Injured Platy?

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mfischer0210

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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Sep 11, 2015
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We have a platy that appears to be injured in some way? She is in there with other platys, a couple dalamation mollies and a pleco. It looks like there may be a little chunk taken from her side. She is acting fine other wise and is eating. My wife said she looks a little more red in the area today, I'm at work and can supply another picture when I get home. We are very new to fish and have had these guys for a month now. ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1442417027.664134.jpg


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Hello! So, for future reference, the more detail you give on your tank, the better we can figure out the issue. In particular, we need to know your water parameters! Especially ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. High levels of any of those can often be at the root of any fish health problem.

Do you know the gender ratio of your platys? The injured fish in the picture is a female, and I just lost a female due to a similar problem, caused by stress from having too many males pestering her. It's best to have at least 2 females for every male (the more females, the better).

If you have a separate tank you can move her to, that would be a good idea. If not, then treat the main tank. I recommend using 1 teaspoon of salt per gallon of water. That concentration of salt should be effective at treating a wide spectrum of diseases, so anything that might take advantage of the injury will have a much harder time. Beyond that, just watch the fish and see how she does. If it gets better, great! If not, we can try and come up with something else.

One last thing: It's a bit of stretch, but some plecos have, on occasion, been witnessed attacking the sides of other fish. It's definitely uncommon, but I would keep an eye on him nonetheless.
 
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Hello! So, for future reference, the more detail you give on your tank, the better we can figure out the issue. In particular, we need to know your water parameters! Especially ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. High levels of any of those can often be at the root of any fish health problem.

Do you know the gender ratio of your platys? The injured fish in the picture is a female, and I just lost a female due to a similar problem, caused by stress from having too many males pestering her. It's best to have at least 2 females for every male (the more females, the better).

If you have a separate tank you can move her to, that would be a good idea. If not, then treat the main tank. I recommend using 1 teaspoon of salt per gallon of water. That concentration of salt should be effective at treating a wide spectrum of diseases, so anything that might take advantage of the injury will have a much harder time. Beyond that, just watch the fish and see how she does. If it gets better, great! If not, we can try and come up with something else.

One last thing: It's a bit of stretch, but some plecos have, on occasion, been witnessed attacking the sides of other fish. It's definitely uncommon, but I would keep an eye on him nonetheless.


Sorry about the lack of information, I was at work and just did a water test when I got home.
She is in there with 2 other females and one male platy. There is also 1 male dalamation and 3 female dalmatians. Not sure the sex of the pleco?
Water test results;
PH - 7.6
High Range - 7.8
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 10ppm

I have a 20 gallon tank also with a penguin 150 filter. I am unsure of the heater brand but the temp is at 80*

I do not have a spare tank to put her in. I can go buy one of those breeding nets to at least give her separation.

I included another picture from 15 minutes ago. Definitely looks like it is getting worse. ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1442437261.785782.jpg


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Ok, we'll start with simple stuff. 80 is definitely on the high side for the fish you have. I would turn down the temperature to 75 degrees for fish comfort, as well as to slow down microbial growth in the wound.

Your water quality is well within acceptable range so that's not it. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that fuzzy whiteness near the top of the wound looks like a columnaris infection to me. Definitely add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt per gallon to the tank. Even if it's something besides columnaris, salt may effectively treat it.

Do you have any really rough decorations the fish may have scratched on? Do you know how long the wound has been there?
 
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I picked up some kosher salt. So I should put in 20 teaspoons of salt because I have a 20 gallon tank? Just want to be sure. Thanks!


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Ok, we'll start with simple stuff. 80 is definitely on the high side for the fish you have. I would turn down the temperature to 75 degrees for fish comfort, as well as to slow down microbial growth in the wound.

Your water quality is well within acceptable range so that's not it. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that fuzzy whiteness near the top of the wound looks like a columnaris infection to me. Definitely add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt per gallon to the tank. Even if it's something besides columnaris, salt may effectively treat it.

Do you have any really rough decorations the fish may have scratched on? Do you know how long the wound has been there?


I have also started to lower the temperature. I do not have any rough or sharp objects in the tank. The wound was first noticed on Sunday.


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I picked up some kosher salt. So I should put in 20 teaspoons of salt because I have a 20 gallon tank? Just want to be sure. Thanks!


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Yep! Keep an eye on the pleco. Although I have never had issues myself I have heard some people say that plecos don't like salt. The rest of your fish are quite happy in it.
 
Yep! Keep an eye on the pleco. Although I have never had issues myself I have heard some people say that plecos don't like salt. The rest of your fish are quite happy in it.


Ok! Thank you for all the help Sinibotia!


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