neptuneviv
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- Jul 13, 2003
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Hi,
I have a livebearer/catfish tank and have found something wrong with the last of my female platies. Right now she's living with 2 males (other females passed away - all wasted away, probably old age) and ten juveniles (temporary housing - some are around 1/2 an inch, others are getting to 1 inch+), plus 4 catfish. All of them seem in great health: lots of appetite, very active, etc.
A few tank stats: It's 15 gal, heated at 78°F and filtered, PH is around 7.8 and has always been that way, nitrites and ammonia are 0, nitrates are about 25 ppm. I did a 20% water change and a clean out just last week.
I just noticed that this female platy has a long strip on her upper body that looks like a bruise. She's white, so you can see through her skin, and all of a sudden (ie: in less than 24 hours) she developed this dark red/purple mark on her back. Could it be a bruise, or am I looking at an infection? I know that the males can play rough, especially as she's the only one left to "court", but they tend to chase each other rather than her. She's very active and eating well, otherwise.
If it is an infection, how the do I tell and how can I treat her? The tank is overstocked as it is, I wouldn't be happy putting in antibiotics that may kill the bacteria necessary to process ammonia/nitrites. I have small tanks that I use for bettas (1.5/2 gal) but I don't know if a platy will survive in there without proper oxygenation.
Thanks for any input!
I have a livebearer/catfish tank and have found something wrong with the last of my female platies. Right now she's living with 2 males (other females passed away - all wasted away, probably old age) and ten juveniles (temporary housing - some are around 1/2 an inch, others are getting to 1 inch+), plus 4 catfish. All of them seem in great health: lots of appetite, very active, etc.
A few tank stats: It's 15 gal, heated at 78°F and filtered, PH is around 7.8 and has always been that way, nitrites and ammonia are 0, nitrates are about 25 ppm. I did a 20% water change and a clean out just last week.
I just noticed that this female platy has a long strip on her upper body that looks like a bruise. She's white, so you can see through her skin, and all of a sudden (ie: in less than 24 hours) she developed this dark red/purple mark on her back. Could it be a bruise, or am I looking at an infection? I know that the males can play rough, especially as she's the only one left to "court", but they tend to chase each other rather than her. She's very active and eating well, otherwise.
If it is an infection, how the do I tell and how can I treat her? The tank is overstocked as it is, I wouldn't be happy putting in antibiotics that may kill the bacteria necessary to process ammonia/nitrites. I have small tanks that I use for bettas (1.5/2 gal) but I don't know if a platy will survive in there without proper oxygenation.
Thanks for any input!
