dwarfgourami
Fish Connoisseur
I posted frequently about a month ago about Smudge my red wagtail platy, who had a difficult pregnancy, possibly parasites, and contracted columnaris.
To cut a long story short I set up a hospital tank very hastily and transferred her. When I had her in her new tank and was able to see her more clearly I realised that her fins were not just clamped with distress but actually eaten away with finrot. So I treated first with Interpet Anti-bacterial and the with Interpet Anti-finrot. She was beginning to look better and the last two days had actually been cruising the tank looking around rather than clinging miserably in a corner. This morning I found her dead in a plant.
She really was a fighter but it must have got too much in the end. Maybe she even starved to death as her sore mouth seemed to make it very difficult for her to eat in the end. She had a lovely personality. I was fonder of her than I've ever been of a fish before, we all were.
It seems particularly hard as my daughter is confined to her bed at the moment because of her joint disorder and our coping ability is low. I feel a bit of a failure all round, as a mother and petkeeper: if I can't keep my fish alive or my child walking....
Also, the male platy in the other tank also seems to have a touch of finrot though it's hard to tell as he keeps hiding. Strange, they haven't been in contact for 4 months, and the tank stats are fine (0 ammonia and nitrites) in his tank. So this afternoon I'll be stripping Smudge's tank down for the next patient. Not particularly a cheering thought.
The one comforting thing is that Smudge did leave a legacy- we have 21 young platys happily swimming around in the livebearer tank and they look in fine shape.
Sorry folks, just needed a shoulder to cry on.
To cut a long story short I set up a hospital tank very hastily and transferred her. When I had her in her new tank and was able to see her more clearly I realised that her fins were not just clamped with distress but actually eaten away with finrot. So I treated first with Interpet Anti-bacterial and the with Interpet Anti-finrot. She was beginning to look better and the last two days had actually been cruising the tank looking around rather than clinging miserably in a corner. This morning I found her dead in a plant.
She really was a fighter but it must have got too much in the end. Maybe she even starved to death as her sore mouth seemed to make it very difficult for her to eat in the end. She had a lovely personality. I was fonder of her than I've ever been of a fish before, we all were.
It seems particularly hard as my daughter is confined to her bed at the moment because of her joint disorder and our coping ability is low. I feel a bit of a failure all round, as a mother and petkeeper: if I can't keep my fish alive or my child walking....
Also, the male platy in the other tank also seems to have a touch of finrot though it's hard to tell as he keeps hiding. Strange, they haven't been in contact for 4 months, and the tank stats are fine (0 ammonia and nitrites) in his tank. So this afternoon I'll be stripping Smudge's tank down for the next patient. Not particularly a cheering thought.
The one comforting thing is that Smudge did leave a legacy- we have 21 young platys happily swimming around in the livebearer tank and they look in fine shape.
Sorry folks, just needed a shoulder to cry on.
Sorry to hear about Smudge. Do not go beating yourself up. You did more for Smudge the most people would. With all the things she was going through most people would have shown her to the the swirling cemetary. You gave her every chance to make it so be proud of yourself for the work you did.
hope these flowers cheer you up. sorry to hear about smudge hope things get better soon
