summersquash

I have a little platty that stays at the top of the water. She has been doing this for several days. She eats and doesn't act like she is sick, but she stays at the top. Sometimes one of her buddies will come up and try to get her to swim around with them but she moves around a little and right back to he top. Any ideas of what is wrong and what I should do.?

agabr123

it could be ammonia poisoning or oxygen depletion. do you have recent water parameters? what kind of test kit are you using? do you have an air stone or bubble wand? have you recently used any medications in the tank? have you added any new fish?

sorry for all the questions but it will help us figure out what's wrong

pinkfloydpuffer

I've seen this happen with livebearers before. I checked parameters and everything was fine, so I was a bit confused. But I just did a waterchange anyways, and that fixed the problem right away! So, I say test the water, and no matter what it says, do a water change (a larger one if you have an ammonia problem of course)

11yancazosj

thats funny i would have suggested the same thing as agabr123 and i had the same problem as pinkfloydpuffer.

my suggestion is to increase your water changes and increase the oxygen levels of the water. Consult your LFS.

aquarist48

Sorry to hear you're having problems with one of your fish. How long have you had her? Is she pregnant? Personally I would rather have advice from this website than from any local fish store (LFS)Letting us know what your water chemistry is will help us to help you.

11yancazosj

exactly. rather than talk to people who probably dont know what a fish is, consult us

serissime

My guppies did this shortly before they passed away. I was unable to diagnose this, but they stayed at the surface. They were not gasping. It was definitely an illness and not something like old age because all three of them did it at the same time. If no other fish are doing this and are acting healthy, it is probably not oxygen depletion or ammonia poisoning.

Is it possible for you to set her up in a hospital tank?

11yancazosj

personally if it is a disease, putting them in a quarentine tank will make no difference

agabr123

if it's a disease quarantining her will hopefully prevent it from spreading to your other fish if it hasn't already, as well as make it easier for you to treat just her and not expose the other fish to medications and make sure she's eating properly.

serissime

exactly, Alex

you shouldn't medicate anything that doesn't need to be

some medicines will also hurt the beneficial bacteria in your tank, so you should avoid treating the main tank whenever possible

and actually there is a difference between a hospital tank and a quarantine tank

Shawnie

11yancazos, remember that alot of new fish owners look to the site for help and information...try not to copy what others say and if you arent sure about the advice your giving, refrain from it ... it will confuse alot of members

11yancazosj

ok shawnie