Will My Platy Die?

[aussiefish]

Hey there,

One of my Platy's looks as though he is sick. He is floating oretty much vertically, however his fins are still moving, and although he seems to be struggling to swim he is able to move when and if he needs to. I've noticed that he is unable to control himself and often just floats and tips around the tank, especially when he goes near the filter. He leans on plants and ornaments etc. The other Platy's are fine and healthy, one female even gave birth today. He just seems like his back end is paralysed, his tail is not really moving. He goes down to bottom but alwaays seems to end up back at the top. What is going on? Will he die? Please help if you can.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Athena]

Hey there,

One of my Platy's looks as though he is sick. He is floating oretty much vertically, however his fins are still moving, and although he seems to be struggling to swim he is able to move when and if he needs to. I've noticed that he is unable to control himself and often just floats and tips around the tank, especially when he goes near the filter. He leans on plants and ornaments etc. The other Platy's are fine and healthy, one female even gave birth today. He just seems like his back end is paralysed, his tail is not really moving. He goes down to bottom but alwaays seems to end up back at the top. What is going on? Will he die? Please help if you can.

Thanks a lot.

Well, without actually seeing the fish I would guess at either a swimbladder disorder or a bacterial infection. If it's swimbladder it can sometimes be corrected by feeding a tiny amount of crushed pea. Swimbladder is usually easy to spot as the fish will have problems swimming - it may either list to one side, nose down, upside down, spiral round and round and generally just be forced around the tank by the flow of the filter current. There may also be a bloated appearance to the fish (sometimes on one side only). If the fish is still able to feed and you can get it to eat a bit of crushed pea, you might find it will recover.

If it's a bacterial infection this can affect the fins and tail - do these looked clamped tight to the body with the tail fin narrowed rather than the usual full spread? Movement of the tail fin can look quite stiff and awkward. Also, the underbelly often becomes concave in appearance. This can be treated with medications (in UK we have Myxazin, which I have used and recommend).

All the best - Athena

 

[newcastlelas]

Hey there,

One of my Platy's looks as though he is sick. He is floating oretty much vertically, however his fins are still moving, and although he seems to be struggling to swim he is able to move when and if he needs to. I've noticed that he is unable to control himself and often just floats and tips around the tank, especially when he goes near the filter. He leans on plants and ornaments etc. The other Platy's are fine and healthy, one female even gave birth today. He just seems like his back end is paralysed, his tail is not really moving. He goes down to bottom but alwaays seems to end up back at the top. What is going on? Will he die? Please help if you can.

Thanks a lot.

this is soo weird my platy is giving birth right now and my male platy is is going the exact same his nose always to the top of the tank,, moves but not clamped fins. and is pretty much vertical most of the time.. has been doing it just the past 10 minutes but i dont have any peas in my house so am stuffed really

 

[Jodiem]

im afraid that my other fish did that and it died it was because (i was new to fish keeping) that i put cold water in the tank instead of warming it!!

sorry Jodie

 

[newcastlelas]

im afraid that my other fish did that and it died it was because (i was new to fish keeping) that i put cold water in the tank instead of warming it!!

sorry Jodie

Yer i dont think my platy will make it, in a pretty bad way but doesnt look in pain.. just swimming around but when it stops his nose goes to the sky mind you i always wait before i put the water in the tank so .. if i cannit wait i add little bits at a time.. so it can get warmer better. am pretty much a newbie myself. so this is the first time i have seen my fish give birth. i already have fry but.. i missed the birth

 

[Loony Fish]

sorry, that is sad
i think you might be able to help him and do what everyone says. it might help to move him to his own tank.

 

[aussiefish]

Hey there,

One of my Platy's looks as though he is sick. He is floating oretty much vertically, however his fins are still moving, and although he seems to be struggling to swim he is able to move when and if he needs to. I've noticed that he is unable to control himself and often just floats and tips around the tank, especially when he goes near the filter. He leans on plants and ornaments etc. The other Platy's are fine and healthy, one female even gave birth today. He just seems like his back end is paralysed, his tail is not really moving. He goes down to bottom but alwaays seems to end up back at the top. What is going on? Will he die? Please help if you can.

Thanks a lot.

Well, without actually seeing the fish I would guess at either a swimbladder disorder or a bacterial infection. If it's swimbladder it can sometimes be corrected by feeding a tiny amount of crushed pea. Swimbladder is usually easy to spot as the fish will have problems swimming - it may either list to one side, nose down, upside down, spiral round and round and generally just be forced around the tank by the flow of the filter current. There may also be a bloated appearance to the fish (sometimes on one side only). If the fish is still able to feed and you can get it to eat a bit of crushed pea, you might find it will recover.

If it's a bacterial infection this can affect the fins and tail - do these looked clamped tight to the body with the tail fin narrowed rather than the usual full spread? Movement of the tail fin can look quite stiff and awkward. Also, the underbelly often becomes concave in appearance. This can be treated with medications (in UK we have Myxazin, which I have used and recommend).

All the best - Athena

Thanks for that advice it has been very helpful. Comparing him to my other Platy's his tail fin is actually very clamped and tight, and it has been this way for some time. How is it that one fish can be affected by disease and the others are completley unaffected? I will try crushed pea and see if he picks up, if not I'll have to try and find some medication for him.

I'll let you know how I go.

Thanks again

 

[damovts]

Hi, really sorry to hear bout your platty. My female betta has been doing the exact same thing for about 3 days and she died about 5 mins ago.

 

[aussiefish]

Hey guys, with a last desparate attempt to save my Platy I put some crushed peas in the tank, he didnt take to them at all. I just tried to take him out and isolate him from the rest, and the poor guy was dead.

He was my first fish and I've only had him for about a month, I'm shattered that he's gone. However, what makes me the most upset about this whole thing is that he was fine and healthy until I bought my thrid Platy home, who I am now certain bullied my Platy to death. I was watching them in the last minutes that he was alive, and the bullying Platy actually attacked him and I think thats what ultimatley killed him.

Any ideas as to why my Platy hated the one that has died so much? They were both males and i say hated because when ever my Platy was in the line of sight the other would chase him and attack him until he was gone.

Anyway thanks so much for your help and advice I really appreciate it.

 

[Athena]

Hi - sorry to hear your Platy didn't make it

What tends to happen is that if a fish gets sick, the other fish will often start to bully/attack it. No idea why they do it but it does happen like that. They will often then eat the dead fish - so if the death is suspected to be caused by parasitic or bacterial infection it's best to remove any dead fish asap.

There could also have been some fish rivalry going on there - the two males vying for the female attention and sorting out the pecking order.

Since you described your Platy as having a tightly clamped/stiff tail fin, I would say it sounds even more like a bacterial problem that may have led onto a swimbladder disorder. Never mind - you will know what to look for next time. It's always handy to have a bottle of meds at home so that any sick fish can be treated asap.

I have a German Blue Ram who had a bacterial infection (same symptoms as yours except she wasn't hanging vertically). I treated asap with Myxazin for the recommended course and she is still alive many weeks later.

R.I.P little Platy!

Athena