female red wag platy, tips side to side, fins clamped.. help please?!?!

I have 2 red wag platys 1 male 1 female and 1 fancy guppy male and 2 silver tipped tetras and 1 emerald cory cat in my 20G tank and water conditions are all perfect normal water temp is 78 deg. I noticed the female red wag platy swimming funny and tipping side to side and her fins were clamped especially her tail fin. I recently did a PWC 25% and noticed her symptoms shortly after. once I noticed her symptoms I raised teh water temp up to 82 deg. and she started doing better but it seems she is starting to look worse again it has been about a week since first signs. she is always hiding in the castle but does come out to eat. I tried feeding them peas. and cucumber, but they wouldn't eat it. any ideas? I have only been feeding this tank once a day since noticing and very little and some days not feeding them at all although it worries me so. PLEASE HELP!

 

I lost one gold crescent platy to similar symptoms, and it looks like another may be on the way. There's no outer sign of a problem, except for a few flecks on the tail that look like a minor ich infection. I suspect an internal parasite that they came with, since I've only had them about 2-3 weeks.

I've been treating the tank with Ich Attack, and ordered some Maracyn Plus from DFS that's supposed to arrive tomorrow (though I don't think that's for internal parasites). Unfortunately, I'm going away tomorrow evening and won't return until Monday morning, so I can't start using it yet.

Anyway, that's the long way of saying that you should probably treat her for an internal parasite if she doesn't show any external signs of a problem. I believe some folks here have had good success with a product called Parasite Clear, that should be available in pretty much any LFS.

 

she does sound like constipation, but not totally and I would think parasites could be the likely cause too. I would try anti-parasite meds after another pwc.

what is the ammonia, nitrite & nitrate levels? Do you have any pics that you could post? What are you using to treat the water?

 

ammonia 0 nitrite 0 and nitrates below 25ppm no pics sorry, how could she have gotten a parasyte I only use distilled water and we've had her for about 3 months now.

 

parasites could have even been picked up at the store. even with distilled water, the fish are open to the same problems, plus the missing minerals.

 

So, do you think I should treat her for parasytes? Should I transfer the fish out of my little 10G tank into the 20G and quarantine her in there for treatment? the 10G uses a bio filter with charcoal in it should I remove and put in a sponge for treatment?

 

If she was ours, I'd either quarantine her and treat her with parasite clear tablets or with Melafix & Pimafix.

 

I gave them all bacteria meds already ... previously due to a fish that had finrot. and it looked to be bacterial. about a month ago. so just the parasyte tablets?

 

Melafix & Pimafix cover a range of issues for livebearers and are easier on their systems than the Parasite Clear tablets, so it's something to consider but I think I would go ahead and use the tablets.

 

Yea, Melafix and Primafix are great for treating a whole tank without being harsh on the other fish. But if you quarantine her, I agree with Dave -- go for the stronger treatment.

 

I have a question how long do I keep her in quarantine?

 

Forgive me my husband usually handles this.... I have her in the 10gal tank I put in one parasite clear tablet. But I have no clue how long it takes to work or if I should pay attention to signs of her getting worse. It's been almost twelve hours since I treated her From what I can tell there is not much change she's swimming more than she was before the transfer. Is there anyway for me to tell shes getting better? Thanks

 

Fish medicines have directions on treatment on the box/bottle, so basically follow them. For example, I know Primafix and Melafix recommend a 7 days of treatment, and Maracyn Plus three treatments on days 1, 3, and 5. So keep her in quarantine for however long the parasite clear recommends treatment.

Fish will sometimes get worse before getting better, as it takes time for the meds to work. I'd say watch for when she's swimming around without her fins clamped all the time.

Ok, found the info on the Jungle website:
"Details: Wait 48 hours between treatments. Remove activated carbon. Change 25% of the water before each new treatment. For anchor worms, repeat treatment up to three times, once a week, for three weeks. For fish lice, treat once a week for three to five weeks. DO NOT OVERDOSE. "

So it looks like 3 weeks, at least, unless something in the package says something different.

 

Thanks for the help. I pray she lives until my husband returns. I'll do my best to keep a close eye on her.

 

unless it's anchor worms or fish lice, just do up to 3 treatments, then let her have a break from the meds. Hopefully that will clear her up.

 

:;sman One thing I noticed is that you already have had problems with fin rot, and your nitrates are at 25 AFTER a PWC. This tells me that you need to do several more water changes, and test every day till you get the nitrates down under 10. Fin rot is a clear indication that the water conditions need to be improved.
Do you vacuum every week with normal water changes? This will help also. Good Luck

 

My tank water is meticulously card after, but thank you. I believe the fin rot came from the LFS. and the nitrates were less than .25ppm sorry we didn't type the decimal.. small typo on my part. thank you for all the help though.

 

.25ppm .. are you using test strips or a liquid testing kit?