Tom

Last night before I turned off the lights for the tanks, I found one of my female platys in the 36 gallon tank dead, she was one of the original 4 and now there are only 2 left. It was very sad to see her like that. She must have been dead for a few hours because when she was alive she was a bright orange and when I found her she was a dull orange. The only reason I didn't notice her at first was because I was in my room studying for an exam and didn't have the time to check.
Tom

0morrokh

can you describe exactly how your Platy looked and acted up until her death?

Tom

I don't know if I can describe her exactly but I'll try. She started hide a lot more than she usual did, she had an arched spine (my other female platy has the same arch). I can't remember anything else, but if I do, I'll get you posted.
Tom

0morrokh

Did she stop eating and just get thinner and thinner? (or possibly was bloated at first before starting to get thin?)
Was she showing any mild symptoms of diseases such as finrot or dropsy?

Tom

She ate but she just became little thinner but no signs of diseases. What exactly is dropsy?
Tom

0morrokh

Dropsy is when a fish gets bloated and their scales stick out like a pine cone when viewed from above. It's due to a bacterial infection (usually caused by poor water quality) and generally considered incurable.

I'm glad to hear she was still eating though... Are you sure there were no symptoms of anything? No clamped fins or anything like that?

Tom

There was some clamped fins and no dropsy.
Tom

0morrokh

Any strange behavior at all? Or strange looks or coloration etc?

sorry for all the questions :P

Tom

Just a lot more hiding like I think I stated before. ANd that's okay, just as long as you think you know why she died, she was my favorite female platy.
Tom

0morrokh

I'm really sorry that she died, and sorry I forgot to say that before. I was just a bit freaked out because I had some Guppies and Platys before and they all died of TB...and so now whenever someone says their fish died for no reason I start worrying it could be TB. But from your description I don't think it could be.
Are your ammonia and nitrites 0 and nitrates below 20? It also might be worth testing your tap water for these things also.

Tom

That's ok that you forgot, your only human (I hope, lol).What is TB? And I haven't tested my nitrites, or nitrates for about a week because I want the benificial bacteria have to grow and help out my tank. And I don't have an ammonia tester because I ran out and don't have the money to get another at the moment. I think it could just be that she died of old age, because she only produced about 4-5 fry everytime she got pregnant and she stoped producing about 2 months ago, the same with my other female. What is with the platys getting a curved spine?
Tom

0morrokh

TB is fish tuberculosis. Fatal, no cure, fish dies very very slowly. The curved spine I figured was a symptom of the disease...they would stop eating and get thinner and thinner and sit there all hunched over.

Oh is your tank not cycled?

Tom

It has been running since February of 2006. I believe it has cycled many times.
Tom

0morrokh

Why does it keep recycling?? Do you know?

Tom

I mean the nitrogen cycle. Isn't that only natural? Or is there a way to eliminate the nitrogen cycle.
Tom

0morrokh

Oh well yeah, I thought by saying "it has cycled many times" you meant that it has gone through the start up cycle over again many times. I meant cycle as in the initial start up...I guess you're talking about the bacteria which is constantly putting ammonia through the nigrogen cycle, which no you can't eliminate.

Isabella

Omorrokh, recently one of my Neons died of - what it appears to have been - Dropsy. The tank in which the Neon was, is 10 gallons and it has only 8 Neons in it (it had 9 Neons when the dead one was still here). Interestingly, my parameters were: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate, and a pH of 7.0 - one would say, "perfect" water. Yet she got Dropsy.

Anyway, Tomh, I'm sorry about your fish

Tom

Thanks. I went away this weekend and when I got back, the other remaining original females was found dead at the surface. And one of my black neons was no where to be found.
Tom

jason in houston

i think my platy might have TB. one of the platys i have, have a weird spine. it eats well, very fatso

0morrokh

Please start another post in the disease section, Jason in Houston. I have had experience with TB and can help you diagnose if that is for sure what it is, but I don't want to hijack this post.