What can I use to treat an internal bacterial infection?

[mayreee]

My platy is having problems swimming and now it won’t eat. I believe it is an internal bacterial infection. Here are the meds I have: CopperSafe, Maracyn-Plus, and Maroxy, PimaFix, and MelaFix. Will any of them treat this? I am looking for meds at http://thatfishplace.com and can't find out which ones treat it.

Thanks,
Marie

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5

 

[TCTFish]

First thing you need to do is properly identify what's wrong. There are many different ailments and different meds for them. Here is a link that can help you:

http://www.netpets.com/fish/healthspa/diseases/freshwater/freshdischart.html

What you could do right now is use PimaFix. I'd start with half the dose recommended on the bottle. If you can, increase aeration. Let me know how the platy is doing and please answer the following questions:

How long has the tank been up and running with fish?
What kind of filter do you have?
How often and how much do you feed?
How much and how often do you change water?

 

[mayreee]

How long has the tank been up and running with fish? 4 Months
What kind of filter do you have? Tetra whisper
How often and how much do you feed? Once a day just a pinch. A few times a week they get peas, frozen brine shrimp, frozen blood worms, and Spirulina flakes.
How much and how often do you change water? 50% once a week

 

[TCTFish]

IMO, you're doing radical water changes. 50% once a week, though may be effective on lowering nitrates, the downfall is that it's very stressful on the fish. You have hardy fish for the most part with the tetras being the most sensitive you have in that tank.

Stick with the PimaFix. Follow the water changes recommended on the bottle during treatment. Your nitrates are low so you should be able to wipe out whatever is bothering the platy in a short time. If there is no improvement after 2 weeks, switch the medication to something else. Once you are done medicating, place in fresh carbon and start a routine water change of 10% once a week instead of 50%. This routine will allow for a more stable environment. There are only a few things we test for, but water chemistry is loaded with all sorts of stuff not tested for. Large sudden changes can cause shock. Shock can lower the immune systems in fish and make them vunerable to all sorts of things.

FYI, feeding routine to prevent overfeeding is to give the fish a time limit per day. Whatever they can go through in two minutes per day. If you feed them more than once a day, then divide the time period accordingly. You can even skip a day or two out of the week. I'm not saying you are over feeding. I wouldn't know. One person's pinch is another's handful. Know what I mean?

Keep me updated on the platy

 

[Menagerie]

My platy is having problems swimming and now it won’t eat. I believe it is an internal bacterial infection.

What are the exact water parameters? What other fish are in the tank?
If you truly believe it is internal parasites, go with Metronidazole by Seachem in the food and water.
I also suggest cutting back on the PWCs to 30% once a week. Only if the water parameters are severly out of whack, do you need to do 50%.