# Can I save my platy? She's acting... dead...



## willertac (Jan 7, 2014)

I have 3 platys in a 10g, one for almost a year, the others six months, and the old one looks and is acting sick. I recently put a light over the 10g her and two baby platys are in. Ever since then, she hides under the bridge decoration there. I found her on her side last night and presumed her dead. But upon closer inspection, she was waving her fin, and when I tapped on the tank, she righted herself and hid again. Later she left the bridge to the top of the tank, swam a bit, and hid again. Her mickey mouse tail looks smudged and glossy now. When she was resting on the gravel, the right way, her side fins looked clamped top to bottom. She's been hiding for a few days, but just yesterday seemed unhealthy.
Can I save her? Is she starving herself or something? I rarely see her out from under the bridge. In that case, should I turn off the light?


----------



## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

Turn off the light and see if it helps. Can you get a photo of her tail?


----------



## willertac (Jan 7, 2014)

Flint said:


> Turn off the light and see if it helps. Can you get a photo of her tail?


I just got home and turned off the light. She swam out for a few seconds, then hid again, but is actually moving a bit more. I can't get a picture of her tail because of the position she's in and her movements. I don't want to stress her out too much by forcing her out either. I also forgot to mention that yesterday I put stress coat and aquarium salt in the tank.


----------



## willertac (Jan 7, 2014)

It seems Mickey/Rickey has suddenly gotten scoliosis. She's shaped like an s now, and her recovery from her dead-like state was going well, too.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

It sounds like some water quality issues. Can you give us the specs on your tank?

How often do you do water changes?
How much do you change?
What additives do you use?
What are all the tankmates?
Filter?
Heater?
Food?
How often do you feed and how much of it at a time?

It also sounds like there isn't many hides in your tank, do you have a lot of decor or a little bit? Can you get us pictures of the tank please?

Sorry for all the questions! Just want to get the big picture is all!


----------



## willertac (Jan 7, 2014)

lilnaugrim said:


> It sounds like some water quality issues. Can you give us the specs on your tank?
> 
> How often do you do water changes?
> How much do you change?
> ...



I didn't get an email telling me you posted, so I didn't notice until now.
I did a water change, so the parameters need to wait a bit, but I usually change the water every other week or so, at least 1/4th of it, sometimes a 50 percent change.

I use API stress coat and feed them TetraFin goldfish flakes twice daily, a pinch or two each time. I have an aquatech 5-15 filter and a ViaAqua 50 watt heater, which is set to 80. I have 2 plastic plants, a small bridge, and some river rocks in the corner with one of the plants that they sometimes hide in. I got monywort for another tank, but I'm unsure if I should move it, as that tank is filled with greenwater.

She lives with 2 baby platties, at around 7 months now. 

And guess what? She straightened out!


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Well, I do suggest if you can bump the water changes up to once a week that would be much healthier for all of them. Platies are very messy fish and so you'll need to remove all that waste before they can get ammonia poisoning! They also would appreciate more plants, try to go for silk or fabric though. I know this costs money so get it when you can but believe you me, they would be very happy with more spots to explore!


----------



## willertac (Jan 7, 2014)

lilnaugrim said:


> Well, I do suggest if you can bump the water changes up to once a week that would be much healthier for all of them. Platies are very messy fish and so you'll need to remove all that waste before they can get ammonia poisoning! They also would appreciate more plants, try to go for silk or fabric though. I know this costs money so get it when you can but believe you me, they would be very happy with more spots to explore!


I got them 2 fabric/silk plants today and a Marimo moss ball. Only problem is, I now have to wait 2 days for filtration. 
I unplugged the filter, did the water change, plugged the filter back in and walked away. I later noticed that it was doing nothing. I went to unplug it from the surge suppressor power strip, and... POP! A fire almost broke out in my house. Turns out, the filter no longer pulls water and the power strip had to be thrown out, a burned hole in its side.
Luckily I have Amazon Prime and a bubble strip laying around...


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Oh wow, yeah, that stinks! Definitely make sure to do water changes while you wait for the new filter! I'm glad it didn't burn the house down though!!!!


----------



## willertac (Jan 7, 2014)

I finally got some pictures of Mickey/Rickey's tail. Attatched are before (when I got her) and after (now) pics.

The filter came in, but it would take up at least a third of the tank's length and a quarter of the width, so I am going to get yet another filter today for them and return this one. It was advertised for 10-20 gallon tanks, and the size under it is about three times smaller:redmad:.

Also... while I am at the store... I had had my eyes on these beautiful guppies... and my greenwater-filled tank is being blacked out again... so If I see said guppies, do you think it is safe to add (temporarily) new fish while she is like this, or should I let the newer fish wait for now?


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

How have your water parameters been?; pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? Can you give specific numbers?

Mickey looks like a girl if you were wondering. The other is a boy. Anyway, I wouldn't add any other fish at the moment as it might stress her out more. You can use a mild salt treatment and hope it knocks the stuff off of her and whoever else it might be trying to attach to. So you can start off with 1 tsp/gallon so if it's a 10 gallon use 10 teaspoons. You want to use Aquarium Salt or Kosher Salt, not regular table salt as it is a very different chemistry and can hurt your fish even more!

Take a small cup and measure out 1-3 teaspoons at a time, as some tank water and mix it up and let it dissolve in the cup first. Salt can burn your fish when it is dissolving so this is why we dissolve it in a cup first and then slowly add it to the tank after. Try not to dump it all in at once, you want to let the fish acclimate to it so just add a few Tablespoons in ever 5-8 minutes or so. Repeat this until you have all the teaspoons of salt needed in the tank so in this case; 10 TEASPOONS not tablespoons.


----------



## willertac (Jan 7, 2014)

Ray was a girl too. I had 25 fry proof... Now I have 2, the ones living with Mickey/Rickey now.

The top fish was Fin, a Molly who died of scoliosis a few weeks after I got Mickey/Rickey and Ray. She was the last of her family; it was on its 3rd generation.


----------



## willertac (Jan 7, 2014)

willertac said:


> Ray was a girl too. I had 25 fry proof... Now I have 2, the ones living with Mickey/Rickey now.
> 
> The top fish was Fin, a Molly who died of scoliosis a few weeks after I got Mickey/Rickey and Ray. She was the last of her family; it was on its 3rd generation.



Actually, returning to my memory, Fin _was_ a boy, sorry.

P.S., the number of fish in my tank has gone down to 2. Apparently, someone knocked the intake of the new filter off and I found one of the fry in the filter a bit torn up (and dead). 
I don't like how that kind of filter's intake attaches with the suction/pull of the filter; if you touch it wrong, it falls off.


----------



## willertac (Jan 7, 2014)

*The death of a fish*

Mickeyrickey died today. Poor thing.


----------

