Rabbitcabbit
New Member
Tank size: 20 gallons
Tank age: ~8 years
pH: 7
Temp: 77 F
Ammonia / nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 5ppm
gH & kH: both 4
This has a bit of background - please read! I'm desperate!
My boyfriend recently cycled a 40 gallon tank. He wanted platys, and went to LFS to get some. They had a very pregnant female, so he decided to just get her with the thought he'd soon have many. He also got a breeder box, but we missed the birth. It turned out to be impossible to net the babies, so we put "Momma" in my tank, which is the one I described above. Other inhabitants are snails and shrimps.
Anyway, Momma has not been the same since giving birth (which was 2 weeks ago now). She is incredibly lethargic, spends most of her time at the bottom of the tank, and does not / cannot eat (she did eat before she gave birth). Her mouth also is always open, which I didn't realize was abnormal until somewhat recently. I really have no idea what is going on with her - she was subdued when we got her, but my understanding is that is normal for very pregnant fish (we had her only about 5 days before she gave birth). Her mouth was also normal when we got her - I took a few pictures of her before she gave birth, her mouth was always closed.
When she does swim around, her swimming seems normal, so I don't think it is an issue with her swim bladder.
I posted this issue on Reddit a couple times, and nobody responded to my posts. Yesterday I had the idea to call the LFS to ask advice, and the person I spoke to suggested putting her in a tank by herself with some aquarium salt, heated to 80 F. Thankfully I have extra supplies, and I set up a 10 gallon tank yesterday w/a heater. I grabbed the sponge filter from my betta's tank so there is some good bacteria for her - so far no ammonia spikes in her tank but she has only been in for a few hours. (I have an extra new filter for betta, and I'm assuming there is enough good bacteria in betta's gravel and plants).
I'm at a loss of what else I can do. I really have no idea what is wrong with her, the only thing I can think of is the birth must have been traumatic for her. Again I did not realize until recently how bad it is that her mouth won't close. I can't say with certainty when this happened to her mouth, but it must have been after the birth.
Any advice would be much appreciated, even if it is euthanizing her :'(
Tank age: ~8 years
pH: 7
Temp: 77 F
Ammonia / nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 5ppm
gH & kH: both 4
This has a bit of background - please read! I'm desperate!
My boyfriend recently cycled a 40 gallon tank. He wanted platys, and went to LFS to get some. They had a very pregnant female, so he decided to just get her with the thought he'd soon have many. He also got a breeder box, but we missed the birth. It turned out to be impossible to net the babies, so we put "Momma" in my tank, which is the one I described above. Other inhabitants are snails and shrimps.
Anyway, Momma has not been the same since giving birth (which was 2 weeks ago now). She is incredibly lethargic, spends most of her time at the bottom of the tank, and does not / cannot eat (she did eat before she gave birth). Her mouth also is always open, which I didn't realize was abnormal until somewhat recently. I really have no idea what is going on with her - she was subdued when we got her, but my understanding is that is normal for very pregnant fish (we had her only about 5 days before she gave birth). Her mouth was also normal when we got her - I took a few pictures of her before she gave birth, her mouth was always closed.
When she does swim around, her swimming seems normal, so I don't think it is an issue with her swim bladder.
I posted this issue on Reddit a couple times, and nobody responded to my posts. Yesterday I had the idea to call the LFS to ask advice, and the person I spoke to suggested putting her in a tank by herself with some aquarium salt, heated to 80 F. Thankfully I have extra supplies, and I set up a 10 gallon tank yesterday w/a heater. I grabbed the sponge filter from my betta's tank so there is some good bacteria for her - so far no ammonia spikes in her tank but she has only been in for a few hours. (I have an extra new filter for betta, and I'm assuming there is enough good bacteria in betta's gravel and plants).
I'm at a loss of what else I can do. I really have no idea what is wrong with her, the only thing I can think of is the birth must have been traumatic for her. Again I did not realize until recently how bad it is that her mouth won't close. I can't say with certainty when this happened to her mouth, but it must have been after the birth.
Any advice would be much appreciated, even if it is euthanizing her :'(