Sunset fire platy lying at the bottom of the tank

[iggyliu]

Hi all,

My Sunset Fire Platy has been lying at the bottom of the tank for the past four days. Today i discovered that it has gotten worse. It appears that it can't swim, and when it tries to it can't reach the top of the tank, and so most of the time it lies on its side or its stomach among the marbles (I used marbles to line my aquarium floor).

I have a 10 gallon tank. I don't really know the gender of my platy since my friends got it for me (I assumed it was a male). I don't have a test kit, but I'm going to Petco tomorrow to test the water. Is there anything that might be wrong with my platy? I'm really worried

I attached a picture of my platy. I don't see any white spots or anything irregular with his/her fins and gills. Help?

Thanks

 

[GNarnian]

If you don't know what the readings are for sure, I would do a 50% water change today. It might be that the tank isn't cycled so there is ammonia in the water, making the guy sick. some fish are more sensitive than others to it, and will react just like this. What kind of water conditioner do you use?

also, using marbles is cool! they look interesting. how do you clean up the poop and stuff though?

 

[iggyliu]

I use API Tap Water conditioner. The thing with water change is I already did a big water change last weekend, although I didn't necessarily use new water. I used the old water from the tank and filtered it and poured it back (because I haven't done a water change for a long time and I didn't want to kill the bacteria colony)

I use a siphon underwater gravel vaccum

 

[GNarnian]

Water changes need to be done weekly for healthy fish. especially in smaller tanks. There isn't much BB in the water, it is on your decor, and most of it is in your filter. If you use the same water, you are really just putting the nitrates back in the tank, which can get to toxic levels.

So I would do a water change with new, temperature matched and conditioned water.

 

[iggyliu]

If it's nitrate poisoning, what should I do?

 

[GNarnian]

Just change out the water. It is safe to do back to back water changes as well. so you could do a 50% water change, pour in new, conditioned water, wait a couple hours, and do another water change. The only thing that will help with nitrate poisoning is clean water and time. In my experience, platys are tough little guys.

 

[GNarnian]

just make sure that the water is conditioned, and that it is as close to the temperature of your tank water as possible.

 

[iggyliu]

OK thanks. Although one of my platy fish had died already in that tank, so I'm really scared

 

[GNarnian]

It might have been the water, or it might have been the stock from where you got your fish. Sometimes, bad fish stock happens. :-( Especially in local fish stores (lfs)

 

[iggyliu]

But I'm kind of curious as to what's wrong with my platy. It's almost like as if he forgot how to swim/float

 

[GNarnian]

When fish are sick, they tend to not want to move. (Kind of like us!) He should perk up with the water change, though you might not see a big difference tonight. Just make sure you keep a close eye on the little guy!

 

[iggyliu]

Also, I have a separate, smaller tank that I used when I first got my platy. Can I fill it up with treated water and put my platy in there for a while?

 

[GNarnian]

You could. that water would be cleaner. As long as you have a heater for it, it should be fine.

 

[iggyliu]

Yes, and can I put a little bit of vitamin C in there?

 

[GNarnian]

I am unfamiliar with using vitamins to help fish. I've never tried it before. Perhaps you could do some research on that.

what would be the benefits?

 

[iggyliu]

I don't really know, my mom is a doctor and she used to treat her sick turtles with vitamin c. Apparently it can disinfect and do some other stuff

 

[iggyliu]

Clamped fin syndrome

OK, so I took the water and picture of my fish to PetCo today and the person there said my fish is suffering from clamped fin syndrome. I bought a water test kit and moved my platy to a separate, barely 1 gallon tank with freshly treated water and heater (the pH of that tank is at around 7.5 - 7.6) I'm going to test my big tank water asap.

So how do I help my fish with clamped fin syndrome? Is there any medication? The guy at Petco said the best thing to do would be to do a 50% water change in about 5 days. Help?

 

[iggyliu]

Nvm my platy died thanks for your help though GNarnian!

 

[redsea]

Sorry about your fish.

 

[GNarnian]

Sorry to hear that. :-(