becky0660

My pregnant platy got stuck at bottom of tank between rocks and scraped some scales off either side just in front of her tail.I put her in breeding trap and dosed tank with antibacterial.Then she gave birth that night.Lots of the babies died but 6 are surviving.She is now at top of breeding trap bent over to one side and has fungus growing where she took the scales off.She tries to swim every now and again but seems to do somersaults as she is bent over.She is not eating as far as i can see but has been pooing. She is breathing quite fast.It is now 4 days since she gave birth and I am surprised that she is still with us.Anybody have any ideas please?

susitna-flower

HI, WELCOME TO FISHLORE!

Sounds like your fish has bruised her swim bladder. This 'can' heal. It takes time and good water conditions.

It appears as if your tank is quite over stocked. Do you test your water? If you could post your readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate it will help. Your tank measures to be approx 18 gallons and I quit counting fish at 51" and didn't count the penguin or pleco.....you really need to consider a larger tank.

In the mean time, I would suggest doing some water changes. It is not a good idea to treat the whole tank with antibacterials as it can disrupt your nitrogen cycle. After you get a reading for your water conditions you should be doing 25-50% a week, if your tank was in normal stocking range, which is 1" per gallon, but with the fish you have, I'd be doing that much every other day.

becky0660

Thanks very much for your opinion- I did wonder if it might be her swimbladder.She appears to be getting a bit better-trying to move about a bit more- because of this I have put her in a seperate breeding trap from the fry in case she eats them. I have tested the water and ammonia is 0 nitrite is 0 but although I have done a 50% water change the nitrates are high at 40.Wondering if my tap water is high in nitrate and will test that later.Also thinking about adding aquarium salt to tank at low concentration-what do you think?
Regards overstocking I was under the impression that you needed 12sq inches of surface water per inch of fish-making my tank allowed 30 inches of fish which would make my stocking level about right as quite a few of my fish are not that big .However I have just bought a new tank which is cycling at present to enable me to move some fish as they grow.Thanks Becky

becky0660

Just tested my tap water for nitrates and it is 10!!

susitna-flower

According to your measurements....(I supposed it was inches, though cm would make a difference) I plugged them into the aquarium calculator at the top of the page under "ARTICLES"....which gave me 18 us gallons, 15 uk gallons.....the rule of thumb is 1" of 'adult' size fish per gallon of tank. This is measured on what the fish WILL grow to, not what they are as babies. The fish profiles also under ARTICLES will help you figure the expected growth.

We always advise people to only purchase fish that will not out grow the tank they are going into.....not what most folks do, but it does cut down on fish deaths and emergency tank purchases....

I am glad your fish is doing better, the bruising should heal and if you can get the fungus under control, scales do grow back. You could use a medication that stimulates the slime coat, like maracyn-plus which places the medication right in contact with the fish, and locks it there with a product that is similar to the natural mucous coat of a fish.

As for 40 nitrates, this is the reason I suggest upping the water changes. 40 is stressful to fish, and will lead to fin rot, popeye and all sorts of other fish diseases....even if you have 10 nitrates right out of the tap, that is MUCH better than 40 and will bring down the overall readings with consistent every other day changes, until you can divide the fish. Good Luck

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore.

If you can find a liquid garlic supplement (or even a little juice from a jar of minced garlic), that can help with healing while not being harsh on the other fish.

becky0660

Thank you all very much for your advice. I am relatively new to fish keeping(as you can probably tell!) and very much appreciate any help that you can give me. With regards to how many fish I have- I asked at the lfs and unfortunately they forgot to mention that it is adult size that I have to consider when stocking!
I have today done a 50% water change and given the gravel a really good hoover. I have also bought some real plants,previously they were fake to see if this helps with nitrate levels.Will do another water test tomorrow.
My platy is still with us and is perkier,her fungus is going(I did add a little aquarium salt to the water) her fry are growing although I think I lost one during water change(only 5 left now).
I will try to get some liquid garlic but how much should I use? I dont think that we have maracyn plus in the uk.
Once again, thank you. Becky

COBettaCouple

I add 1-2 drops of Garlic Guard per US gallon. It should be fine if you're close to that.