Heather M

I am fish-sitting for my 10 year old brother. One of his platies has been doing a weird sort of dance that I am curious about. She will swim a few inches, and then bump her gills on the gravel or a seashell or marble. She doesn't do this constantly, just once in a while. What is she doing?

Tony G.

wecome to fishlore heather
first of all, do you kow about the nitrogen cycle? it can be found here :
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
next, what are your tank parameters?( ammonia, pH, nitrate, nitrite)
do you have a test kit?
how big is your aquarium? does it have a filter?heater? sorry for all the questions, it is very important so we can find out what is wrong with your platy. does it look like shes scratching against the gravel?

Heather M

I know about the nitrogen cycle, but my brother doesn't, so he's never taken that into account. The only thing we have tested for is pH. It said it was 7.0, but I really think it is more acidic. The kit only measures from 7 to 9. The aquarium is 10 gallon, and it has a filter. It doesn't have a heater. We've never had any luck with anything except pond water. My neighbor has bass and a few types of pan fish. We filter it. My brother has been doing well with this for several years. He has just started using aquarium salt. Yesterday one of his guppies dropped two fry. It doesn't look like the platy is scratching. Really, I expected you to say that she was just playing. A few of the other fish do this as well, but I haven't noticed them as much as that platy. Then again, there might be something wrong with them. They might be scratching. I don't know. I'm a beekeeper, not a fish keeper. I just hope I can keep is fish alive while he's at camp. It's only a few days.

ABCDemily

You really need a heater in that tank unless it stays a steady 78-80F all by itself. The lifespans of the fish can be shortened if they are kept in too cold water unfortunatly. Aquarium salt is sometimes an irritant, it makes them build more of a slime coat than necessary, which can cause flicking and rubbing.

Heather M

We have a heater, but we don't need to use it until winter. We have a thermometer to make sure it doesn't get too hot or cold.

ABCDemily

That's good I'd stop using aquarium salt, it can often do more harm than good, as it can be an irritant.

Tony G.

can you get a picture of the platty? scratching can be a sign of early ICH

Heather M

For some reason I am having issues posting the picture. I'll try later. The platy looks fine, although she spends a great deal of time hiding in the plants, barely moving. Even though she seens so slugish, she has no problem darting across the tank when she wants to or when the male platy is chasing her. I now have 10 fry, but I think the're guppies. They are silver, and I thought platy fry was orange. They couldn't be hers, could they? We aren't 100% sure who the mother is because none of the fish looked ready to drop their fry. The guppy who I assume to be the mother looks a bit different now. Her gravid spot is also smaller. I really have no idea why the platy is acting this way.

Heather M

These are bad pictures, I know. Hopefully you'll be able to see them well enough.



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Tony G.

hmmm, she seemms to be ok. Has she kept rubbing against rocks?

Heather M

She has been acting pretty normal. Maybe there was nothing wrong with her in the first place. I haven't seen her in a few days because my brother came home from camp and I went to camp. We're on vacation now, so our cousin is fish-sitting.

Heather M

I'm back from vacation and the platy still seems fine. On the other hand, two blue platies and a guppy disappeared. They might have died, but I think the person watching them would have told us. He did call a while ago, but my mom answered the phone. What do fish keepers call it when their fish vanish with no explanation?

Heather M

Turns out she was flashing. Most of the fish are doing that now. I think it might be ICH. We'll have to do something about that...