MrEMeat

Hi,

I have a 10 gallon tank with 2 female platies and about 16 fry (5 days old; mostly in a breeding net), 1 male mollie, 4 cory cats and one anubias plant. The tank has been going for about three weeks now with regular water changes. I haven't been able to afford the testing kits yet so I don't know the levels.

I'm not sure whether I am being paranoid but I am worried about my platies... They seem to have what looks like dirt on the edges of their fins and the scales on their heads. They also seem to behave oddly; they are lethargic for an hour or so and then they'll be back to their normal curious selves.

One of the platies also seems to be swimming around with her fins pressed to her body.

I have a 55 gallon tank coming soon so I'll be moving the fry and a couple cory cats to that once it's cycled... Maybe that will help... I just don't want to be spreading disease into the new tank.

Are they sick? Do I just have too many fish in the aquarium?

Nick G

Hi, Welcome to Fishlore. Your fish certainly don't sound healthy, could be that the tank isn't cycled yet and they're suffering fron ammonia poisoning. Without a test kit it's hard to tell but if it were me I'd do 50% water changes daily and add water conditioner(prime is good) and then see if they perk up. Could you post some pics of the fish? This could help identify illness.

dr.fluffanutter

Clamped fins is either a sign of submission or stress, and in this case its most likely stress. The "dirt" that you're describing sounds like fin/scale death due to bad water conditions.
Moving some fry and the cories sounds like a good idea, as the tank sounds overcrowded as it is, but I think you already know that.
So, yes, I agree with Nick and his advice. Pictures would definitely help too!
Also, most pet stores with a fish department will test your water for free if you bring them a sample of it.

MrEMeat

Thank you for your replies.

I have been doing water changes (about 30%) twice week. I will start changing it more frequently to see if that helps. I just got back from a conference and did a 50% water change. Even before I did the change, the fish seemed more active and normal. Maybe they just had to get used to the new cory cats (or maybe the tank is just further along in the cycle). I added a sponge filter before I left so maybe that is making a difference.

Will the fin/scale death that dr.fluffanutter mentioned heal or need to be treated?

I have attached a coupe pictures. The orange platy has the more pronounced discolouration of her scales but I'm not sure how well you can see it in the photos. She was very shy of the camera at first but she ended up following the other platy and the mollie up to the glass to get a look at what I was doing. Getting good pictures in the aquarium is hard; I'll have to have a look around the site to see if there are any tips on taking aquarium pictures.

Your help and advice is greatly appreciated!

Attached Images

	is she sick.jpg (21.1 KB, 53 views)
	the gang.jpg (55.7 KB, 51 views)

dr.fluffanutter

Good job on the water changes and your attentiveness. Though, now that I see pictures I can say that it looks less like any sort of tissue death and more like a changing of pigment - either natural or (at a stretch) stress related. So I suppose as long as they're looking more active and happy, you're doing something right.

cerianthus

Clamped fins /tail on livebearer can be fatal disease also which requires immediate treatment. Such symptoms are usually from exposure to bad water conditions/stress.
From looking at fins of yours, seems ok, open and extended.

Severe case of clamped fin/tail with livebearer, fish usually wiggle rather than swim. Whenever such symptoms are visible, Early treatment w/ folmaldehyde and amphicillin along with salt worked for me w/ great results.

MrEMeat

Thanks dr.

I am not 100% sure that the "discolouration" on the scales and fins is discolouration. It's just that this is my first time having fish and I really want to take good care of them.

cerianthus: She swims without fanning out her fins for most of the day but I do see her fan them once in a while. It seems that she's fans them more during the middle of the day and is more lethargic in the morning and at night. She seems to swim fine despite keeping her fins tight to her body most of the time. When we first got her (and I was trying to figure out the sex of my fish) I noticed that she did not fan her anal fin as much as the other platy.

I did a 50% water change today (and vacuumed the gravel). I put the tank ornaments back in a different pattern than before. For about an hour she swam around with her fins out like the other platy. Could it be a dominance thing? When I first got the fish, the white platy and the mollie would both pester her (they seem to have backed off now). Do these fish have a social structure?

Sorry if I'm showing my ignorance but I am trying hard to learn everything that the internet can teach me about keeping fish.

oceanrose

I do notice that platies seem to have a pronounced pecking order. I have a girl who keeps her fins clamped when around the other 2 more dominant fish, but is just fine when I feed them or when away from them. I'd like to get her out of the tank but she's a brat to catch and I haven't had time to rip the tank apart to do it yet. Is she eating ok?

cerianthus

Not a problem. Nothing wrong with trying to learn more.

Competition does exist in any creatures. "Survival of the Fittest". Some are more aggressive than others. With certain fish, having more is better to create MerryGoRound situation so not just one is picked on/harrassed all the times.

As long as fish are eating, swimming normally and water conditions are OK, would not worry too much.

KyWildFish

Your fish look perfectly fine. Mollies will change colors throughout their lives, in fact its a good sign they are getting the right foods. As for the fins looking clamped, they will only really flare out their fins when they are trying to look tough, so no worries.

MrEMeat

Thanks for your replies everyone! You've put a lot of my worries to rest.

I tried feeding them this "micro pellet" food but they just watched it fall to the bottom of the tank (not that the cory cats complained :P). I have been feeding them a spirulina flake food and they were eating that fine until I cut them back to one feeding a day (I was having a bit of a water quality problem and the lady at the pet store suggested doing this). I know that they pick at the sinking wafer food that I give to the cory cats so they might be eating that but when I feed them, all they do is swim at the surface and the subordinate platy and the molly might pick at the food a bit. Should I be worried? They don't seem to be unhealthy...