Friends platy looks sick, please Help us figure it out

[Ssnaaiil]

Hello, my friends platy looks sick and kind funny/deformed, we aren’t sure what’s wrong with it and if it’s contagious to the other fish in her tank. Please help us identify the sickness and figure out treatment… posting photos below
I’m wondering if it’s wasting disease, but I’m not really sure because I’ve never actually seen it…


Healthy looking platy (yellow one on top)
Sick platy (orange one on bottom)



2 more photos of the sick platy

 

[Silverleaf209]

From the second photo it looks a bit like there is some scale pineconing, have you noticed this? Or is it just the angle?

 

[hevvyc]

Yeah he definitely looks sick. How long ago did your friend get them? His fin looks torn in the top pic..
I would try aquarium salt and dose stress coat. You can also try to feed him up with bloodworm and other protein rich foods.. He may well have picked up an parasite from stress if he's getting bullied. You can use salt alongside parasite meds. Does your friend have hiding places for him in the tank? Check faeces and tank bottom for worms.
Your friend should also test the water to see if it's a quality issue. Platy's are hard water fish and don't do well in soft water. Hard to say if it's contagious as the clamped fins and emaciation are a symptom of an underlying issue.

 

[emeraldking]

From the second photo it looks a bit like there is some scale pineconing, have you noticed this? Or is it just the angle?

It does look as if the scales are a bit open.

 

[hevvyc]

If he is pineconing I've heard that epsom salt baths can help with dropsy.

 

[Ssnaaiil]

UPDATE : the orange (sick) platy was found dead this morning, and had already been munched on by other tank mates.
But we are still wondering what happened so I will reply to everyone here and also explain some other stuff that recently happened with my friends tank..

the fish did look to have a very small amount of pineconing but only on the belly area, also the fish never looked bloated, the night before the fish looked normal then the next morning looked like the photos above in original post.
This fish was never bullied, no tear in fins, my friend has had this fish for about 3 years(it was born into this tank)
All other fish/occupants look/seem/act normal

I talked to my friend more yesterday about the tank/occupants that this fish are with and she told me that a couple weeks ago a betta that she had in the tank for a year and was doing fine just suddenly died, never looked or acted sick and was just dead when she came home one day but was fine like 2 hours before. And a few weeks before that another platy was found dead without any cause or signs and then a couple months before that the same thing happened with another platy….

hat could be causing these deaths that are spanning over a few months and not really showing signs, fish would be fine then dead 2-9 hours later

 

[Flyfisha]

A quick search says this species only lives for two or three years.
Platy Fish: Care, Lifespan, Food & Tank Mates of Platies

Unless you are constantly bringing new offspring along you are going to notice each individual fish come and go.

I find the males constantly challenge each other as to who is the one allowed to show the best colours and potentially mate daily with the females.

The females drop thousands of fry in their short lives.

A Deworming routine may help the remaining offspring put on weight but is not going to make them last forever.

A sad day but hopefully you have a few tiny fry hiding in the tank?