He shrunk--Then he Disappeared

[Lee A]

I am puzzled about a platy male that I had up until recently. He began getting smaller and smaller. Otherwise, his behavior was normal. He was also breeding with my platy females. Then he simply was no longer in the tank. I suspect that he died and the snails ate him. Here is my problem: this little male's fry are dying. They are in a fry tank to grow out, along with some guppy fry. The guppies are fine, The platies grew to about 1/2 inch and are now dropping like flies. Can any of you more experienced fishkeepers shed a little light on what is going on? I'd sure appreciate any help you can give me. The parameters for my two tanks are as follows:

29 Gallon planted main tank: amonnia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 3, pH 7.6, gh 8, kh 25, temperature 79

10 gallon bare bottom fry tank: amonnia 0, nitrites 0 nitrates 10, pH 7.5, gh 8, kh 24, temperature 78

Thank you!

Lee A

 

[siva]

By smaller do you mean skinnier and skinnier? That's called wasting and it can be a symptom of some illnesses, such as TB and internal parasites.

 

[Lee A]

No, he didn't get skinnier and skinnier, he quite literally got smaller--shorter from end to end. He shrunk from about 1 and 1/2 inches to less than 1 inch. But, he remained active.

 

[siva]

Crazy! Never seen anything like that.

 

[Lee A]

I'm wondering if this could be the results of poor genetics? I bought him at PetSmart. All my other fish I got from established well respected local fish stores. The rest of my fish are fine. Just this one little sunburst platy has gone south.

 

[siva]

That's my first thought as well.

 

[Lee A]

So, as long as the rest of my tank inhabitants are fine, do you think it is too soon to panic?

 

[siva]

Yes, too soon to panic. Sounds like the fry might be a lost cause..and that might be for the best.

 

[Lee A]

Thanks Erin. I'll try not to take this too hard. More of the fry died in the last hour. But, on the bright side, all of the guppy fry are doing fine.