Red Wag Platy stays on bottom of aquarium

[JoeH2014]

Hello all. I'm hoping someone here can help me. I'm an experienced aquarist, but I've been lucky and haven't dealt with sick fish much. However, my platy has been staying almost exclusively at the bottom of the aquarium for several weeks now. She eats on occasion, but does not come up to do so. I was hoping whatever ailed her would pass, but it hasn't. On the advice of my LFS, I added some salt to the water last Friday, with no improvement. I believe she may be suffering from clamped fins, as her tail is not fanned out like the others and her dorsal fin is always close to her body.

I have a 45 gallon, params are great (0/0/10). Unfortunately, I do not have have a hospital tank, so I'd have to treat all tank inhabitants.

Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated!

 

[BBradbury]

Your Platy

Hello Joe...

Your fish likely needs better water conditions. You should be changing out half the water in that 45 at least weekly. I keep a lot of Red Wags in a 45 tall tank and change 60 percent of the water every 6 to 7 days, sometimes more often. Red Wags are larger Platys. The females especially. I have some that are over two inches long and over an inch tall. The females produce a lot of waste and traces of waste in the water stress fish. Period.

Every time water runs through a filter, it loses a little more of it's ability to sustain the fish. The water parameters may test fine, but if the water's old, it's low in minerals the fish need for good health.

Work up to a 60 percent water change at least weekly. You'll keep most of the wastes out the water and what's left is diluted in all the new, treated tap water. Your fish will appreciate it.

B

 

[JoeH2014]

I stay on top of my water changes. Every Saturday I do one, though it's likely about 40-50% and not 60. Like I said above though, I'm not reading any ammonia or nitrites.

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[BBradbury]

Taking the Next Step

I stay on top of my water changes. Every Saturday I do one, though it's likely about 40-50% and not 60. Like I said above though, I'm not reading any ammonia or nitrites.

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Joe...

The next couple of things I suggest for your Platys is to introduce some surface plants. Hornwort and Anacharis are excellent for providing a nourishing food supplement and a comfort level for the fish, by providing cover. The second would be to add a bit of standard aquarium salt to the new, treated tap water. I use a teaspoon or a bit more in every 5 gallons of replacement water. This treatment helps the interworkings of the fish and boosts the immune system. This dose won't bother your other fish in the least and may even improve their health as well.

B

 

[JoeH2014]

Joe...

The next couple of things I suggest for your Platys is to introduce some surface plants. Hornwort and Anacharis are excellent for providing a nourishing food supplement and a comfort level for the fish, by providing cover. The second would be to add a bit of standard aquarium salt to the new, treated tap water. I use a teaspoon or a bit more in every 5 gallons of replacement water. This treatment helps the interworkings of the fish and boosts the immune system. This dose won't bother your other fish in the least and may even improve their health as well.

B

I will certainly give the plants a try. I just added a new light last Friday in an effort to go with a planted setup. Only added a new light and a couple of plants. My LFS was almost out, so I have to wait for more plants to arrive this week.

I've already got the salt in there, so I'll keep going with that. Thanks for your input, I greatly appreciate it.

 

[JoeH2014]

BBRadbury, just an update. I got home last night, and the platy in question was actually swimming around a bit towards the top of the aquarium. However, she also began flashing on some of the items in the aquarium. I examined her and am not really seeing anything on her. Very familiar with ich as I've had to fight it off a couple of times (not recently) and I definitely don't see that. Any ideas?

 

[JoeH2014]

Here's some pics of her tonight. She's getting out and about a bit more, but the gap under her gills is concerning me. Looks like she's a little white around her gills as well.

Does anyone have any ideas? Really don't want to lose her. She came from my stepson's aquarium as a fry.

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[BBradbury]

Flashing

BBRadbury, just an update. I got home last night, and the platy in question was actually swimming around a bit towards the top of the aquarium. However, she also began flashing on some of the items in the aquarium. I examined her and am not really seeing anything on her. Very familiar with ich as I've had to fight it off a couple of times (not recently) and I definitely don't see that. Any ideas?

Hi Joe...

Flashing or rubbing on plants doesn't mean there's a problem. Fish will do this to dislodge bits of algae from the plants. Fish scales are a little rough and older fish have learned that by rubbing on plants they can remove small bits of food from plant leaves. Fish and animals are more intelligent than we believe. If you're always following a sound tank maintenance routine, you'll never need to worry about tank problems or the health of your fish and plants.

B