Sick/Hurt Platy?

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SpAceGiRl94

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Dec 1, 2018
Messages
98
Location
Muncie, IN
Hello all,

So one of my platies is swimming oddly. She almost seems slightly bent and is doing an odd shuffling type of wiggling motion when she swims (I know it sounds weird). I also noticed that she has been laying on the bottom of the tank a lot. I just did a wc and media change within the past 3 days and she seemed fine then. When I approach the tank she immediately swims towards me and starts nibbling at the surface along with my other two platies (who seem completely fine). So she's still eating. I don't think that she is pregnant but I am willing to consider that idea. I'm trying to figure out how to upload a video.
 
Is her back bent? I've seen one with a bent back in the LFS. It can happen to livebearers when they have too many babies at once or have difficulty giving birth. Something like that.
 
Really blurry picture since my video didn't load but this is basically how she looks when still. Very curved.
 

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Can you get a picture from the side? It looks similar to what I saw but it's hard to tell. From what i remember it will either correct itself or they live with it for the rest of their lives.
 
Even if there aren't any males, if they were kept with males in the store they can hold onto that and give birth multiple times later.
 
This is her from the side. She doesn't look pregnant but what do I know? I thought the other platies were but I haven't seen any fry and they no longer are as fat (in my opinion).
 

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There aren't any males in the tank. The orange female in question was a rescue. The original owner had her for about 6 months as the only platy in the tank (she had a snail in there). I got her and then after a month I decided to get two more female platies, who were in the tank with males at the store.
 
I do but I use a product called Seachem Prime that is supposed to remove the chlorine and chloramine from the tap water. The individual at the LFS told me it was a type of product that would work quickly and I would be able to add the water into the tank within a few minutes.
 
That's correct. I ask because if your fish lack minerals they can develop curvature of the spine. Tap water usually provides the needed minerals. Another reason would be pregnancy. The worst case is he has fish tuberculosis or a sporozoa. Which you should euthanize and be careful handling the fish.....not with your bare hands....if it's tuberculosis.
 
Okay. How do I know if its TB or sporozoa? I don't want to euthanize if the fish is going to be okay in the long run but I also don't want it to be in pain or infect the other fish. I also don't have a quarantine tank set up, although I do have a 1.5 gallon sitting empty still so I could try to stick her in there to determine if she is sick and needs to be euthanized. But unfortunately that tank isn't cycled at all and I worry that it would be a painful death trap for her. Plus by now the others are probably infected also. I do have 2 other female platies and an impulse buy of a green cory catfish (who will eventually be moved to a 30 gallon that I will be getting from a friend and then additional cories will be added with other fish friends that I'm trying to decide between).
 
Also if it is, will my child be okay? I typically dump the old water from water changes into his bathtub. I do rinse the tub afterwards but typically only with water. Do I just keep an eye on him and watch for symptoms? Do I need to take him to the doctor or ER? Also, my cat does occasionally sneak a drink of the old fish water as I'm doing water changes. Will she be okay? Do I need to take her to the vet and get her checked out? I'm a bit freaked out now.

I don't see any lesions or anything on her (the platy fish) and shes eating normally. Could it just be genetic or an injury? I'm hoping one of those because I don't want my son exposed to TB or anything like that.
 
I'd stick the fish in your 1.5 gallon tank and change 50% of the water every two or three days. Leave it bare bottom and use a turkey baster to clean up uneaten food or poop. Keep an eye on her and feed it good quality food. If it's TB she will progressively get worse and will show signs of skin deteriorating almost like an open wound, sunken belly, scale loss, pale color, loss of appetite. I'm sure I'm missing some other symptoms.

The chance of contracting it is really low. Even lower if it's not open TB (open wounds on the fish). Just something to be aware of. As far as I know it's not transdermal so you'd have to have an open wound on your hand that you put in the tank or if you were drinking the tank water. I wouldn't stress it but I wouldn't directly handle the fish. Use a net or rubber gloves. Without other symptoms present I wouldn't be to concerned but I would quarantine the fish for a few weeks and see if anything progresses.

I can't speak on the cat. That's a good question. And I can't say for sure it's TB because I'm not a vet and the fish would have to be dissected to confirm.

A lot of times it's lack of minerals from poor diet or water, or it's genetic. Live bearers develop curvature at times when pregnant.

Sorry to worry you it wasn't my intention [emoji53]. Don't stress over it.
 
Okay. I'll put her in the smaller tank and see what happens. I'm hoping that it isn't TB because that would be horrible. I'll keep an eye on both my son and the cat and if the platy gets worse then I'll take the kiddo to the dr to get checked out and the cat to the vet to get checked (or at least call the vet and see if it'll be fine).

And it's fine. I just freaked out for a second thinking about it. I would hate for my kiddo to get something like fish TB.
 
I've been fishing since I was a kid and my father used to tell me about fish handlers disease. It's the same type of thing, handling a fish with cuts or scrapes on your hands and getting bacteria in them from the fish. Honestly, everyone should think about these potential things every time they handle fish.

I got little ones too so I know how it feels to worry. I would be lying if I said these things didn't cross my mind when my son's are catching and handling thier bass and trout.
 
What are the parameters
pH
Gh General Hardness
kH Alkalinity / Calcium
TDS

Internal parasites can also cause spine curve.

What food or foods are you feeding? You might look into some /oops hit the send button too fast...
Fresh brine shrimp if there might be a lfs which carry it. If not you can always grow your own for fun /sea monkeys.

But the easy way is Frozen Spirulina Brine Shrimp. You can feed them several times a week, just cut the cube to the size appropriate for the number of fish you have. A good nutritional source for them.

You might want to use a little cup to defrost for 5 min in a couple ounces of tank water.

(I use the 3 ounce plastic disposable white cups for the bathroom dispenser.)
 
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Parameters:
PH 8.2
The others I'm not sure of. I would have to take my water to a LFS to test it.

I've begun giving them a pea a week, and then I feed them the tropical fish flakes from Walmart. I can check what they're actually called once I get home. As far as the peas, the one who the problem is with refuses to eat them... the other 2 platies love said pea and gobble it up. So I'm trying to figure out a way to get said stubborn platy to eat said pea.

And you're saying that the shrimp could fix internal parasites? I'm trying to get them onto a more varied diet so any information on what I could feed them (and eventually other fish - look on my 30 gallon post) would be appreciated :)
 
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