# Strange Platy wasting away



## RackinRocky (Feb 11, 2012)

Can't figure out what's going on with my little New Moon Platy that I've had for about a month. She was shy from the day I brought her home, and much less assertive than the other fish. She was content to stay by herself most of the time, but never acted sick,looked good and was eating. 

Well, for the past week I've noticed her doing some very strange things, compared to my other platies. She has still not learned to come to the top of the tank in the area where I feed the others. She will be off on the opposite side of the tank, just doing her thing, and its as if it suddenly dawns on her that the others are being fed, and she'll start coming over there when they are almost done eating. Also, she doesn't seem to see food, even if it floats right by her head. I will drop some pellets, flakes, brine shrimp, or whatever I'm feeding that day right over her, and she doesn't notice. Also she doesn't react when I put my hand up to the glass like the others do. They will come to me, and she just acts like she's oblivious, and in her own little world. I figured that might just be her personality, until she stopped eating. She might have been getting small particles of flakes in the water, but I haven't seen her ever really actively go after food except to pick at the substrate a lot of the time. Sometimes I wonder if she might be blind. 

Well, yesterday I viewed her from the top, and realized how very thin she's getting. She's almost hollowed out, and that is what happened to my milk platy that I lost a couple of weeks ago. So I took her out of the 55 gallon she was in and put her in a 10 gallon quarantine tank, along with water treated with Prime and 1 teaspoon aquarium salt per gallon. Her body almost looks opaque, for lack of a better word. Kind of like she has a film over it, although it looked like that when I bought her, and she was healthy acting and eating well. I think its just the way she's naturally colored. 

The water quality in the 55 is good. Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0 and Nitrates 10. The quarantine tank is not fully cycled, showing almost .25 Ammonia, even though I used some old filter media from my cycled tank and some water from that tank, and some debris from the substrate over a week ago when I set it up. No nitrites are showing.

This platy spends time breathing at the top of the water line, but not constantly. Maybe 1/4 of the time. A lot more than my other fish ever do. Otherwise, I can see nothing that would indicate what is wrong with her.

This morning, I offered her thawed frozen bloodworms, and as usual, she didn't even acknowledge them. So I put one on the substrate to see if she'd find and eat it. Came back 10 minutes later and she found the bloodworm! She ate the whole thing (took her almost 10 minutes). I was thrilled. My balloon Mollies eat them in one gulp! But I feel it may give her strength if I can at least get her to eat at least one bloodworm a day. Am I doing things right? Any suggestions? The tank is kept at 78-79 degrees F.


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## TomGarrod (Jun 12, 2012)

It may have internal parasites therefor its pretty much agona especially if its not eating propley.


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## RackinRocky (Feb 11, 2012)

Is there any dewormer I can use? What one is recommended? I'll do whatever I can to save her.


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## bettaowner101 (Nov 13, 2009)

Sounds like she might have internal parasites, or might just be blind. Does she react when you go up to the glass and look at he up close? I would get a parasite medication, I recommend getting Tetra Parasite Guard, I have had very good results from it. Just keep feeding her, I'm sure she will spunk up within a week!


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## RackinRocky (Feb 11, 2012)

Bettaowner, you are right! She's perked up and its eating bloodworms now daily along with flake food. And this morning she was flitting all over the tank as if she felt just awesome! No, she doesn't react when I look at her up close, but none of my fish are afraid, as I look at them up close* a lot. *So its really difficult to tell. Her poop is never white and stringy. I've been watching it daily, and its, well, poop colored, lol. Thank you for being more positive than the previous poster. While I try to be realistic, that post really bummed me out.


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