Weak Platy

[arj]

Hi,

Recently i have noticed that one of my platy's is looking a bit more flimsy than normal, and seems considerably thinner than normal. i then noticed that when feeding the fish, that platy doesnt seem to be able to get there in time because its a bit slow.

I was wondering if its a good idea to supend the fish in a net (without taking it out of the water) then feeding it that way to make sure it eats. is this a good idea?

thanks.

 

[Bloo]

Any visible signs of illness on your platy or any of the other fish ? How long has he been like this ? How long have you had him ?

 

[arj]

We've had him since around october 2004. This sign doesnt seem to be permanent, it sort of appears then goes after a couple of days.

Most of the other fish seem ok, apart from one of the other platy's which seems a little slower (but other than that, fine).

By the way, I don't know the sex these fish.

Another thing is that we recently found that the water contained ammonia, might this have something to do with it?

 

[Def]

Yes, this is usually a sign of a sick platy on its way out. It will refuse to feed, get thinner and eventually die. I've had this with platys that refuse to take flake.

You need to make a decision to save it now. You'll have to net it every day and feed it food in a large net that it will eat. In my case I had to feed bloodworm and cucumber every day. Good luck.

 

[Bloo]

At a guess from your description, it sounds like it could have been weakend due to general water conditions. I am unsure if there is much you can do in such a case

Out of interest, male Swordtail's have a "gonopodium" (a modified anal fin), that females do not have. This might be hard to distinguish in younger platies.