Dead Platys

[Red_Ribbons]

I just spent nine weeks cycling a 5 gallon planted aquarium. When the cycle completed it was able to process 3ppm of household ammonia in 24 hours. I ran it like this for five days and then stocked it with two Amano shrimp and two male Platy fish.
My water parameters were and still are:
0% Ammonia
0% Nitrite
30 ppm Nitrate (I recently discovered that's the level in my tap water and started doing 20% water changes with bottled water).
(Using API liquid test kits)


One of the Platys always had clamped fins but I put this down to stress. As it didn't improve within 48 hours I treated the tank with API Pimafix and Melafix, during the time of treatment I stopped doing water changes.
A couple of days later the Platy died and the other one just died this evening. Both fish were eating and the poop looked normal. There was no inflammation of the gills, no reddening of any extremities, they were also breathing normally. The signs of illness included clamped fins and tail, disorientation and an inability to balance. The whole process of introduction to the tank to death took eight days.


I went to the pet store, where I originally purchased the fish, today to pick up some food for my other pets. There was a big quarantine sign on the Platy tank, so I asked the lady what was wrong with them. She said she didn't really know but thought it was a fungal infection. I explained to her what happened and asked her if my tank was safe or if I had to take any precautions for the shrimp. She just said do a 70% water change and it would be fine.

I don't believe her.

I would ideally like to get some more shrimp and one Betta fish but I don't want to risk putting anything else in there if my carefully prepared tank has now become some sort of fish Bio-hazard.

Any advice would be appreciated and can I still keep the cycle going with fish flake food whilst there is nothing in there to provide an ammonia source?
Sorry for the length of the post and thank you for taking the time to read it!

 

[ppo8820]

For starters, platys seem very fragile lately. I am not sure if its breeding or whatever, but I had some die as well. 2nd, was this store a petco or petsmart type store? If so , chances are very high you got sick fish from the start and it has nothing to do with your tank.

3rd, anything such as a parasite of fungus will die in your tank in about 48 hours without a host, and shrimp and snails will not count as hosts. I would wait a week to be safe, do a water change, and then test. If all is good, then I would head to a fish only store with individual filters on each tank. Pick some healthy ones and ask the staff to scoop the ones you hand pick. You should have MUCH better luck with this route.

The problem with large chain pet shops with fish is they run all tanks on ONE water line. Preventing disease and stress is impossible as if one tank gets sick, then they all do. They lose SO many fish! Its a rookie mistake and one we have all made at one time or another. Best of luck.

 

[Red_Ribbons]

I live in the UK so we don't have a Pet Smart but it was a similar type of large pet store. The Platys weren't the only quarantined tank when I went in and spoke to them so thank you for the advice! I will go in search of a specialist shop. Thanks again.

 

[ppo8820]

It will totally make a difference in the fish's health if you get them from a place that has their tanks on individual filters and only sells fish. We have all made the mistake of purchasing from large chain stores, so dont feel bad. None of it was your fault and congrats on the cycled tank (Im waiting on one of mine to cycle, 2.5 weeks in). Take care.

 

[Matt68005]

Sorry to hear your frustration. Thats a long time to wait with a empty tank (i would have thrown some common goldfish in there and Probiotic liquid Stress Zyme and cycled it in 2 weeks)
Part of this hobby is that stuff does'nt go according to plan, and fish die from stress (what causes all diseases other than parasites)
Another part is sometimes its discusting and smells, and is expensive.....
But We all love how beautiful it looks and relaxing it is

PS. A word of advice, the melafix/Primafix stuff don't really work. I know its hard to find meds in the UK and I realy feel bad for your lack of choices. Offically the West indies bay leaves have antibiotic-antimicrobial properties, but only for a very few certain types of gram positive bacteria, the majority of deadly fish bacteria (Flexibacter, Aeromonas, Psuedomonas) are all gram negative. Your tank should be fine for awhile if you just drop a tiny pinch of food in there every other day. Honestly, with your limited scope of medications, your better off just keeping that tank clean, and stress free, and tossing any fish that look like their gonna die and getting new ones.