had a reading for nitrites (BB had already converted the ammonia to nitrites by the time you tested it, or plants had taken up the ammonia, hence why you didn't get a reading for ammonia but still had the warning sign with the nitrites) so it's worth investigating why there was a spike. Dead fish/snail/rotting plant? More fish added recently? Overdue for a water change? Tank was overfed?

See if you can figure out what was different to cause an ammonia spike, and keep an eye on water parameters. It's worth doing a weekly test and keeping a log of your results just before doing your weekly water changes, while you get a handle on all this. Are you using the API master test kit? Or dip strips? Because dip strips aren't always accurate unfortunately.

Happy that he's recovered

 

[Aspen35]

I was using the API kit. It’s definitely possible a dead snail was hiding somewhere. I didn’t give enough info for you to help in the first place! Thanks for the advice with the spike.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Great news! Glad he’s better.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I was using the API kit. It’s definitely possible a dead snail was hiding somewhere. I didn’t give enough info for you to help in the first place! Thanks for the advice with the spike.

I'd definitely trust the API kit, it's very accurate when done right
You're so welcome. There's so much to learn in this hobby and it can get confusing. I feel like I have a good grasp on the nitrogen cycle and things that affect it, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around gH, kH and pH, and how they interact with each other - for lack of a better word, and what causes changes in their levels. Luckily we have people like @essjay who are not only super knowledgeable, but very willing to share that knowledge and help us!

@Goldfishgirl35 do you have any pics of him looking well? I'm fond of platies, have some new blue platy fry, and planning to keep a couple of em, and yours looks pretty blue.

 

[Aspen35]

I'd definitely trust the API kit, it's very accurate when done right
You're so welcome. There's so much to learn in this hobby and it can get confusing. I feel like I have a good grasp on the nitrogen cycle and things that affect it, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around gH, kH and pH, and how they interact with each other - for lack of a better word, and what causes changes in their levels. Luckily we have people like @essjay who are not only super knowledgeable, but very willing to share that knowledge and help us!

@Goldfishgirl35 do you have any pics of him looking well? I'm fond of platies, have some new blue platy fry, and planning to keep a couple of em, and yours looks pretty blue.

I can try, but they move so fast it’s hard to get pictures

This is the best I can get at the moment. He’s zipping all over!!