Sick sunburst platy

[Mjessmer]

Hello. My name is Melanie, we have a 60gal fish tank with a verity of fish there are about 28 in the tank together and all seem to get along pretty well there has been some occasional poking but nothing serious or often. We have had this tank for a few months now and everything has been going pretty well. However one of our sunburst platys is acting strange. She is at the bottom breathing very hard she looks like she is trying to swim but just kind of sinks. Her tail and top fin don't look like they usually do. I dont know what is wrong. She was okay this morning and none of our other fish seem to be having any other problems. We did a few test strips and everything seems to be in order there. I am pretty new to the whole fish thing so I'm not sure what to do. We separated her by putting her in the breeding net we have so the other fish don't mess with her but she isn't doing any better. Should I take her out and put her in her own tank? Is there anything we can do to help her?

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[Matt68005]

28 fish? as in 28 platies? Thats quite alot, but platies are not big. Are there mollies?
Your fish has tail rot. You might want to invest $5.50 and feed the lot of them one of these antibiotics. The sick one may be too far gone already. That is alot of fish, i dont know much about platies, but your bound to run into problems. I have nothing against overstocking if you keep up your water changes, and dont overfeed tho.
Antibiotic Fish Flake Food

 

[Mjessmer]

No not 28 platys. 2 sunburst..well now 1, 2 orange ish red platys, some angelfish, some zebra dinos, some cory cats, a bata, some blood fish (think that is what they are called) some tiger barbs a plecostomus and an albino plecostomus there are a few more I just don't remember what they are called. They are all pretty small and have lots of space in the tank. The pet store said a 60 gallon tank would be more than fine for the fish we have even when they got bigger(not all of them will get bigger) this is my tank I hope it's not over sticked.
Thank you I will look into the flakes!


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[Matt68005]

Welcome.

 

[Barliman]

Howdy!

The platy seems to have a flattened stomach, if I read the photo right. Not a good sign, and maybe evidence of an internal parasite. There are ways to treat for that (API's "General Cure," for one) but I agree with the poster above that she may not be long for this world. At this point I think you'd be treating to protect your other fish.

Side note: I love that color pattern of platy, though my local store called them sunset fires. Some of the prettiest I've ever seen.

Also you mentioned having a "bata". I'm not sure what that is. Did you mean "bala?"

Again, good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Coursair]

Research your fish so you can post an accurate species list. This will help us, help you.

I'm assuming you mean a Betta ?

Some Angelfish ? How many ?
Some Zebra Danios ?
Some Cory Cats ? Which species ?
I think I see Serpae Tetras ?
Tiger Barbs
At least 2 Plecos ( what species ?)

It sounds like the store has sold you a mishmash of fish.

Serpae Tetras and Tiger Barbs are notorious fin nippers. Not good usually with Angels.

Common Plecos can get 12" and end up needing about 125g and lots of filtration.

The albino may be a Bristlenose. Those stay smaller and that is ok for your tank.

Blood fish ? Blood Fin Tetras ? Blood Parrot ? ( can be aggressive).

A. Tetras, Danios and Barbs are all schooling species. They should be in groups of 6 or more.

Pick a favorite fish and build your tank stock list around them.

If you like the Angelfish, return or rehome the nippy species. They like a calm tank so Zebra Danios may annoy the heck out of them AND steal all the food.

I'm not trying to be mean, but for long term tank health, you may need to get a better stocking plan.

If you only have a couple of each species it can cause stress and aggression with even peaceful schooling fish.

Angels are not schooling. Most folks buy a group of babies and once they pair up they keep 1-2 pairs and regime the rest. An Angel pair may kill off extra Angels. They are a Cichlid. They may eat small fish once they get big also. They eat Neons in the wild.

Also are there live plants ? The one with striped leaves is NOT aquatic.

You may want to add a dark background to help the fish feel more secure.

If you decide to go with Angels consider adding some easy live plants.

This is my club members Angel tank


This is my 55g

 

[Coursair]

What is your water change schedule ? With so many fish in such a new tank
You may want to get a liquid test kit.
They are more accurate.

Anytime I have a problem I do a partial water change (PWC).

Barbs and Danios may be taking most of the food. They are fast and aggressive feeders.