Spookie
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Fish Suddenly Dying + Tumor on Swordtail
Hello,
I noticed last week one of my fish was acting lethargic/laying on the bottom of his tank and breathing rapidly. I put him in my quarantine tank and it died overnight, but all other fish appeared healthy. Two days ago another of my male platies was acting strangely/pooing white and he was really bloated. I put him in his quarantine tank and treated him with an anti-parasite medication (API) and my boyfriend saw him literally drop dead about an hour later - he swam up to the top of the water and nose dived into the gravel and was gone.Yesterday, another male platy in my main tank got sick and died last night suddenly. Today, a fourth male platy was also seemingly sick/hanging around the heater. I took him out and while he was sitting in a container acclimating to the quarrantine tank's temperature he died in about five minutes.
No fish are acting sick until a day before they die. The main tank is 36 gallons and has mollies, platies, swordtails, tetra, and a pleco (about 25 total). All of the readings are fine, I've been checking all of the ammonia/nitrite levels and they are 0. Nitrates are at 20-25 and have been that way for as long as I remember - I vaccuum the gravel once a week and change the water, and the water where I live is naturally high in them. I did get new fish about a month ago but all are healthy until its too late.
I have noticed that some of my fish have gotten really skinny. They all eat, and I feed them a varied diet often, but yet some are stick thin regardless of eating so much. I would treat the main tank with a parasite medication but I have about 20 two week old fry in that tank and don't want them do die. Any suggestions? Anything to look for?
***Update, today a dalmation swordtail is now acting sick/swimming near the top of the water. He has a HUGE orange/brownish bump protruding from one side of his body (his normal color is white) and his poo is white and stringy. What is this!?
Hello,
I noticed last week one of my fish was acting lethargic/laying on the bottom of his tank and breathing rapidly. I put him in my quarantine tank and it died overnight, but all other fish appeared healthy. Two days ago another of my male platies was acting strangely/pooing white and he was really bloated. I put him in his quarantine tank and treated him with an anti-parasite medication (API) and my boyfriend saw him literally drop dead about an hour later - he swam up to the top of the water and nose dived into the gravel and was gone.Yesterday, another male platy in my main tank got sick and died last night suddenly. Today, a fourth male platy was also seemingly sick/hanging around the heater. I took him out and while he was sitting in a container acclimating to the quarrantine tank's temperature he died in about five minutes.
No fish are acting sick until a day before they die. The main tank is 36 gallons and has mollies, platies, swordtails, tetra, and a pleco (about 25 total). All of the readings are fine, I've been checking all of the ammonia/nitrite levels and they are 0. Nitrates are at 20-25 and have been that way for as long as I remember - I vaccuum the gravel once a week and change the water, and the water where I live is naturally high in them. I did get new fish about a month ago but all are healthy until its too late.
I have noticed that some of my fish have gotten really skinny. They all eat, and I feed them a varied diet often, but yet some are stick thin regardless of eating so much. I would treat the main tank with a parasite medication but I have about 20 two week old fry in that tank and don't want them do die. Any suggestions? Anything to look for?
***Update, today a dalmation swordtail is now acting sick/swimming near the top of the water. He has a HUGE orange/brownish bump protruding from one side of his body (his normal color is white) and his poo is white and stringy. What is this!?