hamstermann

I recently had a Platy get sick and die. at first he seemed okay, then his underbelly got flat and his back curved a bit, then got sharper. he stopped eating, but we didn't notice until it was too late because he'd school to the tank top at feeding time with our other fish. Eventually, he just got realy skinny and curled into a c-shape and stuck to the filter intake. we euthanised him at that point because we knew by that point there was nothing we could do. The LFS told us it was probably TB.

now one of our other mickey mouse platys isn't eating and is looking skinny but has not developed the flat stomach and arched back. She hides a lot at the bottom of the tank behind plants. The other female in the tank is also hiding, but not looking skinny since she just had/is having fry. Are these two just in mourning for their man or is something scaring them or are they sick with whatever the male had? Any thoughts? at last water change, my stats were:
55 gal tank
.12 ammo
0 ites
0 ates
8.2 ph
upper 70's farenheight, but I don't remember the exact temp.

COBettaCouple

unfortunately, i think there is a pretty good chance of the other platys having fish tb.. we had a betta that was a possible TB death and had to get rid of everything that he'd come into contact with.. but they may simply be feeling timid now that there is only 2 of them and platys tend to be more comfortable with at least 3 fish.

Did the platy who died have a loss of color also before dying? Was he inactive?

The symptoms of fish tb are: Inactivity, loss of color or appetite, weight loss, skin defects.

Human strength TB medication may help in early stages. It's contagious so disinfect tank, rocks, net, etc. to prevent transmission. Wash hands and surfaces well. This can make humans sick if it gets into open cuts (slight chance).

I'd treat the tank water and tap water that you use with prime.

hamstermann

I didn't notice any discoloration with him, but he was pretty inactive.
Could this also pass to the other species in the tank or just to humans and platys? I also have a pleco, otos, Panda Corys, and Mollies in that tank.
There are still 3 Mickey Mouse Platys in the tank - the two golds that I told you about and a smaller, younger, blue female as well. I also have a red fantail platy male in there to keep breeding going (If he will).

the lfs recommended Melafix so we've been treating with that. do you think that will be enough for the others who don't look as advanced yet?
Shoot. I just realised, too, that even though we've been treating with melafix, we still have a zorb packet (charcoal) in the canister filter. WE'll need to remove that, too, I guess.

any other recommendations as well?

As always, thanks for all the help!

hamstermann

also, when you say throw out and replace everything, does that mean everything? Including substrate, plants, filter, etc?

COBettaCouple

unfortunately, i believe it can pass to ANY fish. you could try adding liquid vitamins to the water for a little boost, but it really is hard to treat.. you might not have fish tb though, so hopefully the melafix will bring some improvement and confirm that it's NOT fish tb.

we tossed everything with the fish tb case that we had.. it was a small hospital tank with a heater, digital thermometer, filter, air stone... i even tossed any stuff that i used in the tank, like a turkey baster and wooden spoon. i think you can sterilize a tank, but i'm not sure on that. You'd probably want to do a new thread on it to get advice from members who've had a lot more experience with it.

For now, i'd just treat with melafix and monitor them and see how it goes. Hopefully you'll see improvement soon.

hamstermann

we talked with the lfs today about it too and they suggested we treat for parasites too, so with the water changed today, we added pimafix, melafix, prime, stresscoat, and prazipro. one of those is an antifungal in case the white stuff at the bottom of the tank on our gravel is some type of fungis. So if they don't die from all the medicine, they should be improving real soon. and we did get the charcoal out of the tank earlier today, too, so now the medicines should start doing some good. I'll let you know in 3-5 days.

as far as sterilizing the tank, they told us to add bleach to the water and let the tank run empty for a few days. when it's done, we do the biggest water change we can, then add a bunch of dechlorinator and let THAT run for a few days, then start the cycle all over again. Hopefully we don't have to resort to that. I really like our fish.

armadillo

You used so many meds at the same time? That sounds like a lethal cocktail. How are the fish now? Hope they're OK.

Seems like the LFS did their work again and gave commercial advice, rather then think of the fish.

COBettaCouple

well pimafix and melafix are herbal and only harmful to air-labyrinth fishes as far as i know, prime and stresscoat are basically water conditioners and the prazipro sounds like the only chemical med. Good luck with them.

hamstermann

Well, there's hope. Everyone seemed to be trying to eat again last night, so hopefully they'll all make a full recovery. We'll keep watching, though.

COBettaCouple

that is a good sign and hope that it's not anything seriously contagious. Hope to hear they've all recovered soon.

armadillo

That sounds good. I hope they recover. Good luck!

Thanks for info on meds, BettaCouple. I am always sooo wary of adding chemicals to my tanks.

COBettaCouple

no problem. we try to limit the harsh chemicals on our fish and gladly see more organic herbal products now for different fish problems.

0morrokh

I realize this is a really late response but I just saw this post and figured I might as well reply.

The Platy that died definately had TB. I lost a tank of Guppies and Platys and they exhibited similar symptoms.
Symptoms include:
Listless
Not eating
Losing weight rapidly
Bloating up, and then later losing weight
Curved spine
Symptoms that imitate other bacterial infections, such as rotting fins or ulcers
Darkening of color
Healthy fish suddenly dying "for no apparent reason"
Floating at the top (not bellyup, but making no effort to swim)
Sitting on the bottom
and the list goes on... Each case of TB is somewhat different.

TB seems to be especially common in livebearers. In some it will cause a sudden death with few symptoms, and in others it will cause a long, slow, painful death. In the latter case euthanasia may be the best choice.

TB is a gram positive infection that spreads three ways...from mother to child in livebearers, from eating the body of a dead infected fish, or from eating the poo of an infected fish. So if you notice a fish with TB symptoms, quarintine him immediately and there is a good chance that not all of your fish will be infected. As for the tank, I have heard that bleach does Not kill TB germs, so chucking everything is probably the safest route to go.

I have heard that Kanamycin may cure TB, but only if it is caught early.

The main thing to worry about with TB is the fact that is may be transferred to humans in the form of a skin infection. This is extremely rare and usually happens when someone has an immune deficiency as well as a large open wound on their hand, and they put their hand into a badly infected tank. However you should still be cautious if you suspect TB...rubber gloves for tank maintenance are a good idea.

Sorry for the long post but I feel it is very important for fishkeepers to know about TB since it is one of the deadliest of fish diseases...

armadillo

TB is common with livebearers you say? Gives me the chills to think about it. Sorry you've lost a whole tank to it.

So you've just thrown it all away (gravel, tank, equipment, etc.), all? Man!

How long did it take between each fish dying? We've just lost one to very suspicious symptoms (about 3 weeks ago), but from then, the rest seem fine.

0morrokh

Well, it happened quite a while ago and I try not to think about it too much. But it all happened pretty quickly. One guppy started behaving weird, gave her a salt bath and didn't think about it again. Then another one seemed to have gotten finrot and was sitting on the bottom a lot. I can't remember whether I started medicating her or not. Then she suddenly just got worse and worse and then died. After that is was like clockwork...one Guppy would start acting weird, then waste away and die, by which point another would have started acting sick. Some took longer to die than others. Then the Platys got sick and died too. I noticed that the Gups were affected in order of age, the oldest going first. The Platys took the longest to become infected.

But, just so you know, TB can stay inactive in a fish for several months. If you had a suspicious livebearer death, keep a close eye on the other fish for the next couple months.

armadillo

Oh man! Sounds like my fish' symptoms. I'll keep my eyes out.

COBettaCouple

It is quite the nasty disease and good to watch for, but i think your tank is ok and will be ok.

armadillo

Man I hope you're right.