mare2009

Hi~ I have 2 picts of my adult female Platys. One is Maude, shes the sunburst, and her fins are clamped and looks unhappy. The other Zoey, shes the yellow twinBar. Also looking all clamped and very red gills. These adults have been in this established tank. No changes except for the removal of many fry over the course of 4 months.
I always do about 1/3 wc every 4 days, they are in a 29G tank, because of the over load of fish. I have had traces of ammonia .25, and about 10 nitrates. Now the tank is about manageable (still have many babies but no youngsters). I lost an adult sunburst this morning. She had the clamped fins also. So I checked the water, and it was ammonia .50, nitrate 20. Im wondering if I had put my tank into a mini-cycle, after the rather large wc of almost 1/2, rinsed the sponge filter too. ( just a little bit ). I did another wc this afternoon, used my Prime, and added some stress coat+. By the very red gills, am I correct in thinking this is ammonia or nitrate poisoning? And wondering why none of the fry show any symptoms, and my blue wags show no symptoms? And thoughts? Thanks

Attached Images

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Shawnie

oh no mare!!!! im so sorry for your losses and issues
it does sound like a mini cycle ....I dont think the water changes would have done much...I do 50% on my overstocked tanks also....but I try not to rinse the media out but every other month or so....who knows why it happened but the water changes with prime will make a huge difference....shouldnt take too long to get it under control where the tank has been established .,,,I dont think it was nitrate poisoning as thats not high enough to kill IMO...I keep all my tanks except my fry tank at 20 or under ..my fry tanks i keep at 10 and under because i do water changes every other day ..good luck and I hope you have no more deaths!!

mare2009

Thanks for your thoughts Shawnie. When I finished the wc, I hesitated on the filter sponge, but why I continued with a splash/squeeze/ rinse is beyond me. Darn it. I should have known better. With the wc and Prime, I can only hope they can pull through this? Theres nothing more for me to do?

Shawnie

nope I dont think theres anything more im sorry again .....plenty of prime and changes should do you up fast....good luck !

mare2009

thanks Shawnie.. I was just hoping for something I could do for them..

aquarist48

Hello Mare. Sorry to hear that some of your fish aren't doing well and about your loss. Hopefully this will pass quickly!
Best wishes as always!
Ken

bolivianbaby

Sorry you're having trouble Mare. The water changes and Prime should help the fish until you get out of the mini-cycle.

jay95

dis you finse your filter media in tap water?

mare2009

hi.. No, I didn't rinse the filter media in tap water. Good thinking, easy beginner mistake. Thanks for offering your thoughts

aquarist48

Hello Mare. I just wanted to check on you and your fish. How are things going?
Ken

mare2009

hi ken.. hi all...I guess my 2 adult platys are still not doing well. Clamped fins and now not eating this morning. I did a 1/3 wc yesterday added Prime and last evening added StressCoat+ as well. Im thinking if this is a mini-cycle, I may do a 60% wc and add TetraSafe Start? I don't know what to do at this point. The fry are swimming around, 4 adults are fine except for the 2 and possibly just a matter of time before they all are ill.
any suggestions? thanks

tank param:...nitrate between 20 and 40...ammonia .25

aquarist48

Sounds like a plan to me Mare. 60% would surely help with some Prime. I'd wait 24 hours before adding the TSS (from what I've read). Hate you and your fish are having to go through this If TSS isn't an option, then do the daily 30 to 50% changes until your ammonia is back down to 0.
Best wishes!
Ken

TedsTank

A little tip for all: (since filter cleaning was mentioned above) Don't clean your filter because its cleaning day. Only clean them if the water flow decreases. If you have more than one filter running never clean them at the same time. Alternate you cleanings so you will maintain max bacteria as much as possible. (in case one fails or you clean one too well)
Sorry to change the subject a bit...but this just hit me!!

Lucy

I'm sorru you're having issues Mare. It looks like you're doing everything you can.
Have you checked your tap water by any chance?

mare2009

Yes you are correct, I will wait until tomorrow to use the TSS, I have been doing the daily wc since this mini cycle (?) began, and it seems like it will take awhile for a full cycle, and thats why Im opting for TSS. thanks Ken
Hi Ted...yes that is what happened. I do not normally do a filter cleaning when I do a water change. Unfortunately the time was right for a squeeze/clean of the filter which in lapse of good judgement I proceeded to do. It should have waited another week at least. I advocate not to clean filters when doing water changes and I did the exact opposite thing. Now this huge problem more then likely could have been avoided. Unfortunately I was pressed into this decision albeit a bad one, because of the high nitrate readings, with wc, and prime..I thought it had to be coming from the old sponge filter :-
Hi Lucy, yes I checked my tap water last June. Should I check it again? Well, guess it wouldn't hurt. Thanks

Lucy

I would. I think water companies compensate for weather changes, water run off etc.

mare2009

Well, another situation or rather symptom has presented itself. My platy now has what others has described as the 'white stringy poop'. ohh nooo. I have been assuming his ails were from nitrate or ammonia, is this what is referred to as a symptom of a parasite? And is it the actual parasite Im looking at? I have never seen this on any Platy or any of my fish before tonight.
Only medicine I have right now is Marycin+.. any suggestions? thanks

Lucy

Oh Mare, you've had a time of it haven't you.
You're right, stringy white poo can be a sign of internal parasites.
I just looked for the med I used, but can't seem to find it.
Ideally you'd want to give them medicated food. But fish can be like kids and not take their medicine. You can try soaking medicated food in garlic juice.

mare2009

yah it sure seems that way Lucy... well luck would have it, tha twhen I got my magnifing glass out and went to get a better look at this 'stringy poop' it wasn't there. What freaked me out was that it was now lost in the tank somewhere, the lucky part is that I spotted it floating and netted it, and put it in a cup for a better look. It does look like something parasitic, tho Im not a biologist. I would say its more flat then round, and it looks like a worm. I will go to the store in the morning. And get parasite clear. Unfortunatley I will have to to treat teh tank where there is about 25-30 fry. I hope they can handle the medicine. Im assuming once again, if 2 adults are sick and it very well may be parasites, then they all will be infected in time. I guess I have no choice but to treat them all. This is sad...

joy1125

Mare, if you are worried about medicating the tank, maybe you should try the medicated food first, as Lucy suggested. I've had great results with Jungle AntiParasite Medicated food. It's the best way to get medicine into their system, and by soaking it in garlic, it should make it more appealing, in addition to the beneficial aspects of the garlic.

I hope things work out ! Good luck !

mare2009

Thanks Joy. I guess that is what Lucy was thinking of, I will definitely get that in the morning and use the medicated food instead. The fry will still ingest it though, I know. Thanks so much for offering your experience with the Jungle brand, because that is what is available right off on the morning for me.

Lucy

A little late, but I found the meds I used, it's the same one Joy mentioned.

mare2009

Thank you Lucy, for looking for it for me. I figured the brand Joy mentioned was the one you also had. I will get it ASAP since the LFS is right here in town.

aquarist48

Best wishes Mare. By all means keep us posted.
Ken

mare2009

hi.. keeping this posted for reference for anyone. I used the Jungle Parasite Clear tablets. ( the medicated food wasn't available ) For the 29 gallon I used 3 tablets, dissolved it in a cup then added it to the tank. My Platy fry, so far, has shown no ill effects from the medication. Yaaa Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for a speedy recovery in that tank..thanks all for your help


Im going to knock on wood right now...I have 2 fry at the bottom not looking well, and I just set up my hospital tank for any upcoming tank catastrophes !!