Need HELP! Think my male platy is sick

[crissy7399]

Well, we're still cycling our tank, have had 5 tiger barbs for 2-3 weeks and just got 3 red wag(?) platys 2 days ago. I've checked my ammonia and it hasn't quite reached .25 yet (have the test tubes with the color codes) definitely not more than .25 anyways. (ph-7.8 to 8, and temp 75)

Well, they were all fine, ate this morning as usual. When we got home tonight, the male was "hiding" in the back corner. I fed all the fish a little bit and all of them ate everything, but not him. Well the more I watched him, the more he looked sick. He seems to "float" with the movements of the water and sometimes runs into the decor, and then lies flat again on the gravel. His side fins are still waving a little, and his mouth seems to be panting (like a dog would).

I checked the ammonia again and it looks the same as it has all week. I also did a 20% water change just incase the .25 (or under) of ammonia is bothering him.

Does anyone have suggestions? I was told that the platys are hardy fish, and I don't see anything physically wrong with him (like whitespots) except his swimming problems. It just seems like he has no energy to swim and it doesn't look like a buouncy problem to me, but I don't know.

THANKS EVERYONE!

 

[homebunnyj]

Whenever you have a sick fish, quarantining it is a good idea. Actually, quarantining new stock for a couple weeks is the best idea. I'd pull him out if it were me. How are your nitrites?

 

[crissy7399]

thank you homebunnyj

My nitrites still haven't done anything yet- still zero.

What if this is our only tank? We've only had it running for little over a month. Can I find something else to put him in? Like a glass mixing bowl?

I can't leave tonight because the kids are in bed. Plus, I don't want to spend too much money on a separate tank cause we really can't afford it.

What do you think?

Thank you so much,

 

[homebunnyj]

I have quarantined before with a bucket and an airstone, with tank water. Good enough for overnight, it seems, maybe longer. A mixing bowl and an airstone would probably be okay for a little fish like a platy, for tonight, I think. A bucket or rubbermaid bin would be better for a longer time than overnight.

 

[crissy7399]

Thank you.

I have buckets, but they've been used for other means, and probably have residue on them.

Oooh, I do have a beer pitcher that's never been used. I think I'll use it.


thanks again. Now the hard part will be trying to find him, cause I can't right now, and getting him out.

oh. how do I keep the temp? Our house is around 70- 68 at night.

Thanks!

 

[crissy7399]

PLATY STILL NOT GOOD

He was in the pitcher for the night, I had a anachris and a air tube in it, but didn't have a heater for it. It was 70 this morning when I checked, but watching him in the pitcher sometimes just looked horrible, (the ammonia was the same in both), he looked like he was going crazy at times swimming around in circles with his head down and still looked like he was huffing for air. So I slowly put him back in the real tank- made sure of the temp and stuff.

I did a 20 % change last night, and I checked the ammonia today, and it looks the same. Should I do 10% changes every day?

When I put him back in, he went straight to the bottom. Then the tigerbarbs were checking him out, don't know if they actually nipped him or not, but I shoo'd them away and moved the platy to cover under a fake rock decor. He's still lying there, and hasn't moved in 15 minutes. I can tell his gills are moving more than the other platys so I guess the ammonia is probably the culprit.

Someone please let me know if I should do another water change as I mentioned above- I don't want to shock the fish either.

Thank you anyone!

 

[wonghee76]

helo...is me....got u liao(malaysian chinese word=no meaning)

if i were u, i won ever let my sick platy back to the tank, cause that will kill the other as well. pls don put it back.

if both of ur tank don have same ph or temperature, it will stress the platy as well, pls don keep moving the platy here and there...just imaging, when u r sick, i ask u go out playing football under the sun, or i just move ur patient bed here n there...will u happy with that?

as i said, there were other disease beside white spot, and sometime, white spot will hide inside the gill, but since only one of ur fish is sick, i don think that is white spot disease, try to treat ur platy with 0.1-0.5% salt (1-5g/Liter) in the quarentine tank...hope this will help

pls gave me the link for the ammonia and ph relation table again...
thanks

Hee

 

[FroggyFox]

if you just got the fish a few days ago...did you get it somewhere that they have a live fish guarantee? I'd say if this one is sick and the other's you got with it you may want to put it out of its misery and take it back to the store for a replacement or a refund. Most stores will honor that within a few days, espcially if others that you got at the same time are just fine.

A sick fish usually isn't going to get any better if you have anything other than perfect water conditions for it...so your choices are pretty much to set something else up for the sick one (needs to stay a reasonable temp, you'll need to do every day or every other day water changes to keep it ammonia free etc) or well I'm not entirely sure what the or is.