Is my platy dying??

[AquariumFreek]

I recently made a thread about my platy being pregnant, Well....turns out the pregnant "female" was actually just a very sick male. His belly is really big.... bigger than usual, and hes sitting at the bottom of the tank, breathing heavy. I also noticed my female has red gills. I did a 50% water change as soon as possible, the male is now actually * trying to * swim, but the female is still has red gills.

they were both in a 20 gallon with my 2 honey gouramis, and 7 neon tetras. The tank is fully cycled, and all my other fish are very healthy, except these two.

I feel terrible, is there anything I can do to help them?! Salt has done absolutely nothing for me, and I am really trying to save this little guy

 

[AquariumFreek]

UPDATE: Sad news....We lost the male. We took him to a different lfs, and they said he was bloated, and overall was just very sick cause of the place we got him from

Now my only concern is the female. Is she gonna be okay? her gills are red, but they are kinda fading? I still don't want to put her back in my 20 gallon with my gouramis, cause I don't want to lose those two also.

I'm so confused, and I don't know what to do

 

[imamesshelpme]

So sorry to hear you couldn't save him.
Red gills are usually an indication of ammonia burns. Many water test strips do not include ammonia levels, so you will need separate test strips specifically for ammonia.
Almost all issues are caused by water quality, so correct that and you're likely to improve their health. How often do you do water changes? What about vacuuming the gravel and cleaning the filter? All these can cause compensated health. Do a 30% water change every week, vacuum the gravel every fortnight and rinse the filter in old tank water every fortnight too.
As for the other fish being perfectly healthy, certain species and certain fish are more resistant to sickness. Sadly because most store fish are captive bred the gene pool is getting weaker, fish are getting weaker and there's barely any natural selection anymore. Other fish could always have some internal issues and may not be fine, so always ensure the health of all fish, not just the one who appears physically sick.

 

[AquariumFreek]

I do 40% water changes every week, and I clean the gravel also. I do the filter about every month cause its pretty clean most of the time.

I now am veryy worried, one of my neons is starting to go to the top of the tank and flip over, and my gouramis are both sitting at the surface gulping air and won't eat. I did a water change as soon as possible, and they still aren't doing anything the platy still has red gills and her fins are down, which I heard is a sign of stress. the rest of my neons are totally fine and are colorful and happy.

I really love these little fish and I don't wanna lose them cause of this Should I do anything else besides the weekly water changes, etc? EDIT: my gouramis seem super weak. the filter is not strong, and yet they keep being pulled onto it. I have a strong feeling all of my fish are doomed cause of these pet store platys. I just lost one of my neons and I don't know what to do

 

[imamesshelpme]

So, a tank breakdown. It can happen to all of us, including more experienced owners.
I'd recommend daily small water changes. Honestly, you may lose your fish. Sometimes no matter how well you treat them the fish is too weak to over come the illness.
Maybe read up on the species you own in depth before purchasing more. Good luck to you and your little water babies.

 

[AquariumFreek]

Thanks. I'm doing everything I can to save these little guys