Newfishgirl
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2020
- Messages
- 10
I have a 10 gallon tank with 5 female platys. The tank was sat up about 3 months ago. It has cycled and fish were added slowly (like 1 or 2 ever week or week and a half).
The sick Platy is the newest one I bought from Pet Smart. I’ve had her two weeks today. Two nights ago I notice two tiny white spots on her tail fin. They kind of looked like grains of sugar. I went to the pet store right away and they said to increase the tank temperature and add aquarium salt. So last night I turned up the temperature to about 80 (it was previously 76) and added two tbsp of aquarium salt. My sick Platy was hiding, but still came out to eat.
Then this morning, my sick Platy was at the top of the tank, right up to the water line acting like she doesn’t have enough oxygen. The other fish were swimming near the top, but not right up to the waterline. So I tested the water parameters this morning(Ammonia=0, Nitrites=0, Nitrates=about 50 or 60). So then I changed 50% of the water to bring the nitrates down, added 1 tbsp of the salt and 5 ml of healthy bacteria.
The water should have lots of oxygen, there is the appropriate filter (Not sure what it’s called, but it came with the tank kit at time of purchase). I also have a pump with one of those blue rocks so it sends bubbles up through a treasure chest decoration.
The sick fish is now laying on the bottom by a plant. I looked at her very closely and it looks like she has a white spot right on the edge of her eye, on her nose and the underside of her mouth. She has a speckled pattern, so she could have more because they really blend in with her colouring.
My question: The pet store told me to add the salt, increase water temperature and wait for a week to see if that’s enough, but I’m worried because it’s getting bad so fast. Should I just put in the chemical stuff to treat ick? Is there anything else I can do to help this poor fish?!?
The sick Platy is the newest one I bought from Pet Smart. I’ve had her two weeks today. Two nights ago I notice two tiny white spots on her tail fin. They kind of looked like grains of sugar. I went to the pet store right away and they said to increase the tank temperature and add aquarium salt. So last night I turned up the temperature to about 80 (it was previously 76) and added two tbsp of aquarium salt. My sick Platy was hiding, but still came out to eat.
Then this morning, my sick Platy was at the top of the tank, right up to the water line acting like she doesn’t have enough oxygen. The other fish were swimming near the top, but not right up to the waterline. So I tested the water parameters this morning(Ammonia=0, Nitrites=0, Nitrates=about 50 or 60). So then I changed 50% of the water to bring the nitrates down, added 1 tbsp of the salt and 5 ml of healthy bacteria.
The water should have lots of oxygen, there is the appropriate filter (Not sure what it’s called, but it came with the tank kit at time of purchase). I also have a pump with one of those blue rocks so it sends bubbles up through a treasure chest decoration.
The sick fish is now laying on the bottom by a plant. I looked at her very closely and it looks like she has a white spot right on the edge of her eye, on her nose and the underside of her mouth. She has a speckled pattern, so she could have more because they really blend in with her colouring.
My question: The pet store told me to add the salt, increase water temperature and wait for a week to see if that’s enough, but I’m worried because it’s getting bad so fast. Should I just put in the chemical stuff to treat ick? Is there anything else I can do to help this poor fish?!?
